Hi Everyone,
For this weeks blog post we were asked to choose from 4 different topics. Out of the 4, I decided to choose 'Why my topic for Assignment 1 matters: to other people or the world in general.' My topic for assignment 1 is 'New Zealand's current health strategies for the elderly focus on physical well-being. More focus should be given to their social well-being.' I believe that this topic is important for a number of reasons.
I strongly agree that more focus should be given to the social well-being of the elderly. Improving the social connectedness and subsequent health of elderly people is important to other people and the world in general in a number of ways.There are economic as well as social ramifications. Improving social connectedness is strongly linked to health and physical well-being in the elderly. So, activities and interventions to improve social well-being of older people will make them healthier and less dependant of health systems throughout the world. Spending on health is one of the most significant components of most nations budgets. Any reduction in health spending would free up money for increased investment in things like education, infrastructure (eg roading) and social services. If more money is spent on social services, that could help the elderly and their social connectedness.
But probably more important then the economic factors, are the social or human factors to do with the elderly that effect other people and the world in general. They've looked after us so we have to look after them. All older people were young once and it won't be long before we are considered elderly, no matter what our current age. The elderly people in our communities have been around for a long time and hold a lot of history. For example, my Grandad, who died in 2011 aged 91, fought in the Pacific during WWII. He was able to tell me a lot of stories about having to pull boats into shore and about meeting a lot of new people. He also had many stories about growing up in a rural area in the 1920's. My grandmother who is still alive tells stories of an even earlier generation - her Irish grandfather who lived with her family when she was a little girl. He remembered going to school in Ireland in secret because the ruling English did not want the Irish children to be taught. Apart from being important in a historical sense, the stories that elderly people can tell put our lives today in context and show us how easy things are for us these days. They've worked hard all their lives, contributed a lot in both social and financial sense sot they deserve to be looked after now.
I very strongly believe that if the current health strategies focused more on the social well-being of elderly people as well as their physical well-being that not only the elderly but other people and the world in general would benefit from it. Wouldn't it be fantastic if all the billions of dollars spent on defence and missiles and wars were put into financial resources? The world would be a much better place.
"One person caring about another represents life's greatest value." - Jim Rohn
4 comments:
Kia ora Bridget,
A very interesting post. You can see, through the style of your writing, your opinion is very strong even without having said so until the end.
Social interactions can be very beneficial for the elderly psychologically as they may be less physically able.
The improvements of schemes in NZ could see the happiness of the elderly which bodes well for all later down the track. Whether we like it or not, we will all end up in that boat eventually.
Keep the good posts coming,
N.
Hey Bridget,
Awesome post, I love it having grown up with Maori family we were always taught respect your elders, which personally I feel is more than the please's and thank you's. It's about ensuring they are looked after and cared for adequately, it is making sure they aren't having to do the physical work like lawns, gardening, firewood.
Since having kids, I find myself being a lot more aware of how I teach them and one of the best ways to teach is to show them, so my son often comes with me to help his Koro or his Poppa.
Love the writing.
Ryan
Hi Ryan and Nate,
Thanks for the nice comments! Looking after my grandparents is also really important to me. Having an Irish background on one side of the family has helped with this because my grandparents were quite 'traditional' and I would often help my Grandmother in the kitchen while my brothers would help my Grandfather outside. My mum's father was raised in an orphanage and knows he has Maori blood but doesn't really have much knowledge of the culture because he was raised by nuns. But since sending my brother to Manukura in Palmerston North, and being really involved in with them I have learnt a lot about the way they help their elderly and I think it's really beautiful.
Thanks
Bridget
Hey Bridget,
Yes. Yes, the billions of dollars spent on weapons designed to kill is ridiculous. New Zealand is nothing compared to the USA, they spend trillions on the war machine.
Health is important, no less for the elderly.
Nathan brought up a good point, that we will all be old one day too, in the same boat. We will reap what we sow.
Your position is clear here, and you've convinced me of its importance.
Shaun
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