Introduction
Ageing as a process in human life is one of the complicated phenomena that occur in human life. It has impacts the individual and society in general, as it affects them in several ways. This ageing process is affected by various factors, including social, cultural and environmental factors, which help shape the person as well as the beliefs of the people concerning the idea of ageing (Clarke, 2010). This research paper aims at the aspects of ageing related to culture, which may impact adult people. Rather than the information in this research paper, the data is purely first-hand information from the original field. It was collected through interviews with the informants and observation of the activities carried out by the older people who are ageing. This research paper will be on the margins of the ongoing debate in social science, specifically the area of cultural anthropology and qualitative sociology.
Body
The ageing population in the modern world is increasing at a higher speed worldwide, and this trend is likely to increase. It is clear that as people age, it is evident that their needs, as well as requirements, are expected to change. As a result of the change in needs and requirements, ageing people may therefore require special care and support, which will assist them in meeting their needs. Some of the particular support and care required by ageing people include healthcare, social service, and community support groups (Ritchie, 2023). An excellent example of this kind of community support system is adult day care, which helps provide safety to older adults in society. In addition, adult day care is also responsible for modifying the environment surrounding the older adults to enable them to do any activity they wish as well as mingling and socializing with the other people in the society where they can get assistance with their daily activities.
It is essential to focus on the cultural aspects that are associated with ageing in the context of adult day care centres since they have a significant impact on the influence on attitudes as well as beliefs of society members concerning the idea of the adult care system (Ewen, Nikzad-Terhune, & Dassel, 2020). By understanding these cultural aspects, individuals and the system’s staff members can provide better quality care and support to older adults. In addition, understanding these cultural aspects associated with the adult care system also helps create a conducive environment for supporting older people in society.
This research is founded on first-hand information in the adult daycare centre in society. In the competition of this research paper, there will be the employment of the qualitative approach method to collect the data, which entails carrying out interviews with the informants to collect information concerning the activities taking place in the adult day care, as well as the observation method, which involves recording the activities that are observed to be taking place in a daily basis in the adult day care system. For better results, the interviews will be semi-structured, giving room for the informants to be able to give their experiences and perspectives concerning ageing through the open-ended questions in the interview. Through the help of the interviews, it will be easy to collect much trustworthy information and record the experiences and opinions of the informants concerning the whole issue of adult day care. The type of interview used in this paper is open-ended, as it allows the interviewee to give their opinions and express their experiences.
The other qualitative method used in collecting information about adult day care is the observation method, which is capable of recording all the daily activities taking place in the adult day care system. This data collection method mainly emphasizes the interactions and behaviour of the older people who reside in the adult day care. It is also essential to record the observation about the attitude and beliefs of the staff members concerning the idea of adult day care. It is essential for the person carrying out the observation to pay keen attention to the language, metaphors as well as details of illustrated talks within the system. These details may comprise the style of dressing and communication, colour as well as cultural references, which significantly impact how the participants interpret the patterns within the system. Observation is one of the most recommended methods that can be used to collect the data since a person can collect all the data when it is first-hand. There is no room for collecting inaccurate data, as the person is directly observing the society people in the adult daycare system (Orellana, Manthorpe, & Tinker, 2020).
The people’s beliefs concerning ageing in society are constructed, reproduced, and consumed in various ways that contain participants, caregivers, and society members. Some of the processes involved include socialization, institutionalization as well cultural observation. Socialization involves the people in society obtaining skills, attitudes, and behaviours required to perform their social roles and statuses. In adult daycare systems, all the participants are taught the same beliefs and attitudes concerning ageing through mingling with the caregivers and the society members. Interactions in the adult daycare systems involve conversation and activities in the system. The older adults in the system may also be involved in group activities that improve their social interaction and mentality (Segal, White, & Robinson, 2023).
Institutionalization is the other procedure that attributes to the construction and reproduction of thoughts of ageing in the adult daycare system. In this method, institutes are responsible for modifying the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviour of the individual taking part in the activity. In the system, this process governs the layout of the whole system and the policies and procedures that dictate daily life. It is also responsible for showing the caregivers and participants the instructions.
In addition to those methods, medicalization is the other process that can be used to construct and reproduce ideas about ageing. This process involves medical skills helping modify social and cultural knowledge of health and illness. This system of caring for the elderly can help use the terms and diagnosis skills to care for and treat older adults. This shows that ageing is a medical issue that medication can control.
Cultural activities also play a significant role in the system’s construction and reproduction of facts about ageing. These are how a particular group of people believe and do and behaviour. In the system, cultural practices can involve rituals and traditions that strengthen particular traditions about ageing.
For straightforward interpretation of the patterns, several ways may be used according to the person’s experience. Individuals may accept the idea of taking care of ageing through the adult daycare system, while others may oppose and discourage it. People can ascribe different meanings to their behaviour in the system according to their goals and interests. While some people may see it as a way of keeping their independence and social connections, some see it as a way of compromising in the face of reducing health.
Different participants have different roles in constructing and reproducing facts about ageing according to their experiences. Therefore, some individuals play a critical role in modifying cultural practices about individuals in the adult daycare system. In contrast, others do not have a significant role, so they familiarise themselves with the present norms. Identities acquired by different individuals also vary according to their experiences and objectives.
From the results of the research paper, it has been discovered that cultural aspects of ageing significantly impact the idea of an adult daycare system. From the findings of this research, it has been shown that the older adults, as well as the staff members, have a great attitude and beliefs regarding ageing. Their strong beliefs and attitude directly affect how they behave towards the idea of ageing. For instance, different people have different attitudes towards the adult day care system; some older adults in society may have a negative opinion towards the adult day care system since they think it shows a decline in physical and mental ability. At the same time, there may be a positive attitude towards the whole idea, perceiving it as a wise way of caring for older adults.
In addition to that, the results also suggest that there are potent narratives and identities in the adult daycare system. The older people in society can write narratives concerning their lives as well as skills which can assist in determining their uniqueness in the system. In the same manner, the staff members in the adult day care can also write narratives about the older adults in society concerning their work in the system, which can help modify their behaviour and attitude towards them.
Some of the social needs that are served in the adult day care system include safety for the elderly as well as modifying the environment to create a conducive environment for the older adults to work. In addition to that, it also creates a conducive environment for older adults to interact with other people in society and address the emotional and physical needs of older adults. Cultural aspects concerning ageing play a significant part in addressing social needs as they are responsible for shaping the attitudes and behaviour of the older people and the staff members in the adult day care centre.
Data analysis
After collecting the data by interviewing the informants and observing participants’ observation of their daily activities, it was then analyzed through qualitative data analysis methods such as thematic analysis. This analysis will mainly focus on identifying patterns and themes related to the making and production of ideas concerning ageing. This analysis method also pays attention to the roles and identities of the people and their implications for modifying their behaviour.
Conclusion
Taking care of the older adults in society is a good show of generosity. Showing concern for older adults can be done in several ways, but this paper has thoroughly analyzed the adult daycare system. This type of system involves assigning specific people to be the caregivers who are responsible for taking care of the elderly in society as well as teaching them about their health and also creating a conducive environment which will enable them to mingle with others in society. How ideas and beliefs can be reconstructed, include medicalization, institutionalization as well socialization. There are also several ways in which participants interpret patterns.
References
Clarke, L. H. (2010). Facing Age: Women Growing Older in Anti-Aging Culture. Rowman & Littlefield. Retrieved from https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/ebook/facing-age-1
Ewen, H. H., Nikzad-Terhune, K., & Dassel, K. B. (2020). Exploring Beliefs about Aging and Faith: Development of the Judeo-Christian Religious Beliefs and Aging Scale. National Library of Medicine, 1-28. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7551704/
Orellana, K., Manthorpe, J., & Tinker, A. (2020). Day centres for older people: a systematically conducted scoping review of literature about their benefits, purposes and how they are perceived. National Library of Medicine, pp. 1–24. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6889849/
Ritchie, L. (2023). Adult Day Care: Northern Perspectives. Public Health Nursing, pp. 1–24. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/10899578_Adult_Day_Care_Northern_Perspectives
Segal, J., White, M., & Robinson, L. (2023). Adult Day Care Services. Aging, pp. 1–23. Retrieved from https://www.helpguide.org/articles/senior-housing/adult-day-care-services.htm
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