HOLISTIC APPROACH TO ASSISTING THE ELDERLY IN MANAGING THEIR DAILY LIVES

Abstract

The demographic weight of the elderly in sub-Saharan Africa, estimated at 5%, although low, is increasing year by year. In Cameroon, the socioeconomic situation of retirees is influenced by several factors: (1) individual characteristics (age category, marital status, activity status, education and literacy level, fertility status, health status); (2) the socio-cultural environment (habits and customs, attitudes and beliefs towards the elderly, negative behaviours towards the elderly -violence, ageism, etc.-(3) health care services (health programmes for the elderly - prevention and screening campaigns for diseases of old age -, geographical accessibility to health care, existence of specialised geriatric care facilities, etc.) (4) the family environment (the way the elderly live together -family, institution, alone-, the place of residence -urban, rural-, the status of the elderly person in the household; (5) socio-economic factors (the income of the elderly -pensions, survivors' pensions, income from work, family transfers, life annuities, etc.), the type of care provided, the type of care provided, the type of care provided, the type of care provided, the type of care provided, etc.).-, (6) the political, legal and institutional environment (the national policy for the elderly, the legal framework for the protection and promotion of the elderly, the administrative structures for the care of the elderly, the social security system). Home Economics counsellors can support the elderly by managing their daily lives in a holistic approach. To this end, at least four types of action are possible: (i) developing an individual database on the socio-economic situation of the elderly; (ii) improving the health of the elderly by organizing nutritional literacy campaigns (iii) improving the income of the elderly through training and advisory support in starting and managing an income-generating activity; (iv) initiating/participating in an advocacy campaign for the social protection of the elderly. The presentation presents some statistical data from the last census of the elderly in Cameroon in order to understand their socio-economic situation before proposing a model of support for retirees.