Actuality of the Ageing Process in Singapore

Actuality of the Ageing Process in Singapore
Student name:
School name:
Actuality of Ageing Process in Singapore
Introduction How to keep an aging population active and independent has become a fundamental question to policy makers. Questions are being raised on how to strengthen prevention policies and health promotions. There is no doubt that people are living longer, therefore improving their quality of life as they grow old has to improved. Concerns are being raised that the large number of older people might bankrupt a countries health care and social security systems; but is this the case? How can the role of a family and the state be balanced when caring for the old people? Thesis Segregation by age has become impossible in the society. The younger generation is almost 100% dependant on the older generation. We cannot assume that the younger generation will always mingle with themselves. The older generation likewise. Interactions between these two generations are inevitable. What presents a problem is the difference in age and the needs that tag themselves along. However, since the two generations practise a symbiotic kind of relationship, it is paramount that their needs be addressed adequately. Unfortunately, society has always leaned towards addressing the plight of the young productive members of society at the expense of the ageing society. This paper, tries show how far this has gone in the Singapore community. Does the ageing view themselves as forgotten? How do they view themselves in society? Is the ageing population of any importance to society? At the end of the paper, it is expected that issues surrounding the ageing in Singapore will have been highlighted.  Methodology The main source of actual information will be derived from interviewing two elderly people. This will help in understanding their views on aging. It will also help in understanding their views on how society treats them. Do they feel comfortable or do they consider themselves a burden. With the information collected from the interviews, comparison will be made to the existing regime of policies set to care for the aging population in Singapore and access their success so far. The Interviewees will be two elderly people namely: Mr. Chin, a 75 year old man who served as a civil servant before retiring, and now lives alone. The second interviewee will be Mrs. Zheng a 65 year old woman who was a casual labourer and now lives alone too. Their names have been changed and marked with a star (*) in order to keep their identities secret.
Introduction to Aging in Singapore 8.4% of the Singapore’s population was aged 65 years and above in 2005. Estimations are that by the year 2030, this percentage will increase to 28.9%. This means that out of every five Singapore’s citizens one will be aged above 65 years (SOC363, 1).Singapore’s population has got more females than males and therefore feminization of aging occurs (SOC63, 6). The country has also got more widowed women than men. This factor has been attributed to the fact that women have a longer life expectancy. Furthermore, during the last two decades the country has seen an increase in life expectancy because there has been a rise in old dependency ration between these periods. In simpler terms, there has been an increase in the number of old people as compared to the working persons. All these statistics are a call for the government policy makers to quickly establish effective policies that will cater for the needs of the increasing ageing society. What has been done? To find out what has been done I scheduled an interview with two people. One was an old man aged 70 years and the other was an old woman aged 65 years. During the course of the interview, several factors were raised concerning the plight of the ageing population in Singapore’s society. Factors ranging from policy and legislations on ageing population were discussed. Furthermore, it came to be seen that gender, culture and ethnicity have got a big part to play on the ageing process. Furthermore, the different lifestyles that they led contribute a lot to their old age health. With the WHO putting in place the six determinants of ageing, their success on Singapore’s ageing population was able to be deduced from the interviews carried out. What then has been done to better the lives of the ageing in Singapore? What are the barriers present in Singapore? From the interviews:
a). Legislation and Policies Policy and legislation are seen as they key ingredient in determining the success of encompassing all ageing related issues. From the interview, the interviewees were well aware of some of the legislations and policies that have been set to improve their quality of life as they age. Mrs. Zheng*, explained to me that she was aware of the Maintenance of Parents Act. The legislation calls for the maintenance of Parents by their children. The Act was introduced in 1994 and it placed the obligation of caring of the aged on their children. Mrs. Zheng was well aware of some of the elderly people who did not receive any assistance from their children despite the existence of legal obligations to do so. She explained that most of the parents feared burdening their children with their problems; others just did not want to go to authorities and have their children face the law just to maintain them. She said that most did not see it necessary although they were actually suffering a lot. With the Act trying to deal with prevention of problems related to elderly neglect it is still surprising to find that the problem still persists in Singapore today. Mr. Chin* raised an important issue around the Mental Capacity Act. This Act was passed in 2008 –very recent- and was aimed at allowing people plan the care of their loved ones or themselves. He regretted why the Act came this late. He lamented that, had this Act been passed earlier enough, most of his friends would still have been alive. He went ahead to explain how most of his friends died and left their families in shambles. With the Act allowing parents or middle aged persons of sound mind to make decisions on: i). disabled children’s parents who wish to do planning for them and involves allowing them to identify guardians for their children in case they are no longer able to continue caring for them. ii). Identify donees or guardians to care for them in case they become cognitively or physically impaired and are unable to exercise self care in old age.Chin says that it would have helped many people his age avoid the ugly situation that has encompassed most of their lives, and gone further to make the process of caring for the aged more friendlier and easy that it is at the moment. During the interview, it came clear to me that the Advanced Medical Directive policy put in place in 1996, received different reactions from the two interviewees. The policy specifies that persons certified to be brain dead can be relieved of medical life support under their earlier directives (Euthanasia). It is a requirement that this has to be done by three people: the applicant who has to be over 21 years, a witness and a medical practitioner. As a prerequisite the 2nd witness should not be a beneficiary of the applicants will. Both Mr. Chin and Mrs. Zheng showed lack of support for this policy. They gave religious reasons for their dissent to the policy. In fact both said they would not set directives as they understand life to be precious and only God can decide to take life. The Central Provident Fund attracted good reaction from both interviewees. They said it has really helped in reducing financial burdens for families as it allows a person to save money for their own old age financial support. In fact they though that this was a better way to ensure elderly people in the society received good care because they have actually paid for it. Mrs. Zheng expressed how hard it has been for her to ask for his only son to assist her. She said her son –who is currently unemployed- has a got a family of three and fending for his family has proved a mountain task. Obligating him to also ‘pay’ for her old age issues could kill her son and break his family apart. She said that the fund should be restructured to allow housewives –like her- and daily waged and hourly rated workers to contribute and hence ensure their old age will be well taken care of. Currently the fund is not universal as it discriminates on the above mentioned people. Mr. Chin agreed also, he has been a beneficiary of the fund and he says that it has helped him divert the unnecessary pressure from his children and they can now concentrate on running their families too. Mrs. Zheng, who suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, applauds the Medisave hospitalization insurance scheme. It has allowed her to get treatment for her conditions. However she was unaware of the Medifund which assists poor patients like her pay for their hospital bills. This is due to the fact that she has to take the initiative to apply fir the fund. Mr. Chin explained how the Medishield illness insurance has helped him get access to medical attention since he was self employed. His sons made it better because they occasionally topped up to his CPF Medisave account and this was a bonus too as he was able to get tax relief. b). The Six Determinants of Aging and their effects in Singapore According to the WHO the ageing process is influenced by various determinants which surround nations, individuals and families(WHO, 2002). Active Ageing is optimizing opportunities for health, security and participation to ensure and enhance quality of life of the ageing (SOC63, 5). This implies that environmental and human perspectives are important areas to consider in improving the ageing process.  The six determinants of ageing comprise most issues that deal with the ageing process. Factors such as gender, lifestyle, culture, health, and finance have all been addressed under the umbrella. From the interviews conducted, both the interviewees agreed that culture has a great part in the ageing process. Mrs. Zheng explained that the difference in culture means difference in religion. She said that being an Indian she practices Hinduism and therefore she believes in re...