Seven Articles of Advice for Elderly People

 

There has been much research done on the role of social support in the lives of the elderly in various settings. Studies have shown that they need this kind of support more than any other form of support in their lives. The researchers studied the role of the social support in Sydney in the lives of four groups of elderly. The subjects were randomly selected from the local government area and the same procedure was repeated in two other areas. The study found that the people had a better quality of life if they had social support from family and friends. The major reason for this was that they were receiving their needed support and this improved their health condition.

The study looked into the five aspects of social support that play an important role in the lives of elderly people. The aim of the research was to design a questionnaire to evaluate the perceived social-support consisting of five elements among rural elderly. These five elements are emotional support, bodily support, psychological support, social support and economic support. Each of these five aspects needed specific type of treatment depending on the level of depression. The results showed that the level of depression varied with respect to the treatment received.

It was found that most of the participants in the urban centers had higher levels of depression. They were also found to have very high exclusion criteria. This research found that the lack of social support and the lack of understanding regarding AIDS caused them to suffer greatly emotionally. Thus it can be concluded that HIV disease and AIDS are closely linked as many elderly people are not aware of the presence of HIV and may therefore not know how to prevent or treat the virus.

Social Support for elderly people helps them to get rid of depression. The lack of understanding about the illness causes them mental health problems which lead them to depression. Therefore, proper support and understanding from family members and friends are essential to get them out of the deep depression. It is found that the treatment of depression in this particular population group proved to be more challenging than that for younger adults.

Therefore, it is suggested that future research should focus on how the social support system can be designed and its impact on preventing the elderly living with HIV to recover from depression. This integrated review emphasizes the need for such an approach. There are several reasons why the approach should be implemented. First, it helps to reduce the isolation experienced by HIV infected older people. Second, it makes the condition less stigmatized leading to better social acceptance and improved health outcomes.

Social anxiety and depressive symptoms play a crucial role in causing HIV depression. In this integrated review, the authors identify four distinct forms of HIV depression including social isolation, increased depressive symptoms, a negative view of health and aging and decreased social support. Social isolation is the most common form of HIV depression resulting from the loss of connections with others due to the presence of HIV infection. The symptoms of depression and the associated decrease in social support pose substantial challenges for the HIV infected older individuals. These symptoms may lead to suicidal thoughts, further amplify the condition and prolong the duration of untreated depression. It is important to note that this review only provides a brief overview of the various ways that depression is perceived and caused by living with HIV.

In addition, the present study also indicates the lack of integrative research in this field. For instance, there is little evidence on how the HIV infection, HIV related stress, anti-social behavior and lack of social support impact on the mental health, cognitive functions, sleep, eating patterns and other aspects of the elderly's lives. The lack of evidence regarding the effect of HIV on elderly people and their health is worrying considering the growing number of people diagnosed with this virus every year. It is imperative that this field is adequately researched so that essential solutions can be formulated to prevent the negative implications of HIV on the lives of elderly people. Since it is impossible for any person to determine or foresee what the future might hold, it is important to take preventive measures today.

This article reviews the stigma surrounding HIV and discusses the seven articles of advice for HIV positive older persons who are experiencing the stigma of living with HIV. A recent study by Le Cordon Bleu University found that HIV stigma was negatively impacting the lives of more than three hundred HIV positive older adults. The study further found that these negative impacts on the life of these individuals were not related to any other preexisting psychiatric disorder or lack of coping skills. The study did not find evidence that HIV stigma was affecting the lives of HIV negative individuals specifically those living with AIDS. Rather, it was found that these individuals were the ones suffering from higher rates of stress and depression and lower quality of life.