We’re all getting old. It’s an undeniable fact. To many people, senior care is not the most interesting topic to discuss, despite it being such an important stage of life. According to the Population Reference Bureau, the demand for elder care will more than double, particularly in the context of seniors with Alzheimer’s disease by 2050.
However, even for those who remain healthy both physically and mentally, good senior care can be hard to find. A big reason for this is that society has a lot of implicit bias that runs too deep when treating the elderly. Today, let’s explore some valuable insights that anyone working closely with seniors should start being more mindful of.
Seniors Aren’t One Homogenous Blob
This is one of the most common mistakes people make when it comes to taking care of older adults. Popular media and stereotypes have built up this idea that all seniors like sitting on rocking chairs, playing bingo, and sending texts with a dozen typos. This creates an unfair narrative that isn’t exactly accurate.
If we want to start giving seniors quality care, it requires us to stop treating them like they’re all the same. Some people go through a few medical procedures and suddenly become ‘a senior in need of care’ overnight. A few weeks earlier, they may have been running a business and living a life not too different from your own.
Can you imagine what it feels like to feel a sudden shift in the way people treat and interact with you? According to the APA, ageism is still a common and socially acceptable prejudice. That’s something anyone, whether it be children or nursing home staff, needs to be more conscious of. So, how does society start to change its approach to caring for seniors? Let’s find out.
Start Focusing on Their Strengths, Not on their Decline
Many older adults report that human contact in the form of a hug or a friendly touch on the shoulder is something that gets rare. As a society, we tend to connect aging with decline but forget that it’s happening to everyone, even at this very moment.
If you are in your late thirties, you know that a young person in their late teens is going to be more energetic than you. Does that mean you need to be treated as if you are in decline? No. Thankfully, this is something that nursing homes are increasingly recognizing in the context of long-term care of seniors.
As Regency Jewish Heritage Post-Acute, Rehab & Nursing Center notes, care needs to be provided in a patient-centered environment where the person’s capabilities are recognized and maximized.
In other words, avoid focusing on the limitations of seniors and start helping them make the most of their strengths. If you happen to be a volunteer, it can mean not getting frustrated when a senior refuses to socialize.
Instead, it can mean finding out if they need help with a personal hobby or skill. Maybe you could spend time reading a book for them or offer to write down dictated stories or memoirs. The possibilities are endless.
Respect Their Sense of Agency When Offering Help
The older seniors get, the more likely it is that their health requires more medical attention. This can be depressing, uncomfortable, and stressful in many dimensions for a senior. It’s not just the physical aspects, but also the constant reminder that their time is running out. As a result, conversations that focus too much on their health and medication are the last thing they want more of.
Nursing home caretakers, children, or volunteers might instead focus on orienting care and conversations in a different direction. A direction that helps seniors strengthen their identity and control, which can start to decline when their life is being defined by pain and illness.
Similarly, try to understand how they feel about new situations or treatments and broach the subject carefully. According to Dr. Lee Lindquist, MD, MPH, many seniors feel like accepting medical help will lead to leaving their homes. This fear of losing independence is a sensitive matter that seniors can be quite defensive about.
When dealing with such situations, always remember that no matter what, they have a right to their agency. Rather than forcing a senior to confront something they don’t want to do, find alternative strategies. This is where a counselor with experience in geriatric care can be invaluable.
To summarize, if you want the elderly to not feel like their last years are depressing, start paying more attention. It’s easy to meet basic needs, but you have to remember that these are people who have lived a full life. There are so many angles to consider if you want their final moments to help them accept what comes next.