User:Ariellarose19/Elderly care

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Issues in elder care
'''There are major discrepancies within elder care. An important issue to acknowledge is who is taking care of the elderly primarily. This task in many households com es down to members of the family. The issue that stems from the assumption that family will take care of the elderly is in many households the time spent with elder care can take away from time that would be spent providing for the family financially. This leads to larger disparities within socioeconomic class with the elderly.'''

'''An important issue here is also gender discrepancy amongst caregivers. There is a societal assumption often that leaves women in charge of caregiving primarily. Without access to other options for elder care, this leaves many women in a position that leads to higher rates of caregiver burnout. The issue lies in the fact that for many there is simply no other option for elder care than a member of the family stepping up. This can also lead to higher rates of neglect amongst elderly because families cannot afford adequate elderly care without external support .'''

Ageism
'''In hospitals, the elderly face the very real problem of ageism. For example, doctors and nurses often mistake symptoms of delirium for normal elderly behavior. Delirium is a condition that has hyperactive and hypoactive stages . In the hypoactive stages, elderly patients can just seem like they are sleeping or irritable. Hospital staff often overlook these symptoms which leads to decreased cognitive ability and PTSD from the hospital environment. The issue here is that the elderly often lack autonomy within the medical sphere as a result of delirium. Their behavior is often mistaken for hostility rather than a medical symptom. This level of prejudice only leads to worsening medical conditions for these individuals.'''