CATHOLIC HIGH PROJECT WORK

Elderly Care
By Benson Lim, Keane Tay, Nicholas Yu,
Tan Han Zhe, and Tan Wei Qiang

Mentor: Mr Fernandez
2010

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents.....................................................................................2

Introduction..............................................................................................3

Motto........................................................................................................3

Cause....................................................................................................... 3

Consequence...........................................................................................4

Proposal...................................................................................................6

Conclusion ...............................................................................................7

References.............................................................................................11

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Introduction

We started this project known as Project H.E.A.R.T.S. in February with the goals of

community involvement and service learning in mind. Project H.E.A.R.T.S. simply stands

for Helping the Elderly And Raising The Situational awareness. Due to the fact that elderly

care is an important issue but is often neglected by others, we decided to take up this topic

and initiated Project H.E.A.R.T.S. We wanted to feel like we were contributing to the

community and that we were giving back to the community that we often rely on.

Motto

Our motto is C.A.R.E. which stands for Caring for the elderly, Assisting them in any

way possible, Reviving the values that have eroded, and finally, Educating the public.

Cause

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Sinking Ship 1

Why does it happen?

This chart clearly indicates Singapore’s fertility rate. This clearly shows a problem,

starting from the 1960s. This led to an aging population and continues to be a problem

today. Of course, there are many reasons for this declining birth rate. For example, later

marriages, family planning, higher living expenses, the choice to commit oneself to career

and government campaigning in the 1960s are some examples. This leads to a large

amount of elderly and a generation of people who are unable to look after them. This is a

problem that has to be tackled.

Consequence

Now that we know the problem, let us try and understand some consequences

that may result from this. Firstly, of course, the problem will exacerbate. When this

happens, the problem will become harder to deal with and may reach the point of no

return.

Now, this will also cause society at large to fracture. This is because the older

generations are often the “glue” of a country, keeping it together by means of being united.

When they are all placed into elderly homes because no one knows how to look after them,

society will begin to fracture, where previously hidden flaws begin to emerge. Often, the

older generations are respected for their wisdom. This has been the case since the start of
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humanity, as anthropology shows. Even the ancient Greeks and Spartans respected the

elderly and believed it was a child’s responsibility to look after one’s parents. The age and

sex pyramid shown below indicates the population at 2050. This is worrying as a large

percentage is above 60 and may require special kinds of attention. This includes both

looking after physical and emotional health. The article explains how filial piety means a

different thing that it used to. The inability to look after the elderly has led to an increase in

the demand for day-care centres for the elderly and elderly homes. Most children normally

place their elderly parents in an elderly home as a last resort with a few minor exceptions.

Of those interviewed in our survey, many would be willing to place the elderly in their family

in an elderly home if there is a need for professional help or if they are in a position where

attention is unable to be sufficiently given to the elderly in their family. Nowadays, many

have the misconception that by sending an elderly to an elderly home is a form of being

unfilial. However, if this is really a last resort then it is one that must be taken. As reported

in an article in the Today Paper on 22 June 2010 (Fig. 2), filial piety has now evolved into a

completely new meaning ever since it begun. By placing an elderly in an elderly home may

just be a form of filial piety now. Even so, this is clearly not a valid excuse to ‘dump’ the

elderly at an elderly home. Should this last resort be used, the family is still strongly

recommended to visit them and bring them back with them for the weekends if time

permits. If this is not met, the elderly may often feel both emotionally and physically hurt.

The inability to look after the elderly, leading to the elderly getting hurt both externally and

internally is clearly a problem.

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Age and Sex pyramid 1

Proposal

We propose that in order to solve the problem of the inability to look after the elderly, the

key thing is care. This is because while actual elderly care skills can be learnt; care is

something that cannot be faked. So, we propose that everyone practice care on a smaller

scale, so as to be more effective.

However, there are other solutions that can be undertaken. One such solution is

the studio apartments that have been designed for the elderly. As it is a short-term

solution, the government ultimately has to do more to educate the citizens to be able to

take care of the elderly and reduce reliance on such short-term solutions.

Another such solution is the creation of ‘retirement communities’, where all the

retired members of society may still aid economic growth.

Singapore is also using the encouragement of increasing the retirement age of

workers so as to ensure the workforce has enough manpower to support the pensions of

those who are truly retired.

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Our concept is that on a smaller scale, we can do things more effectively than on a larger

scale. This is because on a smaller scale, the amount of time spent is lesser as it does not

involve any large organization. This will cut down on the bureaucratic process, which

needs a longer time due to the amount of money and resources needed. At this point, we

would like to provide an analogy to explain what we mean. Which is easier, planning an

activity for 3 people, or planning an activity for 40 people? Naturally, one will find planning

an activity for less people easier. Similarly, we feel that small-scale events will have an

impact that is easier to achieve. The diagram below will assist in this explanation.

Nodes 1

Conclusion

While there’s a lot that we can say, we feel that the most important thing is to

actually carry them out, as actions speak louder than words. Now, our group, knowing

these problems, decided that it summed up to care. This meant that in order to avoid these

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problems, all we need to do is care for them. We think that all problems can be overcome if

we care enough and that it is not particularly difficult. We, however, would like to clarify that

the aging population is an issue that we as students cannot deal with as effectively. We

think that the government’s measures will work and we just need to work out the aftermath.

Therefore, the easiest and most effective solution is that everyone learns to look after the

elderly. This way, most peoples’ frustration at being unable to look after the elderly and

having no choice but to put them in elderly homes does not occur, and the only remaining

issues are those of falling birth rates.

Our group has put in a large amount of effort into Project H.E.A.R.T.S. Basically,

research and surveys were done for data-collection. This involved collection of relevant

newspaper articles, online information and online surveys. To satisfy the first part of Project

H.E.A.R.T.S., helping the elderly, the team paid visits to two elderly homes, Brighthill

Evergreen Home and Geylang East home for the Aged, where the team entertained and

spent half a day with the elderly. The team also gathered a total of three hundred dollars

worth of donations to prepare hampers for the elderly homes from family and friends.

Family members of the members of the groups also helped in the purchasing and wrapping

of these hampers. Another event whereby the team helped in was an eco-bazaar where

the team helped in the planning and gathering of manpower. Several of the team members

went down to show their support as well. The funds earned from this eco-bazaar went to

elderly homes and other organizations such as one that helped in the fight against aids. To

satisfy the second part of the project, raising the situational awareness, our team created a

Facebook group that has hit over 150 members to date and is still counting. On this

Facebook group, pictures, videos and links were posted of anything that was related to

elderly care. Another mini-project done by the team was a 4 episode series podcast known

as “iCare” to meet to the requirements of today’s technology savvy teenagers. In this 4

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episode series, our team sang to songs composed by others and composed by oneself

too. Skits and plays were acted out too.

This shows us that even a few hours of free time a day make the elderly quite

happy. The reason for this is that we are accustomed to the freedom of going wherever we

want in our life, and if this is taken away, the feeling of being trapped and claustrophobic

begins to emerge. We think that this is perfectly natural and happens to people of all age

groups. Now, you might ask why we are telling you this. Our answer is that because the

population is aging, the possibility that you may need to care for an elderly person

continues to climb. Therefore, one must understand certain things before making decisions

for the elderly. So, besides knowing how to take care of the elderly, we must understand

their mentality and the way they think. This is to avoid emotional problems they might

experience due to lack of understanding or arguments due to the generation gap.

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References

http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2006/01/26/52532/39Older-people-are-as-

important-as-anyone39.htm

http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/ssn/archive/ssnoct2002.pdf

http://www.greeceindex.com/greece-health/greece_health_elderly_care_ancient_greece.html

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/aging/roles.html

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article441019.ece

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elderly_care

http://www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=27820

http://janushead.org/JHSpg99/pope.cfm

http://www.helium.com/knowledge/45887-elderly-people-in-modern-society

http://www.helium.com/items/237654-elderly-people-in-modern-society

http://www.columban.com/elderly.htm

http://www.eu-seniorunion.info/en/activities/againstviolence/default.htm

http://hubpages.com/hub/Why-Has-the-Elderly-Lost-Societys-Respect

http://sg.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100205034526AAeIkXJ

http://www.ciap.health.nsw.gov.au/hospolic/stvincents/1993/a06.html

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/02/2833740.htm

http://www.5min.com/Video/The-Preparation-for-Elderly-Care-in-America-27299523

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_ageing

http://www.populationasia.org/Publications/RP/AMCRP3.pdf

http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/worldageing19502050/

http://longevity-science.org/Population_Aging.htm

http://www.mcys.gov.sg/successful_ageing/Report.html

Special thanks to Mr Fernandez, our mentor, our parents and all the people who helped us along the way.

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