Yes - Script to Sucess

The Issue

• Rapidly Aging Population

• In 1971, the median age of Canadians was 26.2 years, and in 2011 it was 39.9 years, a jump of 13.7 years

• So as more and more people fit into the older demographic, the issues they are facing become more relevant to our society

• Many retired people may experience social isolation, which is defined by the complete or near-complete lack of contact between an individual and society
• And now thanks to the shifting roles of elders,

• Modern elders have lost their value because of advances in areas they used to be relied on for:

• Modern literacy has taken away the need for memories as the dominant way of storing knowledge; now knowledge is recorded
• Formal education – school has replaced elders as mentors
• Rapid technological change – elder’s technical skills are no longer useful as tech changes too quickly to keep up

Stats

• By 2056 there will only be 2.2 working age people for every dependent senior, compared to what it is currently, at 5 for each dependent senior

• Social isolation impacts the health and behavioral habits of older adults. An older adult's social network can impact health positively through encouragement to adhere to medical treatment or to refrain from negative or risky behaviors (Berkman et al., 2000). Without the positive influence of social network members, older adults who are socially isolated are at risk for many negative behaviors such as heavy drinking (Hanson, 1994), smoking, and being sedentary (Eng et al., 2002). Older adults who are socially isolated also have an increased nutritional risk (Locher et al., 2005). (Nicholson, 2012)

Impacts on Developmental Stages

• Impacts can be seen throughout each stage excluding childhood and young adults

• Affected the least due to parents most likely still being young enough to be able to take care of themselves

• Looking at marital stage of development,

• Marriage could be affected by burden of stress
• Busy schedules can harm marital satisfaction

• Looking at parenthood

• The majority of care to the frail elderly is provided by family members
• 21% of women are involved in providing eldercare of some kind (2006)
• 30% of women between 45-64 are combining care of seniors with child care

• This means that family members, especially women, have been made into “The Sandwich Generation”

• In fact, women report leaving the labour force or working part-time because of these responsibilities. Which results in loss of earnings and pension contributions, meaning an increased risk of poverty in old age

Impacts on the Old Age Developmental Stage

• Marriage will be tested by normative events such as retirement
• Studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 7 million American adults over the age of 65 experience depression each year. The CDC also reports that adults over the age of 65 made up 16 percent of all suicide deaths in 2004.
• According to the Berkman framework in 2000, limited social networks impact health downstream through three pathways: (1) behavioral health, (2) psychological, and (3) physiological.

The Solution- Click 7 or go to 6:24

Inter-Generational Care Facilities

• Combining Pre-school and assistive care

• Allows children to interact with elderly people on a regular basis, forming positive relationships that benefit both the children and the elderly
• Creates a sense of family and community for the residents to enjoy

Benefits

• Eases the pressure on the “Sandwich Generation”, as parents can send their kids and their kid’s grandparents to these care facilities

• Allows the family caregiver to re-enter the workforce

• Helps reduce anxiety and engage residents with dementia

• Engaging the minds of people with dementia has shown to slow down the deterioration

• Kids gain new experiences and enjoy their time with the residents
• Parents have even claimed that the preschool helped with behavioural issues

• Possibly because the activities they do at the preschool don’t involve overstimulation, and instead children can learn through social interactions

• ^^I can cite the mouse study, where they learned overstimulation increases hyperactivity and risk taking as well as impairing memory. Furthermore, the building block study showed us that interactive play promotes language development. An additional benefit is that the children are receiving cognitive stimulation from the residents when they do activities such as sing, talk, read, build, and play with toys. Lastly, Vygotsky’s social learning theory shows us that social interactions and shared activities can aid the child’s cognitive development

End of Life Theories

• Using Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’ theory on acceptance

• Having positive experiences like the ones in the video could help ease someone through the steps to acceptance

• Using the disengagement and social death theory

• Older people who might have withdrawn from friends and family can gain positive social interactions with the children

• Works both ways, children being exposed to people at the end of their life can help them understand and better handle the grieving process if a family member passes away.

• Can also prevent them from withdrawing as extremely and suddenly from anyone who is preparing for death

Social Exchange Theory

• After giving up their jobs as well as their independent lives, residents need new sources of social currency

• This can be in the form of interactions with the children, which can be very beneficial to those suffering from social isolation

Erik Erikson’s Life-Span Theory of Development

• Interactions with residents allow autonomy over doubt, initiative over guilt, and industry over inferiority

• The preschool ensures a safe environment where children spend time achieving their developmental goals

• Residents can work towards achieving integrity by spending time with the children

Thanks for watching! - In conclusion, I think by implementing Inter-Generational Care Facilities, the aging Canadian population will better be able to cope with social isolation, and at the same time children and parents will benefit as well.