The needs of elderly people
The needs of the elderly do not differ much from those of adults or children, but some of them may increase over time. Given that old age often means helplessness and loneliness, it is the caregiver’s duty to pay full attention to the senior, to make sure that he does not feel overwhelmed by the challenges of the age.
Old age is a complicated process and brings with it a series of changes that only the attentive and sensitive can observe and accept. Caregivers of the elderly must take into account the fact that the diseases that the elderly suffer from need special attention and appropriate treatment, and the needs tend to increase and require immediate satisfaction.
Their job requires great responsibility and attention to detail, the knowledge of the elderly being essential for a good activity. We will present both the general needs of people in need of care, as well as the specific ones, so that caregivers understand how complex and interesting their job is.
Physiological needs
This category includes all the necessities that help maintain the normal functioning of the body (food, water, air, sleep, proper temperature). We know that they are the strongest needs of man and are necessary to survive. Often the elderly person can no longer meet all these needs, and the task falls to the caregiver. It should provide the senior with easily digestible food, in accordance with the diet recommended by the doctor, to ensure that the environment in which he lives is clean and airy, to take care to create a pleasant atmosphere, and to ensure that his sleep is restful.
The need for security and safety
If the first category of needs, the physiological ones are optimal, we must pay attention to security needs. Everyone wants to feel safe and live away from any threat to life, and the elderly tend to feel this need much more. To eliminate the discomfort, it is necessary for the caregiver to assure the senior, whenever necessary, that he is safe and not to undertake certain activities such as bringing strangers into the home, leaving people at home who have not been notified. and so on In order to avoid creating unpleasant situations, the elderly person will receive only the visits that have been announced and established in advance.
The need for love and belonging
We cannot live alone, far from our fellows. The need for family, friends, belonging to a group are those that have a major impact on a person’s health. For most seniors, the passage of time has brought with it certain pains such as the loss of a spouse, the loss of relatives, or the loss of friends, so that they feel the need for love and attention more than ever. The caregiver should communicate with the person being cared for, listen to their problems, try to remove the thought from loneliness and, if possible, facilitate contact with other people.
The need to have self-confidence
We are greatly influenced by the way we look at ourselves, and self-esteem drops to alarming levels in the case of the elderly. This exacerbates the depression that any elderly person struggles with. To encourage them to feel good in their skin, caregivers should help them maintain their appearance (arrange the ladies, dress the gentlemen presentably) and involve them in various activities to show them why they are capable.
It seems that as time goes on, the needs of the elderly tend to be more demanding. As long as old age means helplessness, we must be careful to help the senior not to lose self-confidence. The care staff is responsible for the person being cared for not only in terms of food and cleanliness but also in terms of happiness. So he has to help the senior regain his self-confidence, respect himself and appreciate life as it is. Old age can be beautiful if we accept it and learn to appreciate what we are, what we have, and understand that it is a time when we can spend more time with ourselves and our loved ones!
