Older adults can face oppression and discrimination in almost every area of life. The emotional gap between generations leads to the fact that older people do not feel part of an ever-changing society. This leads to cases of misunderstanding and even violence from the younger generation. Discrimination in the medical field is associated with the high cost of services, unwillingness to provide proper care, and difficulties in communicating with older patients. Social workers must act competently to mitigate these negative aspects and reduce discrimination against the elderly. Empowering the elderly population will make life better for many citizens and help create an understanding and tolerant society.
Social workers can improve the lives of older people in many aspects. The main role of a social worker is to raise awareness among the community about the importance of the problem of discrimination against older people. Working with the elderly requires detailed knowledge of the issues affecting older people’s lives (Hughes, 2020). Discussing the challenges older people face on a daily basis will help determine what steps need to be taken to engage family, health care providers, and society as a whole in the process of elderly gaining equal rights. Communication difficulties can be a major cause of the generation gap and oppression of the elderly (Luszczynska, 2021). A social worker can help overcome it, for example, by helping older people feel involved in the world of modern technology by teaching them to master the computer.
Injustice in the medical field is associated with neglect and time-consuming diagnosis. The social worker can make a significant impact by explaining the diagnosis and treatment in gentle and simple terms (Social Work Ethics and Values, 2019). A social worker can play a big role in organizing self-help groups, thanks to which older people will not feel lonely, discussing similar problems together. All these work measures with the elderly population will help decrease the emotional gap between generations and reduce the unfair treatment of the elderly in the social sphere and healthcare.
Working with older people requires patience and understanding from social workers. Since social work is mainly employed by people belonging to the younger generation, it will not be easy to establish contact right away. Older people are often characterized by mistrust and unhealthy selfishness, and the social worker must be fully prepared for this. The approach to an older adult should be as gentle and unobtrusive as possible (Ray, Bernard & Phillips, 2018). Communication with older people requires direct and understandable language, recognizing the need to explain, for example, current trends that may be incomprehensible to a person. A social worker must understand that his wards have lived long, perhaps difficult lives, so they must be treated with respect and tolerance. To achieve adequate communication and provide competent assistance, the social worker must be free from prejudices regarding the elderly.
The ideas described above are consistent with the practice of empowering older people. Practices aimed at reducing the emotional gap between generations will allow older people to understand the modern world better and younger people to treat the elderly with tolerance. Practices aimed at improving the elderly patient’s awareness of their condition, and assisting in communicating with medical professionals will help empower older people in healthcare. Finally, raising people’s awareness of discrimination against older people will directly affect the creation of a state program to protect the rights of the elderly.
References
Hughes, M. (2020). Older people, ageing and social work: Knowledge for practice. Taylor & Francis.
Luszczynska, M. (2021). Ageing as a social challenge: Individual, family and social aspects in Poland. Taylor & Francis.
Marson, S.M. & McKinney, R.E., Jr. (Eds.). (2019). The Routledge handbook of social work ethics and values. Taylor & Francis.
Ray, M. G., Bernard, M., & Phillips, J. (2018). Critical issues in social work with older people. Macmillan International Higher Education.