Elderly Challenge - Observation 4

I have observed some difficulties that an elderly face in his or her life through an observation that I have done outside my home. These photos are taken for each observation that I have made.










As observed, I believe many of us have seen elderly walking with bags of groceries. After shopping, some of the elderly who live in the vicinity will walk home with their goods. This may be very tiring for the elderly, as they have to carry the loads which may be heavy over a few kilometers. It would be better if there were push carts or trolleys designed for the elderly to use to push their groceries home instead.













Besides that, most of the elderly who are able to move around freely can be found jogging or taking their brisk walks on typical afternoons. However, there are no proper equipments being installed for them to use, or for residents for that matter. This is one of my observation that I have made in today's observation.













Not all of my observations are to the elderly's disadvantage, there are some observations that I have made which are good for the elderly. An example would be this picture which I have taken of some notices on a noticeboard in a community centre. The community centre have activities that are organised regularly for the elderly living in the area. This is good as the elderly can come out together and join in with the community to carry out the activity instead of feeling lonely and cooping up at home.













The last observation that I have made is that not all of the HDB flats have senior residents corner or equipments like the one above for elderly to exercise. Elderly who live in condominiums have more disadvantages as they do not have equipments like the one above for them to use. Most of the condominiums only have swimming pools like the picture below or tennis court. Even if there are workout stations in the condominium, they are not suitable for the elderly to use.










These are some of the observations that I have made today. In conclusion, there are many challenges that the elderly face, and many advantages and disadvantages that they go through each day. After the 4 observations that I have made during the school holidays, I feel that I have benefited from them and have learnt a lot from these observations such as to look at things from a different perspective and to feel for and like an elderly would.

Elderly Challenge - Observation 3

This is a short voice recording of my interview with a caretaker. In this voice recording, the caretaker describes some of the observations on the difficulties that the elderly she takes care of face in her daily life.

Elderly Challenge - Observation 2

I have observed some difficulties that an elderly face in his or her life through an observation that I have done outside my home. These photos are taken for each observation that I have made.

This should be a common sight at places where there is no space for the elderly on wheelchairs to move around conveniently and comfortably. Thus, they have to resort to travelling along the side of the road. However, this is very dangerous as they are moving on the road where there are vehicles travelling.

The elderly are always advised to take walks regularly. Hence, they are normally seen in the morning and the afternoon. In this photo, there is a park connector which most people use to do their recreational activities and to walk from one place to another. However, as observed, elderly who are wheelchair-bound face a difficulty. That is the ground is uneven at every point where the main road converge into smaller roads. Thus, whenever the wheelchair travels down a lower level, the wheelchair will jerk, causing the elderly to experience many short jerks. To make matters worse, when the wheelchair travels up a higher level, the elderly will have a hard time tilting the wheelchair to move forward, especially when the elderly is weak and do not have much strength in his or her limbs. In this photo, the elderly has a caretaker who would push down on the handles of the wheelchair to tilt the wheelchair, so that it would travel up a higher level.










Another difficulty that the elderly face is that some of the pathways are too small, thus they have to fight with other people for space to move around. Occasionally, some people are in a rush, so they would have to move out of the pathway and walk on the grass instead to overtake the crowd. The worse scenario would be during the peak hours when the working population share the pathway with the elderly. It would be very crowded.

This is a void deck of a HDB flat that has the equipments for residents to exercise. Sometimes, elderly can be found there using the equipments. However, I have observed that some of the equipments are not suitable for the elderly such as the one above. It is placed at a great height and the elderly has to stretch out her hand to reach it. This is very tiring for the elderly as she has to strain to use it. Elderly who are weak may not be able to lift up their hands to use the equipment. Another equipment that I find is unsuitable for the elderly is the one below.

For those elderly who are advance in their age and have difficulty in their mobility, they are not able to use this equipment as it requires them to move into a different position. Moreover, this equipment needs one's strength to pull the handles, hence it will be a challenge for those elderly who are weak.










This photo might not be clear, but it shows an elderly man walking his dog and pushing a baby stroller at the same time. I find that it is hard for an elderly to pick up the dog's waste as it requires the elderly to bend down. This may be tiring and strenuous for the elderly. These are some of the observations that I have made today.

In conclusion, there are many difficulties and challenges that the elderly face in their lives. We would be surprised as to how many of such difficulties and challenges an elderly has to face. Nonetheless, the elderly around us still continue to live a happy life like us. For this, they are my role models, and I have learnt to live a contented life and to persevere and endure in whatever situations we face.

Elderly Challenge - Observation 1

I have observed some of the difficulties that an elderly face through an observation that I have done at home. These photos are taken for each observation that I have made.













As most typical elderly, this elderly is not able to walk freely. Hence, she needs the aid of a wheelchair to help her move from places to places. However, as some elderly are too old, and their limbs are too weak, they require someone to push them around.













Once an elderly is old, their limbs are quite weak, so some of them are not able to get up from a chair as easily as before. Thus, they need someone to help them to get up from their seat. It may be very difficult as they need to push themselves up from their seat to stand up. Moreover, as observed, I realised that the elderly will stretch out her hand and grab anything that she sees, to enable herself to get a better grip.










As the level of the beds at home are low, the elderly have problems lying on the bed and getting out of bed. To make matters worse, there are no bars or railings at the side of the bed for the elderly to hold and support themselves. It is a chore for some of them to lie on the bed as well as get out of bed. Moreover, when the elderly wants to sit, he or she does not have the strength to enable himself or herself to sit. This is another difficulty that the elderly living among us face in their everyday lives.

As mentioned, the elderly are not strong enough, so in this photo, it clearly shows that some of the elderly are not able to stand up on their own, and they need supervision as they are prone to falling. They need people to pull them up when they can move up a higher level from a lower level.










There are a lot of difficulties faced by the elderly in their daily lives, even up to the little detail like having a meal. Some of the elderly cannot lift up a plate, as it is quite difficult. Hence, as seen in this photo here, the elderly uses her body as a support.










Nowadays, it is difficult to find a cup that is light and suitable for an elderly. Most of the cups are either glass or ceramic. These materials are heavy and also fragile, therefore the elderly has to use both of her hands to support the weight of the cup, and maintain at that position for her to drink from the cup. These are some of the observations that I have made today.

In conclusion, there are many difficulties that the elderly in the population face as they grow older. In the future, as we grow older, we will also face the same kind of situations. The only way to help all the elderly is to observe them and their daily routine, and seek for solutions to enable them to live comfortably.

Holiday Work-Part 1: Understanding the "The Elderly Challenge"

Four key recommendations of the report

Housing for seniors
Singapore will try to meet the needs of the elderly with a range of housing options.

Accessibility for seniors
The built environment and transport system will be elder-friendly and allow the elderly to be active.

Caring for seniors
Healthcare and eldercare services ensure the seniors' dignity and their standard of living to be maintained.

Opportunities for seniors
The seniors will lead a healthy and active lifestyle with fulfilling relationships with everyone.

One way that the CAI report is recommending to make our public housing more elderly-friendly

Install grab bars in the bathroom and toilets with non-slip floor tiles.

Two ways on how we can ensure that the quality of elderly care here in Singapore is affordable

For those elderly who needs financial assistance, the government can have subsidies for them.

We can provide a complementary range and option of services for Singaporeans who need care so that we afford a reasonable level of care services.

After reading the CAI report, what are three things that you can do, as an SST student, to help overcome these elderly challenges?

I can observe the elderly living in the area, and find out some of the difficulties that they face, and come up with solutions to help them.

I can interview the elderly and ask them about their daily routine. From there, I can see how I can help to improve their lives.

I can help to raise funds for those elderly who needs financial assistance.