How is your Mental Health Today?

Dear Friend of Global Action on Aging,

 

How is your mental health today?  You and I often recognize most of the health challenges facing older adults.  But we continue to overlook – under-report and under-treat the mental health issues that we older people face.  Why? 

Some experts say that we confuse what is “normal” aging behavior and what is “psychiatric” conditions.  Of course, some people face mental health problems throughout their lives and others develop conditions in their later years that can be treated fairly easily. 

What does the data show?  Today, about 25% of older adults has a significant mental disorder.  It could be depression or anxiety.  Another 7% has a form of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s.  Many other mental conditions go un-reported. 

Nationally in the US over the next 25 years, the number of older adults with major psychiatric illnesses is expected to more than double from 7 to 15 million individuals as the Baby Boom generation ages. In Hawaii, by the year 2020, every fourth person will be 60 years or older.  Without good treatment, these conditions can lead to increased disability, additional caregiver stress, poor health, increased mortality and even greater risk of suicide.

Apparently, older persons are less likely than younger persons to recognize their own mental health problems.  Only about 3% see a mental health professional for help, a rate far lower than persons of younger ages.  Nearly one elder in seven suffers from depression. . . .but yet 70 to 90 % don’t seek or get any treatment.

If you are feeling “blue,” or persistently discouraged or sad, seek help.  Get to a doctor or a sympathetic person that you trust to ask for help.  Get the help you need to recover your positive take on life.  Life is short; enjoy the day!

Susanne Paul for Global Action on Aging

Japan Confronts Fire Safety Issues for Elders with Dementia

Twenty 25% of small facilities for dementia patients in Japan unequipped for fires

More than 500 small group homes for dementia patients (including elders) or about a quarter of such facilities across Japan, are not equipped with sprinklers, a survey conducted by The Yomiuri Shimbun has found.   Because  small homes with less than 275 square meters of total floor space are not legally required to install sprinklers, the government has urged those facilities to install them by providing subsidies according to size.

A nationwide survey was conducted in February and March following a fatal fire at a small group home for dementia patients in Nagasaki. Five patients died in the incident.  According to a survey, some 524 facilities, including the Nagasaki home, were not equipped with sprinklers. The survey covered 2,047 facilities in 44 prefectures. The three remaining prefectures--Akita, Yamanashi and Tottori--said they did not have the total numbers of small group home facilities.

It is estimated that about a quarter of small group homes are unequipped with sprinklers.
Most group homes with 275 square meters or more of floor space are equipped with sprinklers, the Yomiuri survey found.   In 2009, the ministry made it mandatory for such facilities to install sprinklers. The measure was taken after seven people were killed in a fire at a group home with about 280 square meters of floor space in Omura, Nagasaki Prefecture, in 2006. Smaller facilities became eligible for subsidies from 2010.An official said the ministry is also investigating the actual conditions for sprinkler installment. "Based on results [of the investigation], we hope to consider improvement measures, including how financial assistance should be provided," the official said.

Prof. Yasumichi Kurata of Nishikyushu University, an expert in social welfare affairs, said: "As various types of buildings including private homes are used as small group homes, it isn't always possible to install sprinklers at low costs. The subsidy system must be improved, for example, by having it cover a certain portion of actual costs spent [for installation], rather than providing subsidies according to the amount of floor space."

What is the situation in your country?  Are older and/or handicapped persons protected against fire in their living facilities? 

Susanne Paul for Global Action on Aging

Can you afford to Retire in the USA?

Dear GAA Friend,

Although many US citizens are living longer and fewer are in physically demanding jobs, those who plan to work longer may be unrealistic. A recent survey found that 47 percent of retirees left the workforce unexpectedly, largely because of disabilities, other health issues or problems at work.

At present, the largest group of workers leaves the workforce at age 62. That is when they initially qualify for reduced Social Security retirement benefits, which represents a smaller monthly amount for those who take it before hitting their full retirement age. Just 14 percent of the retirees leave the workforce after age 65.  Only one in four of them works for pay in retirement.

The risk is that many workers as they get older cannot work for reasons beyond their control, including disability, ill health, and loss of a job and inability to get another.

US workers have to plan to work as long as possible. One-third of workers say they or their spouse have not saved anything for retirement. And only 57 percent says they are actively saving for retirement.

The result?  Many are unprepared to stop working. Nearly three in five workers have assets, beyond their homes, of $25,000 or less. A third of those withdrew savings to pay for expenses in the last year, a survey found.

A big problem, researchers have said, is that too few workers are covered by retirement plans on the job. Those that are covered most frequently have a 401(k) or another defined contribution plan. But as many as one in four of people with those plans dip into them for non-retirement purposes.

Although US citizens are aware that retirement requires substantial savings, they are often unable to put away enough as they wrestle with expenses and burdensome debt.

While it appears that workers are not being smart about their retirement needs, what is the responsibility of their employers and the US government that makes the rules about Social Security? Why are their any exceptions to paying into Social Security for US workers?  What about the "minimum wage"?   Isn't it too little to support oneself?  How can people in the US have a "good old age" if their government and bosses have held their wages down? 

What do you think?   What was/is your experience? Please send GAA a comment on this important topic.

Thanks and have a good week, Susanne Paul for Global Action on Aging

 

 

How do you want to die? Do you know?

Dear GAA Friend,

Finding out what dying patients want and treating them accordingly leads to happier patients who are in less pain and who use fewer healthcare dollars, UCLA researchers said Tuesday.

“You can improve care while reducing costs by making sure that everything you do is centered on what the patients want, what his or her specific goals are and tailor a treatment plan to ensure we provide the specific care he or she wants,” Dr. Jonathan Bergman, a Robert Wood Johnson clinical scholar at UCLA, said in a statement.

But have your loved ones been consulted about their wishes?  Have you considered what you would desire in this circumstance?

Many families express guilt and regret that they had never asked their loved ones about their preferences, about pain issues, about blessings, about pain relief, and more in the closing hours of their parents' or grandparents' lives.

In some countries, a written statement or advance directive that stipulates wishes can be helpful. . . .but not if its existence is unknown to family members.

What are your experiences?  Please share them with Global Action on Aging's reading community.

With thanks,

Susanne Paul for Global Action on Aging