Empowerment of the elderly and the improvement of their quality of life
Population ageing brings on new and numerous challenges for today’s societies. One of the most important challenges is the necessity to change the vision of incapacity, passivity, vulnerability, dependence and social isolation that society and the elderly themselves assign to the old age. There is a...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Spanish |
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Asociación Nacional de Psicología Evolutiva y Educativa de la Infancia Adolescencia Mayores y Discapacidad
2017-01-01
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| Series: | INFAD |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.infad.eu/RevistaINFAD/OJS/index.php/IJODAEP/article/view/1074 |
| Summary: | Population ageing brings on new and numerous challenges for today’s societies. One of the most important challenges is the necessity to change the vision of incapacity, passivity, vulnerability, dependence and social isolation that society and the elderly themselves assign to the old age. There is an urgent need to create conditions for the aging process to be lived as satisfactorily as possible, providing greater well-being and quality of life for older people. Based on these principles, the present work seeks to describe a social education project, drawn and developed in an Elderly Institution (IATI). The research-action-participatory methodology for social education advocates to carry out critical analysis of reality jointly with the social actors; this approach allowed to highlight a set of problems and needs, as well as identify the resources and potentialities. The primary focus of the project was thus to promote the empowerment and consequent improvement of the quality of life of the elderly in IATI – and the general and specific objectives were identified. Two actions were considered, taking into account the interests, tastes and needs of the participants. The first one, involving the professionals, aimed to sensitize the participants to the importance of active participation of the elderly in decision-making processes. The second aimed to broaden and deepen relational relationships among older people, as well as to enhance their capacity building and participation. The final evaluation of the project was based on the CIPP Model, and allowed the different social actors to recognize the changes that occurred. Especial appreciation was shown towards a greater participation, empowerment and empowerment of the elderly, which resulted in the improvement of their daily, personal and collective well-being, as well as their quality of life. |
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| ISSN: | 0214-9877 2603-5987 |