Meaningful life: care for the elderly in an urban environment

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Meaningful life care for the elderly in an urban
environment
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Starring

• Anna Otthamar, Denmark
• Ingrid Walter, Norway
• Janneke Ronse, Belgium
• Kadri Kaarna, Estonia
• Tuomas Inkiläinen, Finland

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Our focus

• Elderly that are not suffering from
• Severe dementia
• Alzheimer
• Other severe mental diseases
• They are not necessarily physically fit

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Mary
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Her options

• Stay at home
• Go to an elderly/nursing home
• Stay with the family
• Service flat
• Other?

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Life in a nursing home

• The schedule for the day
• 0700 Get up, wash
• 0800 Breakfast
• 0900 Sitting in the room. 10 mins of physical
  therapy
• 1000 Sitting more, eating soup
• 1100 Read the news paper
• 1200 Lunch
• 1300 Rest
• 1400 Daily activity, i.e. coffeetable,
  gymnastics, cooking.
• 1700 Dinner
• 1900-2000 Going to bed

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• Would you like to live your life like this?
• Do you think this is a worthy life for an elderly
  person, just because he/she is old?
• What are the advantages? Disadvantages?

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What is important for the elderly?

• Good health (physically and mentally)
• Good health care system
• Social contact
• Modified environment
• Free choice
• Feeling safe

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What is important for the elderly?

• Feeling useful
• Activity possibilities
• Privacy
• Financial support
• Physical/sexual contact
• Empowerment

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• In 2050 there will be almost three times more
  people over 80 than today.
• There will be a lot of people in Marys situation

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Well being

• A contented state of being healthy, happy and
  prosperous
• The World Health Organisation defines health as
  "...a state of complete physical, mental and
  social well-being and not merely the absence of
  disease and infirmity."

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How can we make this happen?

• They stay at home as long as possible
• Services to help them to live independently
• Service centers for the elderly

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• Service centers for the elderly (Ten Hove as an
  example).

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Ten Hove

• Based on the idea of empowerment
• Unites elderly with different hobbies
• Activities organized by elderly
• Many different activities each day
• Opportunity for social life
• Voluntary work

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• Apartments nearby
• Help for people who can't go out themselves

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Multidisciplinary challenges

• What if Mary has an accident and breaks
• her leg at home?
• What kind of health services will she need?
• What does it take to let her stay at home?

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Nurse

• Washing, dressing.
• Medication.
• Being aware of Marys mental health.
• Communicating with the rest of the team.

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Physiotherapist

• Mobilisation.
• Teach her how to use a wheelchair/crutches.
• Organize and adapt the home to her disability.

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Podiatrist

• Take care of skin and nail problems.
• Exercises.

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Other professions

• Occupational therapist
• Social worker
• Doctor
• Others

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Multidisciplinary challenges

• How should we work together?
• Meet regularly
• Know each others professions
• All team members are equally important
• Find out what the patient wants

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Multicultural challenges

• Language problems
• Cultural differences, integration problems

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Other challenges

• Funding from the government for prevention.
• Voluntary work.
• Attitude of health care workers and the society.

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Conclusion

• We need more cooperation and interdisciplinary
  work
• We need to change our professional attitude
  towards the elderly, and also the attitude of the
  society
• Elderly should have the power to decide, despite
  of physical problems and limitations

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• What about your country?
• How is the elderly care organized?
• Positive/negative?
• How would you like the elderly care to be in the
  future?

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Sources

• Statistisk sentralbyrå (Norway)
• Richard Hugman Ageing and the care of older
  people
• Dienstencentrum Ten Hove
• Sint-Jozef nursing home
• Article Liever vrijen dan breien. Nursing, 2001.
• Article De cliënt als dirigent
• The internet site of the Norwegian government
  www.odin.no
• www.sm.ee
• www.eesti.ee