Introduction
Are we still an ageist society in Ireland and are our health care services providing the appropriate health care facilities to our older population?. Ageism is stereotyping and discriminating against an individual person or groups of people on the basis of their age. This can occur throughout all phases of life, from childhood to old age. These ideas and attitudes occur from a social construction anomaly of ageism, Scott & Marshall (2009). Sociology is the study of society in a scientific sociological perspective.
We study sociology to help us understand how society can effect our body and how it impacts our lives. Emile Durheim first came up with the theoretical analysis of functionalism or also known as structural functionism. His notion of functionalism was how social structures and functions mould people into society. This derived from his study of suicide in 1952 when he established that suicide what not just an individual act but also a consequence from society.
The TILDA report, examined the older people in the general population and presently there are 460,00 in the general population over the age of 65 living in Ireland, Kearney et al (2011). This is due to the demographic changes over the years with fewer births and people living longer lives. Older people can become victims of neglect and loneliness especially women as, mentioned by (Cleary & Treacy, 1997) it is more likely for older women to be lonely as men die earlier.
The supplemental study (McCarron et al , 2011), reported that 753 people with intellectual disability (ID) over 40 years old represented 8.9% of the (ID) population in the study. number is growing rapidly and with this it brings challenges for nurses, services and policy prov...
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...f Clinical Nursing, 16, 873-884.
Meeting the Health, Social care and Welfare Services Information Needs of Older People in Ireland (2004). National Council ob Ageing and Older People, (78), Dublin.
Cleary A. & Treacy M. P. (1997) The Sociology of Health and Illness in Ireland. University College Dublin Press, Dublin.
Casey D., Murphy, K., Leime, A. N., Larkin, P., Payne, S., Froggatt, K. A. & O'Shea, E. (2011) Dying well : Factors that influence the provision of good end of life care for older people in acute and long-stay care settings in Ireland. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 20, 1824-1833.
Todd S. (2003) Death does not become us. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 38 (1-2) 225-239.
McCarron M. & Lawlor B. A. (2003) Responding to the challenges of ageing and dementia in intellectual disability in Ireland. Ageing and Mental Health, 7 (6), 413-417.
Butler, R. (2008). The Carers of People with Dementia. BMJ: British Medical Journal , 336, 1260-1261.
This assignment will identify and evaluate the legal and ethical issues within the health and social care for elderly people with dementia and living in residential homes. It will address the difference between the legal and ethical issues and the impact it has on the person suffering from the disease, their family and the role that the professionals have in decision making for the individual’s wellbeing.
Americans at the end of their lives no longer have this sense of continuity and stability. Rituals today are as likely to include tubes and noisy machines, artificial ventilators and unpleasant drug regimens bringing as many unpleasant side effects as health benefits. Many times the dying languishes in a hospital bed, surrounded not by the comforts of home and family but rather by sterility and bright lights, strangers and hushed voices. Death is no longer a mysterious part of a cherished tradition but a terrifying ordeal to be postponed as long as possible, an enemy that must be fought off at all costs.
Age and Ageism discrimination in the National Health Service is mirrors ageism and age discrimination in society at large. It is a major fact to appraise issues of ageism and age discrimination in the United Kingdom society as a whole. “Whenever a clinical stone is turned over, ageism is revealed.” (Young, 2006, Opinion) I have come to realise that ageism is broader than the unfairness among the elderly age, it refers to deeply rooted negative beliefs about older people and the way they age, which may influence age discrimination. (McGlone and Fitzgerald, 2005, Study)
Due to an ageing population , The Francis Report recommends the introduction of a new status of nurse, the “registered older persons nurse”. One of the illnesses linked in with this is dementia, and multiple factors relating to dementia are having an impact on how nurses are trained and their deliverance of services. In 2013, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) began a new development program to transform dementia care for hospitals. There aim is to develop skills and knowledge related to dementia, the roles of all those who are involved, understanding the development of action plans that identify key changes.
vital functions: the end of life. When people are faced with the reality of their ultimate demise, they
Adults entering the midlife years (middle adulthood) are experiencing an overabundance of life changes. Hall, Hernandez, Wong, and Justice (2015) stated that, during middle adulthood important changes occur across the physical, cognitive, and social domains of development. There is a mounting amount of research on the changes that middle-aged adults experience. One of the most unexplored factor that middle-aged adults experience is Ageism. Ageism can be defined as the act of being prejudice or discriminative towards a specific age group. Although, Ageism can occur at any given place and in any age group. Research shows that it is more prevalent in older adults,
Conversely, this is also a misconception of sorts. Ageism was a concept devised by Butler (1975) to describe how older people in general were discriminated against purely on the basis of being over a certain age by younger members of society (cited in The Open University, 2014c). Using this concept of ageism, Ms Jones is correct in what she is saying, however since Butler and Lewis defined this term, further research has been carried out into ageism and this term has evolved again as society has changed. A more modern take on ageism is defined by Bytheway (2005) cited in the K118 course material (The Open University, 2014d) as “Indeed we are all, throughout our lives, oppressed by ageism, by dominant expectations about age, expectations that dictate how we behave and relate to one another.” In my own personal experience I have been on the receiving end of ageist remarks at different stages in my life. As a teenager, it was perfectly normal for me and my friends to get told off for “loitering” if there was a group of more than 3 of us – 2 teenagers together were tolerated in our town, anymore than that were presumed to be causing trouble, even if we were quite innocently minding our own business. I am now a woman with a 7 year old, and it is amazing how many times I have been asked when my
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THOMAS, K. and LOBO, B., 2011. Advance care planning in end of life care. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
...es, where the lived experience ageing has been discussed from a mainly discriminatory point of view, must be and is considered very useful in modern society. It is also important however, to consider not only the hostile approach to ageing, but also the cases when prejudice can be more benevolent. Examples in the case of the elderly include those that may offer them preferential treatment, including cheaper visits to the cinema or bus passes (these sort of discounts can also be applied to the young of course). Conversely, the perception of incompetence can lead to conclusion about people either side of adult to be unfairly dismissed when considering a task to complete. In some cases there is little or exaggerated evidence to support these claims. This can lead to concerns from any individual that when they do reach the later years of their life, will they be needed?
... the elderly of Irish society it is also evident that there are issues over medical cards, problems with waiting lists, private consultations fees and shortages of beds as well as a general deterioration of quality of services on offer at care home facilities. Problems in the healthcare system provide incentives that favour the treatment of private patients over public patients. Such differences have effectively consolidated the two-tiered system. Recommendations to eliminate health care inequalities would be to introduce the government's proposal of the universal social health insurance scheme. For this to be achieved citizen engagement is important to abolish the current range of inequalities embedded in the Irish Healthcare system. The principle of equity could then potentially be enhanced and thus create a more equal society not based on money but based on need.
We see many of fields of society for example; government, educational, cultural and many more. Sociology is importantly the basis for almost all policies and idea which shape the world we are in. For example; Harriet Martineau, first female sociologists brought attention to ignored topics such as marriage, children, domestic and religious life and race relations. Without this idea being brought it up it would have always been an issue from society. Solving topics are so beneficial to making our society a better place. On a personal level it’s really changed my vision in the world. This enables us to understand paradigms. Structural functionalism was inspired partly by Durkheim, he stated that society is defined as a social system, with structures organized in an orderly way to form an organic, stable whole. This system enables us to understand and meet the circumstances in order to