Ageing Studies and Elderly Care Services

Importance of Independence, Self Determination and Purposeful Activity in the Lives of Older Clients

On successful completion of this module the learner should be able to:Comprehend the importance of independence, self determination and purposeful activity in the lives of clients who are older.Advocate for the social model of care in Elderly Care ServicesEvaluate the theories of AgeingExplore interventions and best practice principles when working with the elderly

A case study pertaining to an older person which analyses the role of the social care worker in assessing the worker in responding to the needs of the older person in keeping  with current best practice and knowledge of theories of ageing the following is an example of a case.

Lisa, a widow for the past four years, is 86 years old. She lives alone in a two storey house on the farm and leases the land out. She has a reasonably good income. She was always a hardworking woman helping out on the family farm. She has had varied interests throughout her life and particularly likes music, reading and art and cooking.   She has a son Tom and a daughter Julie, both of who live about 4 miles away from her.

Tom, her eldest son is 60 and has his own wife and two children, both of who work in local construction companies. Tom had recent tests confirming he has osteoarthritis, particularly affecting his right hip. He plans to take a break from work and have a hip replacement in the coming months. Lisa no longer drives and depends on Tom to drive her places, including shopping, Mass, the local bank, GP visits, the village library and visiting friends. There is little in the way of local transport which passes her farm.

Lisa has been having increasingly poor health over the past five years. She sustained a fall at home in the bathroom. Her past medical history includes osteoporosis, hypertension, and her mobility has reduced considerably since she fractured her right hip last year as a result of a fall while getting out of bed. She uses a walker to ambulate outside and sometimes uses it in the house but more often relies on a stick and holding the furniture.

Her memory has been deteriorating over the past couple of years which concerns the family and this problem is made worse by the fact that she denies any problems about her memory and gets frustrated and annoyed with any of her family who try to convince her that this is the case. Julie has shown her the evidence of burned pots, things left on the floor, a tap left running, little food in the fridge and her lack of attention to keeping the house clean. Tom tries to keep his mother’s memory as ‘active as possible’ by asking questions about recent events and prompting her until she gets the answer right.

Her family have also noticed that she has some difficulty finding words in conversation and she sometimes asks the same question repeatedly, which frustrates her children. Lisa appears to be able to manage to dress herself but her personal hygiene is questionable. To date she has refused outside help with anything. Now however, the family feel that unless she has this help she will not be able to stay living on her own. They have gone to her GP asking for advice on what to do.

-A summary of Lisas  needs and an identify and evaluate the  risks present in the situations.

-The objectives of the intervention with Lisa.

-The services that are to be provided and by which agencies.

-The anticipated outcomes in terms of the changes you will expect to see if the care plan is successful.