Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Every individual reaches prime of life. Inevitably, we can not escape old age, unless a person dies young. The decision of where to live is one of the most challenging ordeals to cope with as one grows old. As the elderly individual grows old, their time on this earth becomes very valuable, thus, they want to spend their remaining lives securely and healthy. Accordingly, it is of great importance that the government should provide housing options which recognize the value placed upon the latter years of ones life. Most importantly, housing programs must be created which answers the need for health care and security as well.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

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One best program that this paper wishes to propose is to put up a housing community which incorporates the two most important needs of an elderly- medical attention and safety. The target population for this program would be those elderly individuals, particularly those in poor health, who can not afford to seek nursing care as well as those who do not have family members whom could attend to their needs.

The selection of these elderly individuals whom the housing units will tend will be based on family backgrounds, economic status, financial capacity and other material details collated by an assigned committee. If funded sufficiently, this project will answer the needs for elderly housing and elderly care given the rapid growth in elderly population having the need of integrated services since the costs of isolated services are too high.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Statement of Purpose

To combat the problems introduced above, the (Name of submitting organization), proposes to have an elderly housing and health care program. As the elderly population continues to grow in number, and accordingly the need for adequate elderly housing services build up, the resources to offer services will drop off (Travis, 2006). Looking for a more effective technique of service delivery is of extreme importance.

At the moment, on the other hand, the existing connections between elderly health and housing are weak at best. Seldom can you find a successful yet reasonably priced housing program that incorporates efficient health care for the elderly. In view of that, the most pleasing and most cost-efficient method of aging ” aging in place ” is not easy to attain, even under the most ideal conditions.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Health and housing concerns of an elderly individual are frequently interconnected. To improve an effective method of service delivery, the long-term care system must mirror this interrelationship between health and housing. For this reason, the (Name of submitting organization) will propose to develop a stimulating and competent initiative for elderly housing with health care in the economically distressed neighborhood in Washington. This elderly housing and health care program will provide medical attention to the elderly individuals especially those who are weak or sick and at the same time the housing units will securely roofed them as they spend their precious years.

The main objective of this program is to offer housing for the elderly since one of the most depressing problem that Washington now faces is the lack of elderly housing. What is more, this program aims to provide health care that the elderly individuals need. Similarly, the main goal of this program is to increase housing options for the elderly individuals. With this program sufficiently funded, it is expected that the outcome would be to have a health-friendly environment which eventually would lead to healthier and safer elderly individuals.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Moreover, elderly individuals who have health problems or are looking for information concerning housing options must be able to get in touch with an on-site resident manager or with other program members on duty and be given the support and care that they need. The elderly housing and health program would surely bring about loads of benefits for the elderly individuals. As a result, problems like untimely death of elderly, increase in mortality rates, widespread of diseases, population congestion, increase in the number of persons with poor health conditions and other dilemmas related to elderly housing and health care would be worked out.

Statement of Need

Over and above the unpredictability of aging, one must be concerned with the actuality that the average life expectancy for the elderly is increasing, which results to higher possibility that the elderly these days will have to cope with some sort of chronic health condition. For this reason, ones ability to keep up the well-being and self-sufficiency while living out ones abridged life tends to become a very expensive aim. This expense has an unfortunate effect on the majority of the elderly owing to the decreases in income after retirement.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

The elderly population is fast expanding while the core tax-paying population is decreasing. As the elderly population increases, and consequently the need for adequate elderly housing services intensify, the resources to offer services will drop off.

There 34 million Americans over the age of 65. On average they constitute 10 to 13 percent of each states population. Those states with the highest concentration of the elderly are Florida, the northeastern region and the Midwestern corridor. Nevertheless, the number of elderly in Washington becomes alarming as well as its number rapidly increases.

In 55 years, the number of people aging 65 years and above will more than double, the number of those 75 and older will triple and the number of people 85 and older will quintuple. The elderly population is projected to multiply twice as much in size to well over 70 million by 2025. The states that will experience the greatest growth in the number of residents over the age of 65 are in the west and south. As a percent of the total state population, states in the west and southwest will experience the greatest increases ( Lawler, 2001).Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Nearly all seniors own the homes in which they reside. The home-ownership rate for individuals between the age of 62 and 74 is 81.2 percent; between the ages of 75 and 84, it remains high at 76.9 percent. As these homeowners age and their bodies become weaker, the regular maintenance and preservation of a home can become bodily demanding to manage. As the health needs of an aging senior and the repair needs of an aging house increase, both place necessitates on the fixed income of a retiree (Lawler, 2001).

The lack of housing for the elderly is one of the most depressing problems Washington DC is facing today. This situation exists because lesser priority is given to this problem. External researches reveal that there may be housing for the elderly like home for the aged yet it does not have the comprehensive health care program. Just the same, health care programs do not provide proper housing needs of the elderly. Hence, the program proposed above incorporates the housing and health care needs of the elderly individuals.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

In line with this dilemma, the Housing and Urban Development had also been advocating projects which concern elderly housing. The Section 202 program gives capital advances (no interest loans that are forgiven given that affordability requirements are met for 40 years) and Project Rental Assistance Contracts (PRACs) for the construction or extensive rehabilitation and operation of residential projects and other related facilities for the elderly. Housing financed under this program may consist of proper support services for elderly persons who are weak or at risk of being institutionalized.

A possible problem that may arise in connection with this project would be the difficulty on selecting potential participants or elderly who will benefit the project. Moreover, not all elderly in need may be facilitated or accepted since the project is just starting out. The number of elderly individuals that could be accommodated will be limited.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

The Aging Healthy and Securely program aims to solve the problems presented above. The (Name of submitting Organization) wishes to complete the project, financially supported by the government, within the time allotted for the aforementioned project. We expect the fervent involvement or support of the HUD, State Housing Authority, city funds and other related organizations.

Procedures

Washington is one of the many cities faced with problems on elderly housing. The elderly population rate is overwhelming. Over 33 million people in the United States are now above 65 years of age and by the year 2020 it will increase to about 53 million, or one in every six Americans. To add, a great number of these elderly individuals need nursing care or health care.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

In spite of the relationship between health and housing, the health concerns of an aging individual are attended to by one agency or set of services while the same individuals housing concerns are tackled by different sets of nonprofit and/or government organizations. This separation is directly related to the way the housing and health industries were planned and considered and continue to function in distinct markets. While the private sector has created a greater number of models that unite both health and housing services, the public sector has continued to branch out the two.

Public subsidies are intended to create either health or housing services but not both. Government-sponsored health programs and housing programs were devised to give off distinct public goods (Burkhardt, 1999). They were formed in isolation, as different line items in local, state and federal governments.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Public housing programs and government mortgage subsidies were shaped to increase the number of inexpensive and sufficient housing units. The public system of health services was set up to support general public health and well-being, to offer health care for the very poor and to lessen the possibility of an outbreak or epidemic. The undertakings of public health and housing agencies were not only independent but mutually exclusive.

From the information and figures presented at the current time, the future for the elderly individuals appear vague and unclear The need for a healthy, safe and decent reasonably priced housing and related services for the elderly is very critical. This alarming statistics gave the drive to (Name of the submitting Organization) come up with housing community consisting of 40 rooms (ten for offices and 30 for the elderly) which not only shelter these individuals but also provide staff that could attend to their health needs.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Approach

Driven by the best intentions, the (Name of the submitting Organization) envisions the program to be multifaceted, wide-ranging and innovative. The city has an immense necessity for additional reasonably priced or affordable housing for the elderly. The (Name of the submitting Organization) had identified a strategic location and will put up a 30 units/rooms elderly housing community. The location in which the housing community will be located is one sit which elderly housing has been identified as an essential need. Above and beyond the transitional housing, there will be a wide-ranging medical and social service and housing component involved in the program.

Albeit the Washington state has homes for the aged, there is difficulty in looking for an elderly housing which is affordable and provides health care at its best. Most of the new constructed buildings in the city are for market rate units or commercial ones. This will have no effect on the increasing elderly population requiring housing and health assistance. There great numbers of depreciated buildings or deserted residences which if given attention and financed adequately, can be converted into elderly housing units.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Target Population/Participants

The target population for the Aging Healthy and Securely program are those elderly individuals who are in need of medical or nursing assistance and who can not afford to stay in expensive elderly housing and health care units. To note worthwhile, the program will house those physically, financially and economically underprivileged elderly individuals with ages of 65 years and above. Elderly individuals with ages 60-64 years may be selected provided their illnesses call for immediate rehabilitation and care. Selection and screening of these elderly will not be very easy for the staff members assigned or the selection group.

The selection of those individuals will be based on the family backgrounds, economic status, health records, financial capacity and other details or information material to the programs criteria collated by an assigned committee. Materials or records from the following may be used to select those elderly individuals that may be housed; community or local agencies like health centers/hospitals for medical records, National Statistics Office for identification and personal records, social service and welfare agencies, public and privately-governed homeless centers, nursing homes, etc.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Furthermore, over and above being in poor health condition, the elderly individuals must have a very low income and neglected by their family members. Only the sickest and the poorest seniors will be selected for the program. All selection works are to be carried out without consideration of an individuals ethnic group, civilization, race, sex, or sexual orientation, and a statement to this effect will accompany all public service announcements, advertisements, and locally-placed flyers or posters. All selection will be done without bias and prejudice.

Work Plan

Activities
The schedule below shows the various informative, motivational, spiritual and educational activities of the elderly housing and health care program.

Morning- Evening Daily Activities

* Spiritual Healing (includes praying, sharing or reading of inspirational passages)Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

* Personal Hygiene check up (includes medical treatment, bath for the elderly, etc.)

* Meal time (serving of food in accordance to the health diet prescribed and suggested by attending doctor and nutritionist respectively)

* Leisure/Recreational (includes watching TV, socializing with co-elderly and staff, reading books, strolling, etc.)

Deliverables

Aside from the nursing and medical team whom will take care of the elderly, the housing units also observe infrastructure design and housing needs of the elderly. The building includes features like handrails or grab bars, raised lettering or Braille, elevator or stair lift, faucets, or cabinets, special sinks, specially equipped telephones, extra wide doors or hallways, ramps, push bars on doors, flashing lights, special wall sockets or light switches and the like.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Sustainability

If funded sufficiently, the elderly health and housing care will tend to a lot of elderly individuals in need. After the construction of the housing units and when the operation is on full blast already, the (Name of submitting organization) will conduct a fund-raising activities every now and then for the maintenance of the housing community. Moreover, the (Name of submitting organization) will continue to seek financial assistance from the government from time to time to meet the programs financial obligations with the staff members as well as for the maintenance of the units and facilities.

Program Activities

Elderly individuals will be categorized or leveled when deciding for the room assignments. Those with chronic and contagious diseases must be isolated from the rest. Female elderly must be separated from the male elderly in terms of room occupancy. As to food serving, nutritionists must take into consideration the sickness or health conditions of these elderly.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

To add, attending doctors/nurses must have seminars on motivational skills every now and then to apply such I their workplace. They should encourage these elderly individuals to manifest their talents. Motivational and recreational activities must be tolerated and accordingly, the (Name of the submitting Organization) can conduct a program presenting these elderly individuals with their skills and talents. This could not only lead to a fund-raising activity but an enjoyable and remarkable activity for the elderly individuals trying to make the most out of their remaining precious years.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Evaluation

The (Name of submitting organization)s housing and health management program will be measured in terms of efficiency and performance by submitting a project report upon the end of the fiscal year. The details, figures and information presented will be accurate, material, timely, consistent and will reflect the programs outcomes and achievements. Likewise, programs activities will be evaluated upon the end of the fiscal year. What is more, audited financial statements will also be presented so as to monitor expenses and clearly trace the breakdown of the requested amount or the grant money.

Dissemination

The administrator, managers and board of directors as well as the staff members will promptly hold meetings and conferences to voice out problems, discuss concerns and devise plans and actions to further improve the housing and health programs suitable for the elderly and to achieve desired outcomes, objectives and goals. Performance appraisal and evaluation will likewise be conducted every now and then to measure who among the staff carries out his/her duties well and who does not.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Qualifications/Personnel

The community would be managed by an administrator having 4 managers, 5 department heads, 30 professional caregivers/nurses, 20 clerical and technical staff and 15 maintenance staff. Forty employees would be working full time and the remaining 35 employees would be working part time.

Selection of the staff members will be done rigidly since the main aim of the program is to deliver a quality service. Interviews, exams (technical and psychological) and background investigations will be carried out accordingly.

Staff members recruited for the elderly housing and health program will be required to work efficiently as a team. Team effort is a main consideration to come up with a friendly working environment. A lot of the staff will work with the elderly individuals in more than one assignment area and all will be expected to deliver elderly nursing care, therapy and related tasks with the group as well as a traditional elderly training and nursing roles.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Each and every one of the staff members will have to spend substantial individual time developing elderly motivational and educational skills and activities or materials. With the purpose of making the team-building process possible, all elderly housing and health care staff members will take part in a one-week seminar/conference consists of workshops and deliberations paying attention on the elderly community, the nursing care provided to elderly, fund-raising activities to be done, the programs population, and the mission and goals of the project.

The (Name of the submitting organization) will seek assistance from local homeless institutions or centers once in a while like (please indicate a name of existing housing institution in the city which caters to the same category). This institution had helped lots of elderly individuals concerning their housing problems. They already developed a lot of activities beneficial for the elderly individuals. This institution had been a recognized center in affordable elderly housing and care management programs.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Budget

The grant funds from the Housing and Urban Development will be utilized for the construction of new elderly community (with 30 rooms) building and some will be used for Non-Housing component of the program. The estimated elderly individuals that can be sheltered within a year would total to 200-300. The programs Administrative cost will be approximately 14 percent of the grant budget.

The planning procedure has taken into consideration all realistic and reasonable expenses to be incurred in relation to the implementation of the elderly housing and health care program. The (Name of the submitting organization) has had far-reaching knowledge and experience in overseeing, implementing and directing instruction and medical/nursing or social programs and these expertise and experiences have been already applied to work out both the program and the budget.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

The (Name of submitting organization) had come up with a comprehensive or thorough program model which takes into consideration all of the measures and decisive factors like salaries, medical/laboratory tools and equipments, medicines, staff uniforms medicines, operational costs, overhead costs, program activities, insurances, and the like. This program model serves as the basis for the cost estimates to be incurred by the elderly and health care program. Some other costs that will be incurred will consist of motivational and recreational activities/programs, therapy and counseling/support services, management development and housing management program.

The program is based on long-term goals and foresees to help a lot of elderly individual. Safety and good health will be given emphasis all throughout the programs existence and all development in the course of the program will be anchored in competence, facility, attention and reliability. Quality service will be the aim of the staff members at all times.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Condensed Housing and Urban Development grant cost breakdown is as follows:
Housing Component- $100,000.00

Non-Housing Component $200,000.00

Administrative Cost $100,000.00

Total Grant Budget $400,000.00

Administrative costs consist of all of the financial and program reporting guidelines as it should be, accounting and auditing costs, payroll and secretarial work and other standard administrative costs.

The word “Aging” and “Old Age” are highly subjective. “Aging” is defined as the time from birth to the present for a living individual, as measured in specific units (John Anne). The meaning of old and aging depend to a great extent on how old the speaker is and that person’s experiences.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

The process of aging is a complex one that can be described chronologically, physiologically, and functionally. Chronological age refers to the number of years a person has lived. Physiological age refers to the determination of age by body function. Functional age refers to a person’s ability to contribute to society and benefit others and himself (Billig, N)

In an attempt to further define the aging population, old age has been divided into chronological categories:

Young-old (ages 65 to 74)

Middle-old (ages 75 to 84)

Old-old (age 85 and older)

World elderly population has been growing for centuries. The size of the elderly population of age 60 years and above will cross one billion in 2020. In India, since 1961, sharp decline in the overall death rate, mortality levels in the older age group as well as increased life expectancy initiated a process of aging. Census data in 1991 showed 55 million persons above the age of 60 representing 6.5% of total population. It has been estimated that nearly 75% of aged persons are living in villages. 48.2% of old aged people are women, among them 55% are widows. One third of the people are living below the poverty line. Nearly 66% of elderly people are living without adequate food, shelter and clothing.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Aging is a normal part of human development. The patterns of aging – what happens, how and when – vary greatly among older people. Although specific changes are identified as part of the normal aging process, each person ages in his own way. As the age advances, people become more diverse rather than more alike, each influenced by physical, social, and environmental factors. How a person ages depends on a combination of both genetic and environmental factors such as life experiences, available support systems, coping skills. Recognizing that every individual has his or her own unique genetic makeup and environment, which interacts with each other, helps us to understand why the aging process can occur at such different rates in different people. An overall, genetic factor seems to be more powerful than environmental factors in the determining the large differences among people in aging and lifespan.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

The aging process will affect the old age people physically, psychologically, socially, spiritually. As ageing progress, physically aged people become less active. Based on wear and tear theory of aging, degenerative changes takes place almost in all the systems such as brain, cardio vascular system, respiratory system musculo skeletal system exposing the elderly people to a greater degree of physical illnesses. As a person ages, sensory capabilities such as hearing, vision, touch, taste, and smell are deteriorating. Hearing and vision losses are more upsetting, because they directly affect the ability to perform day today activities, threaten the bodily safety, and distort communication and they develop dependency.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Prevalence of chronic diseases among the aged in general seem to be very high. It is higher in the urban areas (55%) than in the rural areas (52 %) due to the changes in the life style. However, disabilities are more common among elderly females compared to male up to age 80, beyond which disability becomes less due to increased number of woman elderly. The most common problems faced by the elderly are Visual impairment (88%), Loco motor disorder (44%), Neurological complaints (18.7%), Hearing loss (8.2%), Respiratory disorder (16.1%). (Jhilam Rudra 2007).Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Psychosocially, due to the aging process old people are often depressed and feel loneliness. Because old people are often sick and tired and also retired, and usually don’t have money, they must spend money for medications. They can’t eat a lot of dishes due to loss of teeth and taste buds losing their sensibility. Old age people often have depressions and sometimes don’t want to live any longer due to the loss of spouse. Due to lack of adequate financial support they feel they are burden to their family members. The most common psychological problems found in old aged people are Mood disorders, Dementia, Memory loss, Personality changes and Psychosis. Some old aged people experience difficulty in adjusting with the changes occurred as a result of aging. As a result there is more chance for bitterness and depression.

In the last decades joint family system was very common. Today due to the socio cultural changes the joint family pattern has been changed to nuclear ones. Currently, the incidence of elderly abuse and aged destitute have increased in India.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Old age homes are a necessity in the current situation as the younger generation are staying away from the parents due to job, education, settled in abroad and also due to the scarcity of the resources to meet their needs (like medical expanses, foods etc).The development of old age home was based on supporting the elderly. There are old age homes run by the government and non governmental organizations. Even though some old age homes are giving proper care with all facilities, some are providing only shelter and food, no medical facilities.

Old age home residents will have anxiety about their current situation and about future. Frequently they will have worries about their children and grand kids. These emotional disturbances can lead to frustration which in turn can distress their sleep.

Due to physical problems like pain, breathing difficulty, and emotional disturbances old age home residents are experiencing poor quality of sleep and psychological wellbeing.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

The sleep starts to erode in late middle age and progressively decline from then on. With aging, the percentage of sleep spent in stage 3 or 4 decreases. Episodes of REM sleep tend to be shortening. Some old age people have almost no stage 4, or, deep sleep. An older adult awakens more often during the night, and it may take more time for an older adult to fall asleep. The elderly people will experience difficulty in falling and staying asleep. They tend to fall asleep earlier in the evening and awaken earlier in the morning Dr. Michael Vitiello, (2009).

Emotional disturbance and sleep disorder are closely related. Both these attributes can affect the state and quality of other one. Since old age home residents encounters these issues frequently, every one need to concentrate on relaxation methods which will ease the body and mind, by lowering the catecholamine release. These chemicals circulate throughout the body and affect various systems.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Relaxation is the state of generalized decreased cognitive, physiological, and behavioral arousal. Relaxation is also defined as arousal reduction. The process of relaxation elongates the muscle fibers, reduces the neural impulses sent to the brain, and thus decreases the activity of the brain as well as other body systems. The relaxation response can be obtained through a variety of techniques like deep breathing exercise, progressive muscle relaxation technique. Relaxation helps individuals develop cognitive skills for reducing the negative ways in which they respond to situations within the environment.

Deep breathing exercise involve slow, relaxed , deep, usually abdominal breathing which evokes a restful state, lowers oxygen consumption, reduces respiratory and heart rates , and generates reports of reduced anxiety (Fontaine 2000)

Progressive muscle relaxation technique teaches the individual how to effectively rest and reduces tension in the body. By alternatively tensing and relaxing each muscle group one can reduce the muscular tension which in turn ease the body and mind. (Edmund Jacobson 1920)Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

NEED FOR THE STUDY
Old age people are like the reservoir of knowledge and experience in your basket but their suggestion is not fit for this generation. (Henry Donald 2008)

In the last decades joint family system was very common, with lot of family members around. In such a situation the old age people were well cared by the family members. Even after their retirement they were engaged with some other work like small shopping, going out with their grand children etc., so they don’t feel lonely thinking about themselves, and their problems and aging process.

Today due to the socio cultural changes the joint family pattern has changed to nuclear ones. And even if there is a joint family the members are restricted to 4 or 5. This has created great impact on the old age people as they are left alone due to the higher education and settled jobs of their children in abroad and now days even with the females working, they receive no attention at all. Some do send financial help for their parents but whereas, some do not even look back their parents. Since the children are away and no body to take care of them, naturally they feel lonely, become depressed and forced to be more concerned about their health problems much more.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

As a result numerous old age homes have emerged as a new trend to take care the elderly in India. Previously such a trend was prevalent only in western countries. But, now it is very common in our country also.

As mentioned earlier, family bonding is pivotal in sustaining the wellbeing of elderly. We can only consider old age home as an alternative option and should give more stress towards improving and maintaining a strong and emotionally bound family system which can assure a healthy and joyful twilight in one’s life

It is the responsibility of each and every citizen in India especially health care personnel to safe guard life of elderly people. We need to take immediate measures to improve the quality of life of elderly especially those who do not have anybody to support them.

Old age homes should have adequate facilities, such as food, safety and security, and medical facilities. But most of them do not have all these.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Reports showed that nearly half of the nursing home residents are affected by depression, more than 70% of the residents experience sleep disturbance. Depression and sleep disturbance are related to one another. The elderly people with depression may have sleep disturbance. Sleep disturbance also results in emotional instability. The sleep cycle of the elderly people is interrupted by brief wakeful moments. And also they are having problem in falling asleep. The time taken to sleep after going to bed is prolonged.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Relaxation therapy is one of the best method to improve concentration, emotional stability and promoting sleep by easing body and mind and reducing stress and anxiety. From the literature review it is quite evident that relaxation therapy is beneficial to improve the psycho social wellbeing and quality of sleep. There are different techniques in carrying out the relaxation therapy and some of the technique has already been tried out in post operative pain reduction, anxiety reduction in India and in other countries.

Among all the relaxation techniques deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation does not take much time to perform, requires no special equipments, except a calm and comfortable place to do the exercise. Both are very simple to teach and practice by any age group. Besides they are cost effective with least side effects.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

The researcher, during her clinical posting in geriatric ward, visited various old age homes and community areas and found out that most of the elderly people are suffering from sleeplessness, and emotional disturbance, memory deficit, and poor concentration. They are very much worried about their problems. Old age home residents are mainly take care by the geriatric nurse who is staying along with them in old age home as well as in clinical setting. Old age home staff need to take steps to improve the sense of wellbeing of old age people by relaxing their mind and body and improving their sleep. So the investigator wanted to do something for the benefit of this population. The investigator felt a need to assess the effect of deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation technique on improving psycho social wellbeing and quality of sleep in elderly people staying in old age home.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM:
A study to assess the effectiveness of selected relaxation techniques on the level of Psychosocial wellbeing and Quality of Sleep among old age people in selected Old age home at Coimbatore.

AIM OF THE STUDY
The aim of the study was to evaluate whether Deep breathing and Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique make a difference in the level of Psychosocial wellbeing and Sleep among old age people compared to a group of old age people without receiving the relaxation therapy.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
The specific objectives of the study were,

To assess and compare the level of psychosocial wellbeing (cognitive, emotional, social, and spiritual wellbeing) in the experimental and control group, before and after the intervention.

To assess and compare the quality of sleep in the experimental and control group before and after the intervention.

To associate the selected demographic variables like age, gender, physical illness, supportive system with level of psychosocial wellbeing and quality of sleep.

HYPOTHESIS
H1: There will be a significant difference in the mean cognitive wellbeing score of experimental and control group after intervention and no significant difference before intervention.

H2: There will be a significant difference in the mean Emotional wellbeing score of experimental and control group after intervention and no significant difference before intervention.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

H3: There will be a significant difference in the mean Social wellbeing score of experimental and control group after intervention and no significant difference before intervention.

H4: There will be a significant difference in the mean spiritual wellbeing score of experimental and control group after intervention and no significant difference before intervention.

H5: There will be a significant difference in the mean overall psychosocial wellbeing score of experimental and control group after intervention and no significant difference before intervention.

H6: There will be a significant difference in the mean sleep score of experimental and control group after intervention and no significant difference before intervention.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS
Sleep: Sleep is a state of rest in which the nervous system is inactive, the eyes are closed, the muscles are relaxed and the mind is unconscious. The characteristics of sleep can be verbalized by a person who experiences the sleep. In this study, the self report of sleep is measured by standard Pittsburg sleep quality index scale.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Psycho Social Wellbeing: It is a subjective phenomenon that means different things to different people. A feeling of wellness by an individual. In this study it includes the feeling of wellness in psychological, social, spiritual and behavioral aspect of an individual, which is measured by a modified self reported psycho social wellbeing assessment scale.

Cognitive wellbeing; Cognitive wellbeing is a subjective phenomena which reflects the ability of the individual regarding how to think, perceive, remember and learn facts and ideas, which is measured by a modified self reported psycho social wellbeing assessment scale.

Emotional wellbeing; It is a subjective statement which reflects how positively an individual feels, perceives, and reacts to the internal and external stimuli and it can be assessed by increasing heart rate, respiration and BP. In this study emotional wellbeing is measured by individual score obtained from modified psycho social wellbeing assessment scale.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Social wellbeing; It is a subjective statement, which reflects how well an individual is able to interact with the fellow people, is able to adjust to situations, is able to maintain positive social status, is able to involve in group activities, which is measured by a modified self reported psycho social wellbeing assessment scale.

Spiritual wellbeing: It is a subjective statement which reflects how an individual perceives God, how important does one consider prayer to be in their life, which is measured by a modified self reported psycho social wellbeing assessment scale.

Relaxation Techniques : It is individualized or combined, systematically executed exercises, used to ease the body and mind by unwinding natural stress response thus lowering the blood pressure, respiration and pulse rate, relaxing the muscle and easing emotional strains. In this study, relaxation techniques used are deep breathing exercise and progressive muscle relaxation techniques.

Deep Breathing Exercise: It is a type of relaxation technique in which a person deeply inhale through nose by closing the mouth, hold for some time and then exhale completely through the mouth.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique: It is a type of relaxation technique in which a person need to tense and relax each muscle group one by one in sequence

ASSUMPTION:
Aging is a natural phenomenon.

The patterns of aging vary greatly among older people.

Aging is an involuntary process which alters normal biological, psychological and social functions.

Psycho social wellbeing of the older people will vary based on certain demographic factors such as Age, Sex, Education and available supportive system.

Variability in the sleep behaviors of older people is common.

LIMITATIONS:
As sample size is small results cannot be generalized

Data on psycho social wellbeing and quality of sleep based on verbal report may not be a true reflection of what they experience.

DELIMITATIONS:
The study is delimited to one old age home in Coimbatore.

The study is delimited to people in the age group of 65-85 yrs

SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study will help to assess the level of psycho social wellbeing and quality of sleep of the old age people staying in old age home before and after the intervention. If there is significant improvement in the level of psycho social wellbeing and quality of sleep, it is a clear indication of effectiveness of relaxation techniques. These relaxation techniques will be beneficial for the elderly people staying in old age home. It can be easily implemented and taught by nurses who are employed in old age homes as well as in geriatric ward in hospitals. The regular practice of these techniques will improve the quality of life of the old age people with psychological problems and sleep disturbances.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

CONCEPTUAL FRAME WORK
Conceptual frame work refers to interrelated concepts or abstractions that are assembled together in some rational scheme by virtue of their relevance to a common theme (Polit Hunger – 1997)

Theoretical model for this study was derived from Callista Roy’s Adaptation Theory (1996). Roy employs a feedback cycle of input, throughput, and output. Input is identified as stimuli, which can come from the environment or from within a person. Stimuli are classified as focal (immediately confronting the person), contextual (all other stimuli, that are present) or residual (non specific such as cultural beliefs or attitude about illness). Input also includes a person’s adaptation level (the range of stimuli to which a person can adapt easily. Through input we can make use of a person’s processes and effectors. “Process” refers to the control mechanisms that a person uses as an adaptive system. “Effectors” refers to the physiological function, self concept, role function and interdependence involved in adaptation.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay

In the adaptive system, the term “system” is defined as self parts connected to function as a whole for some purpose and it so by virtue of the interdependence of its parts. This has two major internal control process called “regulator” and “cognator”.

Regulator sub system consists of internal process including chemical, neutral, and endocrine – transmit the stimuli, causing output – physiological response, cognator and sub system regulates self concepts, role function and inter dependence.

Output is the outcome of the system; when the system is a person, output is categorized as adaptive responses (Those that promote a person’s integrity) or ineffective responses (those that do not promote goal achievement) these responses provide feedback for the system.

The modified model in this study explains the input as the focal stimuli namely poor psycho social wellbeing and poor quality of sleep. The contextual stimuli are age, sex, education, duration of staying in old age home, no of children, presence of visitors. The coping mechanism of the cognator subsystem occurs as a result of relaxation therapy. The experimental group is subjected to relaxation therapy. The adaptive responses among the experimental group of old age people show improvement in the psycho social wellbeing and quality of sleep. The control group that has not undergone the relaxation therapy might not show an effective adaptation.Aging Healthy and Securely Essay