Advantages and Disadvantages of Institutional living for the elderly

Advantages and Disadvantages of Institutional living for the elderly

Disadvantages

1.     It is more expensive than living in one's own home.

2.     Like all institutional food, it is usually less appealing than home-cooked food.

3.     Choice of food is limited and often repetitious.

4.     Close and constant contact with some people who may be uncongenial.

5.     The location is often some distance away from shops, amusements, and community organizations.

6.     Location is usually at some distance from family and friends.

7.     Living quarters tend to be considerably smaller than in former homes.

Advantages

1.     Maintenance and repairs are provided by the institution.

2.     All meals are available at reasonable costs.

3.     Provision is made for suitable recreation and amusements.

4.     Opportunities are available for contacts with contemporaries with similar interests and abilities.

5.     Greater change for acceptance, by contemporaries than with younger people.

6.     Eliminate loneliness because people are always available for companionship.

7.     Holiday celebrations for those who have no family are provided.

8.     Opportunity for prestige based on past accomplishments that would not occur in groups of younger people.

Changes in Physiological functions include decline in the ability to see, hear, marked changes in taste, sense of smell becomes less, and also that of sensitivity to pain. Elderly people tire quickly and require a longer time to recover from fatigue, changes in skilled movements especially handwriting, slow in learning new skills and quite often tend to become awkward and clumsy. Recall is affected. Old people tend to have poor recent memories but better remote memories.

Quite often due to lack of income or low economic status they become dependent and have to compromise on many of their hobbies, interests, activities etc.,

Common physical hazards

Include disease and physical handicaps like circulatory, metabolic and mental disorders. Heart diseases, rheumatism, arthritis, visual and hearing impairment, etc., are also common. Due to psychological and physiological disorder and economic reasons, malnutrition in old age is common.