Community Engagement and Elderly Care
Discuss about the Poverty, Inequality and Social Welfare.
Wesley Vickery Sylvania is a residential aged care facility, which is part of the four main branches of the Wesley Mission Organization based in Australia. The parent organization operates numerous centers around the country that provide specialized services. The Wesley Vickery Sylvania is situated at Sutherland Shire, and mainly deals in community engagement. It helps aged and aging people achieve health and general well-being goals as well as enhancing the quality of their lives. Besides caring for these groups of people, it also has a broad spectrum of activities that include: hairdressing, optometry, podiatry and dental services (Wesley Mission, n.d.).
While at the facility, the community of people I served include the underprivileged, vulnerable and marginalized groups. These groups of people also received support from social enterprises, community and non-profit making organizations. Poor/needy people comprised of persons having little or no means to support oneself and often lived below the poverty line. They are characteristic of poverty and form part of vulnerable persons in society. Vulnerable persons are susceptible, do not have means to protect themselves against harm from various forces such as age, ailment, disability etc. A marginalized group is a community that is bound to the lower or fringe edge of the society. These groups are often denied association n economic, political, social and cultural exercises. Marginalization denies these people of its legitimate offer of reach to gainful assets and approaches to use its most extreme potential for their prosperity (Johnson, 1996). Wesley Vickery Sylvania is mainly an aged residential care facility, my placement at the facility involved assisting the old in their daily activities. They included moving them around old to lunch rooms, washrooms and activities room where they learnt on different trades and crafts such as painting, sewing and drawing. My duties also included assisting them learn on those particular trades. A 2011 review by the Australian Statutory Authority, the Productivity Commission reported that these group of people are part of 160,000 people living in such residential care facilities.
Elderly care is usually different from general nursing care, in that their needs are slightly special. For that reason, Wesley Vickery Sylvania is designed to suit the needs of the elderly at the same time responding to changing needs of the clients based on the kind and level of support they require. Elderly care underlines the social and individual necessities of the elderly who require some help with day by day exercises and health services. All that contributes to dignified aging for these members of the society. Living with and serving the elderly meant a great deal of commitment and passion amid upcoming challenges (Bermoth & Winkler, 2016). The elderly were disadvantaged in moving around to various spots such as the washrooms, lunch rooms and activities room. Therefore, I assisted them to move and access these areas as well taking part in some of the activities. Additionally, I involved myself in feeding, listening, learning and sharing with them. Old age is related to poorer movement capabilities, as ordered by decreased speed and precision. This can be explained by the fact that old age brings about changes in the muscular system, motor neurons, nerves which have an impact on the visual and manual responses associated with the movement. However with training or assisted movement, the impairment of the muscles may be reduced (Raw, et al., 2012). These activities contributed to the attainment of the objectives set by the stakeholders of the program; Wesley Vickery, the support community groups and non-profit making organizations. Possible connections between the activities undertaken in the placement and theoretical ways of understanding community engagement issues.
Theoretical Approaches to Community Engagement
Community engagement takes on varied meanings to different groups of people. Its definition depends on what a particular community has built an identity on and can be used interchangeably with other terms as ‘community involvement’ or ‘community participation’. For the purpose of this report, community engagement is fronted as the way toward working cooperatively with and through groups of individuals’ sharing a common geographic locality, similar experiences or situations to address issues influencing their well-being. It is a channel for achieving environmental and social changes that enhance the well-being of a group of people. Community engagement requires a multifaceted approach towards collaborations that mobilize resources to influence change (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 2006)
Community engagement is closely tied to community involvement though there exist slight differences in their end goals. Though extant literature links community engagement with costs such as increased time and other resources, it has been found to positively impact implementation of change through new or improved services, policy and societal transformation (Staley & TwoCan Associates, 2013)
The connection between the activities undertaken during my placement and the theoretical approach of community engagement can only be understood through insights of evaluating community engagement process. Its purpose is to determine whether the process of developing, executing, and monitoring a program is certainly involving in nature and meets the tenets of community engagement. Green et al (1995) propose a set of questions that need to be addressed and they include; does the structure of involvement allow for equality? , are the right community members at the heart of the program in its developing and implementing the program? (Green, et al., 1997)
There exist very broad approaches to community engagement, however, the key factors that ought to be placed into consideration in understanding community engagement are how deep and how broad your approach takes. These factors are informed by the goal you want to achieve which in turn determine the approach and activities you pursue. These approaches can be drawn from the International Association for Public Participation’s 5 Step framework for Participation and the Wheel of Participation. The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) has built up a system for taking a gander at the profundity and extent of engagement. It is founded on five levels of engagement ascending the level of engagement at each level. Involvement and Empowerment form part of the approaches (International Association Public Participation, 1997).
Improving Community Engagement at Wesley Vickery Sylvania
With that in mind, therefore, activities undertaken at Wesley Vickery Sylvania are a reflection of the theoretical approach to community engagement. Caring for the elderly is a responsibility of all members of the society. The structure of the program at Wesley promotes equality by empowering the poor, elderly and vulnerable members of the society. Assisting the elderly is an act of empowerment in itself because it brings on board those that would otherwise feel neglected. The approach of involvement is also present since the activities at the facility involve the elderly in activities as trades and craftsmanship. The activities undertaken at the facility contribute to the primary goal of community engagement which is to enhance the society and individual well-being through engaging with the poor, vulnerable and marginalized. Suggestions for improving community engagement in the Placement Organization
As noted previously, caring for the elderly is much more than just general nursing. A number of things have to be taken into account. Suggestions for improving community engagement regarding the care of the elderly at Wesley Vickery Sylvania include the following:
- Encourage discussions with a wider range of stakeholders other than the support community groups and non-profit making organizations. As a concept of stakeholder theory, bringing on board other relevant stakeholders would be beneficial in a number of ways. These stakeholders include local community leaders, government agencies, and research institutions. Better relationships and liaisons would be forged since the facility does not operate in isolation. That way, the facility will be able to realize more opportunities that are in tandem with the support and care of the elderly (Deans, et al., 2010).
- In an attempt to understand the issues that affect the elderly most from the communities, they come from, participating in their local activities would mean a great deal to bring Wesley closer to understanding their challenges. For instance, the placement should have involved participation in the community itself to assess the issues that encumber the old.
- Another way would be to get ambassadors to represent Wesley Vickery in the communities in Miranda and Cronull. Their work would be to engage people more in the programs that take place at the facility (Wesley Mission, n.d.).
- The impact of the placement on the student’s own values, assumptions, and attitudes relating to ethical workplace practice and social responsibility.
I covered a total of 36 hours during the placement, each day serving 6 hours for 6 days. A number of studies have revealed that students who go on placements recognize the essential part that such placements play in enhancing their career ladder and chances of employment. Working in a team installed beneficial values of respect for all and treating the elderly with dignity. Numerous elderly individuals, you deal with feel pity, torment, weariness, disease, and depression. They can without much of a stretch lose their dignity to those dealing with them. They know they can’t control anything or anybody.
Therefore, dignity is important as you attend to and serve these persons. Dignified treatment and respectful involvement is part of the work ethics required in the field (Bermoth & Winkler, 2016).
My placement at Wesley also helped me recognize the role of caregivers in elderly care. The primary undertaking of a caregiver is to ensure that the patient is by and large appropriately well cared for, regardless of their condition and social status. The roles are not just limited to nursing and general assistance but also involve emotionally supporting them and unrelenting your support to them. Caregivers are professionals in the form of personal care aides, nursing assistants, home companions etc. (Schumacher, et al., 2000).
While I made note that the principal aim of my community engagement is not to work experience but to help me develop an appreciation of how to enhance society and individual well-being through engagement with the poor, marginalized and vulnerable, I gained insights on caring for the elderly. Generally, placements give students the opportunity to gain skills specific to their subject or industry. The placement also placed a picture and awareness of the world of work. This was particularly useful in articulating the necessary and required skills for future employment. Additionally, the placement gave me an opportunity to be part of a team. Team playing is an important skill not only for a student but also for individuals living in a group or community
References
Australian Statutory Authority; Productivity Commision, 2011. Agency Snapshot: The Productivity Commission, Sydney: Hawker Britton.
Bermoth, M. & Winkler, D., 2016. Healthy Ageing and Aged Care. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 2006. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Atlanta: CDC Publishing.
Deans, T., Roswell, B. & Wurr, A. J., 2010. Writing and Community Engagement: A Critical Sourcebook. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Green, J.L., Taylor, W.W., Fung, S.F., Benson, R.F., Calvert, W., Reinisch, B., Gallagher, D. and Reiff, P., 1998. Radio remote sensing of magnetospheric plasmas. Geophysical Monograph-American Geophysical Union, 103, pp.193-198.
International Association Public Participation , 1997. Public Participation’s 5 Step framework for Participation, Louisville: International Association Public Participation.
Johnson, D. T., 1996. Poverty, Inequality and Social Welfare in Australia. 1 ed. Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag Heidelberg.
Raw, R. K., Kountouriotis, G. K., Mon-Williams, M. & Wilkie, R. M., 2012. Movement control in older adults: does old age mean the middle of the road?. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform., June, 38(3), pp. 735-45.
Schumacher, K.L., Stewart, B.J., Archbold, P.G., Dodd, M.J. and Dibble, S.L., 2000. Family caregiving skill: development of the concept. Research in nursing & health, 23(3), pp.191-203.
Staley. K. & TwoCan Associates, 2013. Exploring the impact of public involvement on, London: National Institute for Health Research.
Wesley Mission, n.d. Wesley Mission. [Online]
Available at: https://www.wesleymission.org.au/find-a-service/seniors-and-aged-care/residential-aged-care/sylvania/
[Accessed 24 May 2018].
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