Social isolation for the elderly is more prevalent in our society and is becoming an increased health issue for all. As individuals get older, they become isolated due to the loss of a spouse and friends and/or being alienated from the community. They sometimes live alone or have caretakers but still risk the possibility of being isolated from the public. Elderly individuals who are more socially isolated can become targets of abuse such as physical abuse, neglect, and self-neglect to name a few. The elderly develop chronic illnesses like dementia, heart problems, high blood pressure, and bone and joint issues through their abuse and social isolation. These illnesses also cause a high mortality rate and cut down the life span of elderly individuals. Due to elderly victims being susceptive to abuse and different type of illnesses, the cost of their health care is on the rise.
Pettigrew (2013) states “the cost of providing health care for an older American is three to five times greater than the cost for someone younger than 65.” With the cost of healthcare growing for the elderly, there will be a sustainable increase in healthcare spending. The cost of health care is now a crucial point for stakeholders. Cities, such as San Diego have created senior citizen communities to implement solutions to address the issues and essentials to help prevent the inflation of health care. Senior citizen communities provide clinics and staff who help the elderly with any of the illness they have. The communities also bring individuals together and eliminate them from being isolated from society.
The city of San Diego has done a good job with preventing social isolation through communities that are age-friendly. The San Diego foundation is a non-profit organization that has implemented an Age-Friendly Community Program that has been very successful.
The foundation shares that “according to the U.S. Administration on Aging, between 2003 and 2013 the population age 60 and over increased 30.7 percent from about 48 million to almost 63 million” (2019). The foundation also explains that there are 8 domains that are essential solutions to building these communities. These domains are having reliable transportation, affordable housing, outdoor space and buildings, community support and health services, respect and social inclusion, communication and information, social participation, civic participation and employment. This foundation has provided over $1.9 million non-profit grants to improve the lives of older adults through these 8 domains. They have a variety of programs in action such as Jewish Family services which provides carpool transportation for the elderly that allows them to engage with the community. According to
The San Diego Foundation there is also a program through Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center helps elders create “create healthy versions of the culturally significant foods they love, while sharing these practices with other communities facing similar challenges” (2019). These are programs that support and improve these age-friendly communities.
Overall, the main goal is to provide communities that are accessible to the elderly. They should be able to live independently in society for as long as possible with reliable resources. If elders are able to stay connected to their communities they will feel less isolated and have a sense of belonging. These communities will also reduce the number of elders that are in abusive nursing homes or with caregivers that neglect them. San Diego could be used as an example of what other cities could implement into their communities to make them more age-friendly. If we continue building these age friendly communities all over the world the health and age expectancy of our elders will continue to increase.
Jessica Estrada & Teraja Golston of San Diego.
