OpinionsPublic EngagementThe well-being of older persons

The well-being of older persons

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The capital city of Dumaguete and the coastal tourism town of Dauin in Negros Oriental are currently in the headlines. The first fatality of the two initially-reported cases of the 2019 new Coronavirus-infected Chinese outside of China had briefly stayed here as tourists.

Public fear spread among locals when the news broke out, which resulted in panic-buying of face masks and alcohol. The Governor eventually suspended classes in all levels, and several public gatherings canceled as pre-emptive measures to contain the possible spread of the feared virus.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention & Control, young children, older people, and individuals with problematic health conditions like hypertension, heart disorders, diabetes, liver disorders, and respiratory disease are more at risk for getting infected.

Thus, they need more attention to the prevention of and protection from the virus or any disaster. This segment of the population is highly-vulnerable due to age and weak immunity, physical mobility, financial capability, and so on, particularly among the older persons with limited resources and, perhaps, living alone.

So what is the state of the well-being of the older population in the de facto Metro Dumaguete area, which covers Dumaguete City and the surrounding towns of Bacong, Sibulan, and Valencia?

The intention is to see their vulnerability when the situation will be out of control. I find useful for this purpose some data from the 2019 survey on the healthcare needs of the older population conducted by the SU Research and Development Center in collaboration with the College of Nursing.

Demographically, the survey among a sample of 229 respondents, aging 60 years old and above, in the rural and urban barangays of Metro Dumaguete, showed that 54 percent were widows and 25 percent widowers. They constituted 39 percent of the total households surveyed. More husbands died earlier compared to the wives, which is consistent with the national life expectancy of Filipinos according to sex where wives outlived their husbands.

Moreover, the male respondents, on average, were younger at 70 years old while the females were 72 years old. This age comparison is consistent with the trend in a national survey published in 2019 by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia which have samples of male and female older persons with the average ages of 68 and 70 years old, respectively. Again, this reflects the higher life expectancy of females.

Economically, 62 percent of the older persons in the sample considered themselves as no longer gainfully working. Among those still gainfully working, 71 percent were self-employed or entrepreneurially engaged like managing a small variety store and other menial buy and sell. These activities provided their daily sustenance and different basic needs. Only 23 percent were receiving monthly retirement pension because, in the past, very few were employed.

Meanwhile, 61 percent were enjoying financial support from their children.

Our data on the economic well-being of older persons are likewise consistent with the national survey of ERIA, which reported that 58 percent of the respondents cited the support of children as their common source of income, followed by pension (42 percent) and earnings from work (34 percent).

The economic vulnerability of the majority of the older population is apparent, particularly about meeting their healthcare needs during times of an epidemic.

Physically, 59 percent got sick a year before the survey, and although the difference was not statistically significant, 64 percent of these were females, while 55 percent were males.

Topping the list of the reported ailments were cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, respiratory, and endocrinal problems. The first top two ailments were also reported in the ERIA national survey.

Individuals with these ailments are susceptible to viral infections as mentioned earlier by ECDPC.

All other things being equal, the health problems mentioned above reflect the inescapable deterioration of the physical state of older people. This condition demands expansion and enhancement of the healthcare facilities and services of the government that are easily accessible to them because of their hampered spatial mobility.

Some health complaints they reported, such as fever, headache, stomachache, and related others, were only symptomatic of other serious health problems. They could not precisely tell their ailments because some did not go for regular physical examination, and resorted only to self-medications.

Thus, in the event of an outbreak like the 2019-nCoV, older people are faced with a severe problem of how to cope with this life-threatening experience.

This condition is particularly critical among those who live by themselves, without stable financial resources like regular pensions or health insurance, and are already suffering from chronic health problems due to weakening immune system.

Financial support from children may be a reliable cultural mechanism for meeting healthcare needs to many older people, but this is also relative to the economic conditions of these children.

And this will always go back to the question of how older people had prepared themselves of the inevitable old age other than relying on what healthcare programs the government could sufficiently provide to a growing greying population. I will explore this matter in my next column.

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Author’s email:
[email protected]

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