Ageism in the White House (Part 2)

Here is an interesting forum discussing the flip side of ageism in the media concerning the past election. The different commentators explore the ageism against Barrack Obama due to his young age. The posts debate over the absurdity in associating youth with inexperience.  This is definitely an important topic because ageism can be directed at any age group. Link to Site

While We’re on the Topic…

Here are some more links about seniors and their sex lives. If the last post made you squirm, I wouldn’t suggest reading these articles. Just remember that seniors have needs and wants to.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20732786/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20395061/

Probably Not Something You Think About Everyday…

Experts want to lift taboo on nursing home sex

Survey shows staff feels it’s a topic they need to be educated about

Nursing-home residents have sexual needs too. And now researchers are finding ways to educate staff on the taboo topic and provide accommodations for the elderly to shack up under some privacy.

“Most staff have the same mindset many of us do, which is ‘I don’t want to think about my parents having sex, let alone my grandparents,’” Gayle Doll, who directs Kansas State University’s Center on Aging, told LiveScience.

The researchers suggest educating staff about sexuality and making sex in nursing homes less hush-hush. In the long run, they hope federal guidelines will help all nursing homes deal with sexuality in a positive way, especially as baby boomers age and bring their 1950s and 1960s attitudes about sex with them to the facilities.

The research, whose details were announced today, was presented in October at the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging conference.

“By law, you can’t always lock a room, but you can offer residents some privacy,” Doll said. The semi-private rooms that are typical in nursing homes pose a problem for residents who want to engage in sexual activity, either alone or with a partner, Doll added.

In fact, past research has shown that men and women continue to participate in sexual intercourse and “solo activities” well into their 70s and 80s.

Let’s talk about sex
The researchers’ suggestions come from studies about sexuality in three Kansas nursing homes. In the study, Majka Jankowiak and Laci Cornelison, research assistants at the Center on Aging, surveyed the staff before and after a workshop on sexuality that they had presented. Rather than telling nursing-home staff what to do, the researchers used the workshop to get staff talking about sex and asking questions.

The surveys, as well as anecdotal feedback from the participants, showed a marked change in attitudes.

“They really felt this was a topic that they needed to be educated on,” Jankowiak said. “Part of it is that American society is not supportive of older people and sex. It’s been a taboo, and it’s an even bigger taboo in nursing homes.”

Jankowiak added, “After the presentation, the participants felt more confident talking about it and dealing with sexual expression of residents.”

Such shifting attitudes ended up having a positive effect on a married couple who had moved into a nursing home room with two hospital beds. One spouse had to have a leg elevated, but it was on the same side as the partner’s bed. The positioning made it tricky for them to hold hands. Some staff members didn’t see the importance of allowing the couple intimacy and said the problem couldn’t be fixed.

“But someone who had been to our presentation encouraged everyone to move the furniture,” Cornelison said.

Safety first
Sex in nursing homes brings up some safety issues. For instance, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases can be concerns for a generation that may not have the same awareness that younger people do today, the researchers say.

Also, adult children may have concerns about their parents’ safety or how a new relationship will affect the family or their inheritance. The researchers are developing materials to help family members deal with these questions.

“What they fear is exploitation or that the role the parent played will go away,” Doll said.

In addition, Alzheimer’s and dementia raise questions about the ability to consent, and these conditions also may spur sexual behavior that’s inappropriate.

“Even though we advocate for residents’ rights, there are things that are inappropriate,” Doll said. “But staff must be able handle this without residents feeling embarrassed. Inappropriate behavior can just come from people needing relationships, not necessarily sexual ones.”

© 2008 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

Elderly Gambling: A Growing Problem

Casinos are creating marketing campaigns specifically aimed at the elderly.  Thousands of elderly are becoming addicted to gambling, many of which are unable to rebuild their finances after the addiction consumes them.

Can there be laws to help prevent people on a fixed income from gambling their money away?

Here’s an article about the extreme gambling problems in Arizona (found on globalaging.org):

More elderly are having problems with gambling
By: Tom Zoellner
The Arizona Republic, June 16, 2002

Arizona’s booming retirement economy has fostered a quiet side effect: a growing number of senior citizens who turn to racetracks or casinos to stave off loneliness and wind up addicted to gambling.

“Their numbers are growing,” said Don Hulen, executive director of the Arizona Council on Compulsive Gambling.

“Many senior citizens centers send buses out to various activities, and one of the places they go is to gamble.”

No reliable data exist to chart the extent of the phenomenon in Arizona, but estimates are that more than 67,000 retired citizens in the state have a gambling problem.

Many of them never even placed a bet until late in life and were taken completely by surprise by the power it had over them.

“I just wanted to zone out in front of the slot machines,” said one elderly Phoenix area resident, who started going to the casinos at age 55. “It’s real easy to slip into the hypnotic stage. You don’t need sleep, you don’t get hungry. It seemed as though I was being fed by the machine. If I made money, I played it away until it was gone.”

Elderly women appear to be the fastest-growing sector of the addicted population. According to the East Valley chapter of Gamblers Anonymous, more than 75 percent of calls to the telephone help line come from females.

Most of the addicted elderly gamblers in Arizona can be academically classified as “escape gamblers,” Hulen said.

Their need to play horses, lottery card or slot machines comes not from a love of the game or a desire to win money, but from a gnawing need to get away from loneliness, boredom, financial difficulties or other emptiness in their lives.

“They have a need to self-medicate, to escape their problems,” Hulen said.

A gambling addiction developed late in life is often even more devastating than one that shows up early, said Pat Fowler of the Council on Compulsive Gaming in Florida, another state with a huge retirement population.

Older people on a fixed income find it much more difficult to rebuild their finances after a gambling addiction takes its toll, she said. And the risk of suicide tends to be higher for elderly gamblers who lose all their money, she added.

Many casinos also make a point of aiming marketing campaigns specifically at senior citizens and go out of their way to make lonely elders feel at home, she said.

A better picture of the problem in Arizona may develop by the end of the year.

The Arizona Lottery canceled a call for bids on a “prevalence study” this year because Gov. Jane Hull has signed new gambling compacts with Indian tribes and Lottery officials assumed that the state’s first prevalence study would be underwritten by the tribes.

But the Legislature refused to ratify the compacts, leaving voters to choose between three gaming initiatives on the Nov. 5 ballot.

The uncertainty has persuaded Arizona Lottery officials to request bids for a study again, and the data should be gathered by fall, Lottery Executive Director Geoffrey Gonsher said. The complete study is expected by the end of the year.

An Alternative to Nursing Homes?

One lady comes up with a plan to let able-bodied elderly live independently, without being pushed into nursing homes in the following video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ql5iKbLgf4&feature=related

Link to another Blog!

In my search I came across a link to a blog about nursing home abuse in California. It’s published by lawyers to famaliarize citizens of procedures and rights. It’s pretty interesting, even for those of us who don’t live in California.

http://www.nursinghomeabuselawyerblog.com/

Overlooked and Underserved

http://www.mhaging.org/info/olus.html

This article is mainly about the reasons that the elderly are deprived of proper mental health care. The reasons cited are:

1. Stigma – the media has put images of elderly “crazy” people in movies, commercials, and tv shows. This creates unwillingness to seek help among elderly for fear of prejudice.

2. Agism – when agencies are confronted by budget cuts, it is often the services to the elderly that are cut on the basis that they are too old to benefit.

3. Service Delivery – it is mostly assumed that the elderly will self-refer themselves to community mental health centers; public and private sector agencies generally push the referencing of the elderly to the side.

4. Reimbursement – there is a large disparity between Medicare and Medicaid in dealing with mental health versus psychiatric health. Practitioners are reimbursed at lower rates for the elderly and the co-pay is higher.

Ageism at its Best!!!

Here is ageism at it’s best!  These two young people discriminate and unjustly discuss why elderly are unproductive citizens of Arizona’s society.  The claims are both ridiculous and unreasonable.  The two talk about how elderly vote more often than young and how that is harmful to the society.  The issue is as real as racism and white privilege, yet accepted on a whole new level which only furthers the problem.  It would be difficult to believe that the New York Times would have a video of two young white students talking about how Hispanic or African American citizens are unproductive.  Yet, so clearly this video does that exact thing but with a different marginalized and oppressed group.  Watch the video…you will be amazed.

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2008/06/30/opinion/1194817123260/tyranny-of-the-old.html

Elderly and the Economy

The link to the story is:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95142889

The link to the follow-up letters written:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95408462

 

 

After class last Thursday I went to help one of my patients shower.  When I walked into her house I could see a very distressed look upon her face.  As I approached her it became more and more clear that she was upset.

I asked her “What is wrong?  Have you had a bad day?” 

She quickly retorted that her day was “alright” and she was happy to see me; however, her husband was on the phone with their investment office and that over the past week they had lost about $17,580.00 in the stock market.  She explained that the majority of their assets were FDIC insured, but there were a few investments that were not.  She explained to me that she was very upset about loosing the money and more importantly she was worried about the economic situation of America and what that will do to her living situation.  She draws a small social security check, but no type of outside retirement other than her investments.  Her husband is sick and if he passes she has no idea how she will be able to maintain the same lifestyle. 

At that moment I began to think about the entire elderly population and how the economy must be affecting their livelihood.

 

I searched NPR and found a story about a 62 year old woman named Eunice Winchester.  She could no longer afford her home and the bank foreclosed.  The commentator conducting the interview explained that 700,000 elderly were in foreclosure this year.  Eunice explained her story and went on to say she was able to get her home back.  There was a follow-up on the story with letters about how individuals felt about Eunice’s situation.  As I listened to what a man and woman had said about Eunice it was clear that they were blaming her problem on scarcity of resources.  The man in the follow up explained that he felt if Eunice could not pay her mortgage and could not afford her living situation than it was clear she needed to move to an area where she could manage to pay.  He explained that he doesn’t live in an area that he could not pay for and neither should she.  The next reaction to the segment was from a lady here in Austin.  She explained that Eunice lived off of $32,000.00 a year and that was a lot of money for one person as far as she was concerned.  It is difficult to understand how people can be so inconsiderate of one’s situation, but it is clear that elements of oppression are all around our country.  What is scary is that we do not have to look very hard to find them.

Gerontologist Spotlight: Dr. Namkee Choi

This is a small biography of Dr. Namkee Choi, a gerontologist at U.T.

Dr. Namkee Choi is a professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Choi is a gerontologist and Scholar of the Advanced Research Institute in Geriatric Mental Health funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. Her current research focuses on depression in late life and the development and evaluation of effective psychosocial interventions for depressive symptoms among both community-dwelling and institutionalized older adults. Dr. Choi’s other areas of research include disparities in health status and healthcare utilization, program evaluation, minority aging, and social policy for the aging population. Dr. Choi teaches social policy and research methods at the graduate level.

Dr. Choi serves on the editorial board the Journal of Gerontological Social Work and Journal of Poverty and as an expert reviewer for several professional journals in gerontology and social work. She is the author/co-author of two books and editor of two books and has published extensively in gerontology journals. Dr. Choi is active as a member of the National Advisory Committees of the Hartford Geriatric Doctoral Fellowship Program and the Hartford Faculty Scholars Program. She is also a national research mentor for the latter program.

(Biography from http://www.utexas.edu/ssw/faculty/choi/)