ELDERS STAYING ALONE AT HOME AFFECT THEIR HEALTH, NUTRITION, AND WELL-BEING
People living alone face some problems, especially when it comes to senior adults; they face numerous drawbacks like their personal safety like falling and hurting themselves, the psychological illness like depression, stress, loneliness, and memory loss, and food insecurity.
As people grow older, the chances of getting mental and physical illnesses increase. For an elderly person who needs more health and medical services than a normal person, it’s always a challenge when they live alone. Especially food insecurity can bring further physical, emotional, and economic burdens to the elders that can be solved only when they have proper assistance.
Understanding the consequences of living alone is essential to address these issues in the elderly, before getting into conclusions.
Nutritional issues:
Nutrition is an important part of health in persons over the age of 65, wherein Malnutrition is often under-diagnosed. Precise nutritional assessment is necessary for the successful diagnosis and development of comprehensive treatment plans for malnutrition in older adults. Senior adults have an increased risk for malnutrition compared with other adult populations. Estimation says that 2-16% of normal elderly people are deficient in protein and if mineral and vitamin deficiencies are included malnutrition rate may go up to 35%. Thus with proper assistance, the nutrition scale can be kept in check. The nursing care for seniors available these days provide superfoods for seniors and take care of their nutritional intake.
Health issues
Health issues in the elderly are mainly due to metabolic rate and energy requirement changes in the body. The root key for all the health issues is malnutrition, which consequently reduces basal metabolism by 100 kcal/day per decade. This leads to various diseases like cardiovascular, pulmonary, and neurological diseases, as well as bone-related ailments like osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. To combat this, a multivitamin supplement for seniors is recommended especially for those whose caloric intake is less than 1500 kcal/day. These can be taken care of only when the elderly people's health chart is kept in check by caretakers/skilled nurses provided by assisted living facilities.
Mental and Psychological issues
Older adults who live alone are more likely to have feelings of loneliness and social isolation. In those with health problems or sensory deficits, new or worsening symptoms mostly go unnoticed. Many have difficulty complying with prescribed treatment regimens including the activities of daily living. Because they have physical limitations, some older people who live alone do not prepare full, balanced meals, making undernutrition a concern. Social interaction with other people makes it much more interesting to sit down for a complete meal. Elder people less likely to prepare nutritious meals, than those who share meals with others. They may decide on fast food options and quick snacks and empty calories, especially if they have a health condition that makes meal preparation an exhausting or difficult task. Thus elderly people who live alone due to their psychological weakness tend to take less care of their health. Also, increased mental stresses often kindle their memory loss and make them forget their medication charts that even worsen their health conditions. Thus letting the elderly people know about the benefits of meditation and involving them in group activities, can relax the stress and anxiety that can gradually improve the mental health of the senior adults.
Physical and Financial issues
Elderly people generally fall often due to imbalance. Certain medical conditions may affect the sense of balance and physical strength and are very common in elderly people, such as hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease.
Seniors living alone are faced with financial frauds and lots of scams. Thus the increased insecure feeling often causes anxiety, which results in serious mental and physical weakness. Thus engaging seniors in social activities will likely to increase their mental health and which will eventually improve their physical strength.
Some other Issues
Elderly people living alone ignore minor medical conditions until they become serious and attain mammoth proportions. Senior adults alone at home fail to identify life-threatening health conditions and obtain suitable medical assistance they need. They experience a consistent decline in memory that may affect their capability to safely carry out household chores. Failure to turn off stoves, heaters, irons, and other appliances that can cause house fires is more common in elderly homes. Forgetting to pay bills, perform tasks of basic hygiene, and to take medications on time and in appropriate doses are other concerns for memory-impaired.
Thus to overcome the mental and physical weaknesses of the elderly there should be an effective caretaker who can guide them to healthy well-being. The counseling services available for the assistance of the elderly often bring up antidepressant therapy that helps them overcome the stress of aging and actively involve them to face the process of aging in a healthy and organized manner.