Active Ageing Model Of Care In Australia: Policies And Frameworks

Active Ageing Model of Care in Australia

Discuss about the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Population ageing remains to be the greatest triumph of humanity and presents the worst challenges in the modern world. In this 21^st century, countries are staring at the increased social and economic demands due to the global ageing rate (ABS, 2013). Without a doubt, older people remain ignored resources that have made significant contributions to the societies. Based on the World Health Organization (WHO) report, many countries should consider enacting active ageing programs and policies to ensure that older citizens participate in the development of these countries (World Health Organization, 2012). The WHO has made it clear that helping the older people to remain active and healthy should not be a luxury, but a necessity. In Australia, the government has established a national framework of active ageing by adopting the public and wellness policy thus promotes positive ageing. In reviewing the WHO’s active ageing model of care, this article will discuss the how Australia is handling the situation.

The healthy and active ageing model as adopted by the Australian government recognizes the guiding principle that enhances the ageing experience. AIHW (2014) has predicted that by 2051, Australia anticipates that its citizens who shall have attained the age of 65 would require active ageing experience. The Australian demographic seems to shift at an unprecedented rate. As at 1998, twelve percent of the citizens were aged 65 while by 2021, the percent shall have increased to 18% (Nusen, Wrigley, & Matthews, 2017). Despite this prediction, the negative forecasts are inevitable as the ageing people remain described as a medically problematic and dependent stage that has imposed the worst economic burden on the society. However, in the modern society, this negative conceptualization is a challenge because they seem repositioned as an opportunity (ERA, 2016).

The WHO established the active ageing model to help in overcoming the criticisms regarding the older people thus transform them into a productive and successful ageing. The active ageing reflects the valuable contributions of the older individuals in the society and families. This process optimizes the opportunities for social, mental, and physical well-being throughout their life course (Cubit & Meyer, 2011). The framework extends their quality, productivity, and healthy life expectation in older age. The active ageing seems to emphasize the value of involving the older people in economic, social, spiritual, cultural, physical, and civic activities. The West Australian state authority has depended on the WHO definition of active ageing by ensuring that they get involve in social activities. The government supports them based on security and health dimensions.

How Older People are represented in Policy, Legislation, and Society

The ageing of the population remains a global issue that requires local, regional, national, and international action. Any failure to handle the demographic imperativeness and the changing disease patterns would have political and socioeconomic consequences. The active ageing requires a collective approach through policy framework as recognized by the UN principles for the older people (ERA, 2016). According to the WHO (2002), the older people deserve independence, care, participation, dignity, and self-fulfilment like other age groups. The UN’s policy framework encompasses three pillars including health, participation, and security to define active ageing.

Within the policy framework, the health principle ensures that the governments keep the protective factors high and reduce the risk factors that cause functional decline among the targeted population. This is the best strategy to assure the older people of quality and quantity of life. ACT (2017) believes that the government has to make it possible for this group to access social and health services that are in tandem with the needs and expectations. The participation principle provides the ground for the older people to engage in employment, health, education, social policies, and labour market without restrictions or discrimination (Nusen et al., 2017). The government should offer them full support so that they can participate actively in the cultural, socioeconomic, political, and spiritual activities. The WHO affirms that their participation should be based on their preferences, needs, capabilities, and human rights thus allow them to make positive contributions to the environment.

The UN also encourages various governments to adopt programs and policies that address the physical, social, and financial security rights and needs of the older people. Based on the findings of the World Economic Forum (2012), older people must be assured of dignity protection and care always. Consequently, there is a need for the government to help families in supporting and caring for the older members. The active ageing approach eliminates any aspects of age discrimination as it acknowledges the diversity of the older people (World Health Organization, 2012). To this effect, the authorities should ensure that the older Australians and caregivers participate in the planning, implementing, and evaluating programs, policies, and activities regarding the active ageing.

In Australia, the government has established active ageing projects that have reshaped aged care. This involves giving these people what they want than what they need. Currently, it is evident that the older people are seeking for opportunities that are beyond their home support and personal care service (Aird & Buys, 2015). ERA (2016) explains that these people are looking for individualized programs that ensure they age independently. Through the Eastern Regional Alliance (ERA), the older Australians have engaged in consultative forums to detail their expectations and needs (ERA, 2016). Through such alliances, the older people get an opportunity to send strong signals to the governments so that they can be heard. The older Australians are looking for broader and sophisticated volunteer roles that allow them to access community-based learning options. The ERA councils have realized that the community participation and social support programs are unable to meet the expectations of the older people because they are oversubscribed. To this effect, many older people are becoming increasingly isolated.

Shortcomings of the Framework

ERA opts to support the professional development and training of care workers so that they can deliver social, home and personal care support thus allow them to thrive. The council believes that empowering the older people is the only way to allow them to make decisions relevant to their issues and lives (Udo, 2016). Whenever they participate actively in responsive and flexible services, they get empowered and enriched thus enliven their communities (National AGED Care Alliance, 2011). By collaborating with the Australian Centre for Social Innovation, it would be possible to develop new tools to assist them to move beyond their disabilities or limitations (Maritz et al. 2015).

Through different organizations such as AASW, the rights of the older Australians have been protected as they are allowed to exercise control and choice over their destiny, employment, independences, and self-fulfilment among others (AASW, 2013). The State and Commonwealth governments have invested in various initiatives to support these special needs. The Australians governments recognize the rights and privileges of disabilities and old age. The HRC (Human Rights Commission) has always assisted and encouraged the older people to participate in the legislative activities (ACT, 201.

Numerous issues have emerged regarding ageing and health that people are yet to understand. For example, in the model, understanding the healthy ageing process is difficult. Although quality information related to the older Australians health status exists, the least is known about the interaction of various components of the model. For instance, the interdependent relationships among social, mental, and physical wellbeing is unclear. In picking any assumption choice, the ageing population’s future health and health expenditure are sensitive (National AGED Care Alliance, 2011). The model has made an assumption on the health profile of these people, labour force participation, and the application of the modern health technologies in the achieving active ageing goals as identified by Vine, Buys, and Aird (2012).

Based on the Nursing Research, the active ageing framework has become difficult to adopt as governments, including Australia is struggling to respond to the WHO’s model. The WHO developed the framework without considering the inputs of nurses because the UN wanted a quality of life among the ageing population. Undeniably, nurses play critical role in the ageing intervention research. However, the WHO framework only focuses on healthy ageing, productive ageing, successful ageing, and health promotion (World Health Organization, 2012). Therefore, it should be understood that the active ageing requires a holistic and multidisciplinary framework defined by the nursing interventions. As acknowledged by the World Bank and WHO, this framework should be an impetus for the nurses to use this framework as a guide to achieving an ageing intervention. Walker and Avant (2011) affirms  need for the research by nurses to focus on interventions that optimize opportunities for health using secondary and primary preventions such as security, economic, cultural, and social participation.

Conclusion

The interventions regarding the use of active ageing model target the older adults within institutional care settings. Indisputably, the healthy lifestyle maintenance from childhood to adulthood and participation can make an individual be active until the ninth decade. The active ageing approach is essential because it allows the older Australians to access opportunities thus contributes actively towards the economic, cultural, spiritual, social, and civic development of the community. The WHO affirms that people who engage in physical activities, maintain health, and participate in socio-cultural activities have enjoyed healthy relationships thus allowing them to balance psychologically. Such older people experience positive outcomes that reduce premature deaths. The WHO has identified the pillars of an active ageing to include health, participation, and security. Undeniably, when older people are actively engaged in political, social, economic, and cultural activities, they reduce the costs of their care services and medical treatments. Unfortunately, this framework demands professional guidance including hiring nurses to enhance the adoption of these interventions.

References

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