by Jean Lowrie-Chin
Jamaica's National Council for Senior Citizens, with offices in every parish of Jamaica, continues to work at full steam despite the challenges of Covid-19. Under the leadership of Executive Director Cassandra Morrison, they have launched a series of events to celebrate Senior Citizens Week, starting yesterday with National Grandparents' Day, National Church Service, at Phillippo Baptist Church. The Mona Wellness & Ageing Centre, led by Professor Denise Eldemire Shearer, Alzheimer's Jamaica, led by Dr Albert Chen and STRIDE Jamaica, led by Dr Ishtar Govia have been giving invaluable support to the elderly, their families and caregivers.
Let me share some key points from a 2012 presentation by Prof Eldemire Shearer. The Professor, Honorary Chair of CCRP, explained that these preliminary findings were from a study entitled "Ageing in Jamaica today and the implications" over a one-year period. It involved a survey of 2,943 seniors in Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine and St. Thomas. It was carried out by the Mona Ageing and Wellness Centre and funded by the National Health Fund. Those interviewed ranged in age from 60 to 103 years, with the group's average age being 72.2 years.
Professor Eldemire Shearer noted that population ageing (older persons as an increasingly larger proportion of the population) was taking place worldwide at an unprecedented and pervasive rate. Persons 60 years and older represented 8% of world population in 1950 and 10% in 2000, she noted, and were projected to account for 21% by 2050.
Health & Welfare
"Population ageing brings a number of challenges related to health and welfare," she noted, "so documenting and understanding these are critical to the development of appropriate responses." The Professor told the CCRP members and friends that of those surveyed by the Mona Ageing and Wellness Centre, 52% were female. The majority had children alive – only 7.4% did not. Most (82.9%) enjoyed a good relationship with children, and more females than males had these good relationships. The majority (71.7%) of our senior citizens own their own homes, and most report being financially independent.
Chronic diseases are a challenge for this age group, defined as 60 years and older by the United Nations. Among Jamaican seniors, 65.4% suffer from either diabetes or hypertension and 22% have both. These are some of the comorbities referred to by CMO Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie which put seniors at higher risk of serious illness if they become infected with the Covid-19 virus.
The Professor pointed out that several ailments were showing a marked increase in 2012 compared to a similar survey in 1990:
Prevalence of high blood pressure rose from 42.6 to 61.3%;
Diabetes – from 10.2% to 26.2%;
Stroke – from 5.1% to 8.2%;
Heart Disease – from 5.4% to 5.5%
Glaucoma – from 4.9% to 11.6%
The prevalence of arthritis decreased, however from 40.0% to 35.0%
In addition, 5% of those surveyed in 2012 reported suffering from cancer, 55.4% said they were bothered by joint pain and 21.7% had had falls within the previous 6 months. Of the latter, the majority (54.3%) had fallen at home. Injuries sustained over that year were reported by 9.7% of the seniors surveyed. Of these, 74.8% had received medical care for their injuries, and more than half (53.6%) had been injured at home.
From personal experience, I cannot warn our seniors enough that they should wear safe shoes or secure sandals even around the house – my rubber flip-flops tripped me in my yard, and thank goodness I have now fully recovered from a broken wrist.
Most of those surveyed were able to function mentally: 11.0% were severely impaired and 38.5% had mild impairment. Less than one in 10 (8.7%) had hearing problems; 32.3% had eye problems, 7.5% had a physical disability; more than seventeen percent (17.5%) used assistive devices such as canes or walkers.
Financial challenges
Most of the seniors (72.0%) reported having only primary level education, while 17.0% reported having secondary/technical/vocational schooling, and 5.3% had been to university. Less than six percent (5.7%) reported no formal schooling. Professor Eldemire Shearer reported that most of the seniors interviewed functioned well physically. Less than 1 in 100 (0.8%) were fully dependent regarding basic activities; 92.7% were independent in all basic functions (an increase over the 88.5% reported in the 1990 survey), and approximately 7.3% needed various levels of assistance.
Asked how they planned for retirement 16.8% reported doing so with a health plan; 24.7% with savings, and 9.9% through investments. When asked about current sources of income, seniors reported that 13.5% were earning wages; 27.3% were receiving NIS payments; 48.5% were being assisted by their families; 8.2% were on the PATH programme; 15.4% had Jamaican Government pensions and 9.1% had private pensions.
Professor Eldemire Shearer urged persons to consider what their needs in old age would be, regarding financial independence, daily personal and community support, care givers and health requirements. This was especially important, she noted, for those who were single and lived alone.
In a later presentation, she referred to a study by Dr Kayon Donaldson-Davis on Retirement Financial Literacy Levels Among Jamaicans at Mona Ageing & Wellness Centre. It notes, "Although the general literacy rate (ability to read and write at a 6th-grade level or higher) of Jamaicans is 89%, the number of people who are adequately prepared financially is not comparable... Approximately 71% of respondents who reported high levels of financial distress and low financial well-being, had not received financial information about retirement planning."
Dr Julian McKoy Davis and Prof Shearer also collaborated on a Symposium, 'Financial Literacy, Retirement, And Becoming Financially Capable in A Developing Country' last year. They note, "Less than half of all Jamaicans have adequate retirement funds. People with limited financial resources can and do save, but often use strategies that are not advantageous … Jamaica's rapidly growing ageing population has resulted in both a workforce and a retirement financial crisis."
This was pre-Covid. The hardship on our indigent elderly is severe. In Central Kingston, 86-year-old Sister Benedict Chung has redoubled her efforts to provide weekly food packages for the over 500 persons lined up at her gate at Laws Street Trade & Training Centre. She noted that she has been able to increase distribution thanks to Butch Hendrickson at National Baking, Max Jardim at Rainforest Foods, William Mahfood at Wisynco and the Digicel Foundation.
We applaud Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett for establishing a pension scheme for tourism workers, many of whom have been laid off due to low visitor arrivals. We also note the promise of Labour and Social Security Minister Karl Samuda for the revision and implementation of the National Policy for Seniors. A great deal of effort was put into the first revision by the late Minister Shahine Robinson and we look forward to this final step. The sickening issue of elderly abuse must be addressed with urgency and we look forward to briefing Minister Samuda on CCRP's submission to the Ministry on this matter.
Happy National Seniors Week to our elders – let us make every effort to keep them safe and well, just as they did for us.
PHOTO CAPTION
Seniors in solidarity - Elderly Abuse Awareness Day event organised by the National Council for Senior Citizens.
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