Introduction

This essay focuses on addressing the various social or gerontological theories of aging that can help in illustrating the social needs of people as they continuing growing older. The paper will provide a critical comparison of two theories of aging as associated with the role of the caregiver, a discussion of the main thing that I have leant from the study of these theories which I previously did not know and an explanation of the one piece of information obtained from the study is likely to significantly affect my nursing practice.

Comparison and Contrast of Two Theories of Aging

The two chosen theories for analysis are activity theory and disengagement theory because they are easily understood by most people and are often observed in the daily lives. Both activity and disengagement theories help in critically discussing the concept of the complex health and social needs of the individuals in the old age population that is marked by individuals who have 65 years and above(Dannefer, 2010).  According to the activity theory, social activity is a significant part of life for people across all ages as it helps in facilitating faster growth physically, socially and mentally(Gibson&Singleton, 2012). According to most of the caregiver who are actively involved in meeting complex health and social needs of the older adults, the activity theory helps in assessing the level of satisfaction amongst this group of population(Dannefer, 2010). For instance, older people are actively involved in physical, mental and social activities are found to be more satisfied and faced with less obstacles while adjusting to their old age life when compared to those who are not actively involved (Gibson & Singleton, 2012).For older people to maintain their place on the society, there is an increased need of replacing the kind of activities that they used to engage in when they were still young and energetic with new ones depending on their current health status.

On the other hand, the disengagement theory which argues that people tend to decrease their activity level and instead seek more passive roles as they continue to grow old (Johnson & Mutchler, 2013). That is facilitated by the fact that most of the people grow weaker and weaker as their age continue to progress thus gradually limiting their ability to actively be involved in most of the physical and social roles that they were comfortably undertaking when they were young and energetic (Johnson & Mutchler, 2013). Old age is associated with complex health care needs since the aging individuals increasingly become vulnerable to chronic diseases such as heart diseases, cancer and diabetes with co-morbidity prevailing in most cases. According to the disengagement theory, the older adults tend to withdraw from the society and the society from the elderly(Johnson & Mutchler, 2013).

For instance, my grandmother started complaining about her inability to undertake common activities of daily living such as cooking, washing clothes and mopping the house when she was only 67 years old and by the time she was turning 75, she could not do anything on her including toileting, bathing and dressing without the help of my mother who was her only daughter and relative who was taking care of her. Based on the aging theories discussed in this essay, if my grandmother was actively involved in physical activities such as cooking and washing clothes by the time she was complaining about her diminished capacity to engage in these activities of daily living, she could have managed to leading a more healthier life that she is having at the moment like her age-mate friend who despite being the same age as my grandmother she still can manage to do several activities such as bathing and dressing on her own.

This evidence is further echoed in the film, “Backing Out of Time” where viewers can see the numerous struggles that the adult children have to go through in the effort of taking care of their aging parents. Lack of professional support makes it hard for these diverse family caregiver to effectively understand the personal expectations and illness of their ailing parents and even how to effectively meet the systematic obstacles of their which to a great expected they are not yet prepared to face. The emotions that these families in this film are universal and experienced across the globe by most of the families having older adults within complex health and social needs.

Lesson learnt

One of the primary findings that I have brought more insight to me which I previously lacked knowledge about relates to the activity theory. From the critical analysis of the gerontological theories of leaning, I have leant that there exists a positive correlation between personal adjustment and activity level whereby individuals who are socially, physically and mentally active are more properly adjusted when compared to those who are not active.

One Piece of Information that will affect my Nursing Practice

The disengagement theory suggests that those gaining individuals within the society that decide to avoid the numerous stress that is associated with recognizing and accepting their continued diminishing capability and capacity to actively be involved in activities within the family and societal setting tend to willingly collaborate in the withdrawal process from the society(Johnson & Mutchler, 2013). Reversing this perception that is common amongst the older adults who believe that their old age fully limits their ability to actively participate in almost all the activities can help in improving their health status(Baars, et al., 2016). This finding will significantly transform my nursing practice in the sense that it provides enough evidence of the existing gap in the provision of health and social care that is aimed at meeting the complex health needs of the older adults (Robnett & Chop, 2013). I will now manage to meet most of the care needs of the older individuals by educating them on the importance of actively being involved in various physical and social activities as a way of maintaining good health instead of fully withdrawing from the activities undertaken in the family and societal settings.

References

Baars, J., Dannefer, D., Phillipson, C., & Walker, A. (2016). Aging, globalization and inequality: The new critical gerontology. Routledge.

Dannefer, D. (2010). The SAGE handbook of social gerontology. Sage Publications.

Gibson, H. J., & Singleton, J. F. (2012). Leisure and aging: Theory and practice. Human Kinetics.

Johnson, K. J., & Mutchler, J. E. (2013). The emergence of a positive gerontology: From disengagement to social involvement. The Gerontologist, 54(1), 93-100.

Robnett, R. H., & Chop, W. C. (2013). Gerontology for the health care professional. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

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