Shalom Magazine - 1994, Vol. 1
GILDING THE GOLDEN AGE
by Yehoshua Erlich*
(*Instructor at MCTC and Director of the First International Course
on Services for the Elderly in the Family and Community)
At the end of 1993 the First International Course on Services
for the Elderly in the Family and Community took place at MCTC:
28 professionals working in various areas of services for the
elderly from 13 Latin American countries participated in the
course. For four intensive weeks they listened to lectures
given by experts in the field of gerontology and geriatrics
(study of the process of aging and medicine for the elderly),
visited centres for care of the elderly in Israel in cities,
towns and regional centres, where they spoke to administrators
and coordinators, exchanging ideas and experiences in order to
get to know the institutions. On each occasion there was
spontaneous dialogue with the beneficiaries (the elderly) and
expressions of authentic tenderness and happiness at the
meetings.
As a result of the course the participants produced a document
on the situation of the old in Latin America, considering this
issue from its social, medical and administrative aspects. We
would like to share this work with the readers of Shalom.
The aging of the Latin American population makes imperative the
elaboration of a global policy to fit the specific needs of the elderly
that will promote equal access to health services, education, legal
services, social, psychological, economic and geronto-geriatric services.
This will be achieved by an administration which will secure for the aged
welfare and tranquility, adequate subsistence, dignified housing, and
integrated assistance.
The participants agreed that, for the situations in their respective
countries, the social, medical and administrative aspects were the
determining factors to achieve this.
Social
Retirement is considered the beginning of the problem, since human beings
are not prepared to assume a new way of life. The loss of leadership
manifested during the process of aging has great repercussions in the
individual's personality. The individual's physical, mental and social
vulnerability increases significantly, causing a loss of self-esteem. The
past becomes more important than the present, hindering the individual
from continuing to integrate into society.
Income reduction negatively modifies the individual's way of life, with
progressive loss of autonomy since s/he produces less and needs more. The
family is not properly prepared to deal with this new reality as a
consequence of the absence of support systems in the community.
The industrialization process determines that the community displaces the
elderly, preferring a younger labour force, limiting even more their
options. Migration by young people to cities causes abandonment of the
elderly in rural areas, forcing him/her to assume responsibility for his
own and other family members' subsistence. Communities have not developed
multidisciplinary programs to assist the elderly. Structural barriers in
these communities make mobility, independence and integration very
difficult, causing further deterioration of quality of life.
Recommendations proposed by international organizations to many Latin
American countries have not been taken into consideration or have not been
fully implemented. The lack of inter-institutional coordination causes an
increase in the services' costs. Political changes and interests cause
lack of continuity in the programs.
Medical
The medical aspect of aging produces problems because of: a lack of a
proper definition of the problem, a lack of integration in medical
services for the elderly, an undervaluation of self-help programs, a lack
of support of the informal services given the elderly, difficult access to
assistance and health care services, and an absence of evaluation of
programs, strategies and policies.
Administrative
The administrative aspect of aging results in problems due to: an absence
of or insufficient budgets intended for the elderly within the
governmental programs, budget cuts which have direct impact on the
development of these programs, national and international support which
has not been properly utilized insufficient or lack of human, medical and
professional resources, gerontology and geriatric programs are missing
from some universities' curriculum, and postgraduate studies do not exist
in the majority of Latin American countries, research into gerontology is
not properly developed, inconsistency in the formulation of social
projects aimed for the elderly, planning of relevant projects is
frequently untimely, inadequate utilization of available resources,
absence of a body to regulate an integrated policy of care for the
elderly, poor quality control and duplication within existing programs.
The participants in the First International Course proposed the following
based on this analysis:
1. Promote integrated policies.
2. Grant elderly people's participation in the formulation, planning and
implementation of their own programs.
3. Train multidisciplinary teams caring for the elderly to guarantee high
quality programs.
4. Develop pre-retirement 'prevention" programs.
5. Create a variety of services (Elderly Clubs, day centres, home visits)
to implement care-giving options catering to the multiple needs of the
elderly.
6. Encourage public and private institutions to promote the employment of
elderly citizens.
7. The State should secure dignified pensions for all those not insured
by social security programs, updating them periodically according to
the cost of living.
8. Evaluate, renew and modify existent programs in Latin America.
9. Develop a national plan to include policies proven successful.
10. Develop a unified strategy by implementing or consolidating a policy
administrative body to benefit the aging population. This body will
ideally count on the participation of NGOs, institutions offering
decentralized or private services and the State itself, while clearly
defining goals toward which all efforts will be directed.
Shalom Magazine, for the Alumni of Israel Training Courses, is published
twice a year in English, Spanish and French. The magazine deals with
development issues and is published by:
The Society for Transfer of Technology
P.O.B. 13006
Jerusalem 91130