Day 4

Views of elderly people from interviews

1. Walking up the stairs
2. movement is slower
3. too many stairs
4. (for wheelchair bound elderly) almost impossible to move around in some places as there are only stairs and 1 or 2 lifts

Day 3

views of nurses from interviews

1. chewing problems. These are caused by loosened teeth, ill-fitting dentures or decreased saliva secretion
2. Eye problems like failing near vision etc
3. alzheimer disease

Day 2

Views by several caregivers from interviews

1. elderly are mostly living alone
2. they have to deal with the problems of care when ill
3. most of them do not have medical coverage
4. many suffering from Alzheimer's disease
5. many have depression
6. isolation is commonly faced by the elderly
7. They are abandoned by their kids
8. They are single
9. have financial problems
10. no one to care for them and their welfare
11. there is usually no one to share sorrow with them
12. they have health problems they cannot handle alone
13. they have no support

Here are some videos that I took of elderly people exercising

Day 1

There are many elderly people in the world. Brazil alone has 32 million people who are over the age of 65 years old and Brazil is only the 6th top "elderly people" country.

Day 1 observation.

There are 2 different groups of old people. The first can usually be found sitting at the void deck, in hawker centers etc chatting with their friends over a glass of beer (tiger beer is what I see most of them drinking ). The other group of elderly people love to stay by themselves in secluded places and these are the people who usually complain of the increase of people in Singapore.

‘The Elderly Challenge’-Report on the ageing population

Four key recommendations of the report :

1. The government wants to make elderly-friendly houses
2. The government wants to make Singapore more elderly-friendly by increasing accessibility.
3. The elderly people who needs caring for a reason will be given cheap health care
4. The government wants to make the aged population join the community in community projects, etc so that they can lead the same lifestyle.

One way that the CAI report is recommending to make our public housing more elderly-friendly

HDB should work with market players to offer reverse mortgage schemes for elderly HDB flat lessees at commercial terms, to provide another option for seniors to derive some income from their homes to meet expenditure in old age, without having to move out of their homes.

Two ways on how we can ensure that the quality of elderly care here in Singapore is affordable

The Government should top-up Medisave accounts of less well off.

The Government should promote family physicians to provide medical care for seniors in need of care

After reading the CAI report, the three things that I can do is:

1. I can do volunteer work.
2. Help my elderly neighbors in things like housework etc.
3. I can have a positive attitude to the elderly