Vocational School Of Health Services
NEW POLICY TO AGING TURKEY
Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) data revealed that Turkey’s population was old, that extended family structure transformed into nuclear family structure, and there was need for serious state policies. According to TUIK statistics, total ratio of ages 65 and over reached up to 8% in Turkey.
Melahat Kızıl, Lecturer at Izmir University of Economics (IUE), Vocational School of Health Services, stated that people 65 and over were considered as elderly population according to the World Health Organization, and she said "Elderly population in accordance with the life expectancy is gradually increasing in Turkey and worldwide. Life expectancy has doubled compared to the beginning of the 20th century. 64% of the elderly population in Turkey prefers to live in their own homes. When we consider the rate of aging, and since aging is a natural process and everyone will age, serious state policies regarding the issue should be made.”
‘The Elderly Struggle with Depression’
Kızıl reminded that the week of March 18 was observed as the ‘Elderly Week’ and if the elderly population was 8-10% within the total population, that nation was regarded as old. Kızıl said that aging population brought along new problems and she stated the following:
"While in 2013 in Turkey the number of old people that 100 employees needed to look after were eleven, that number is expected to go up to 19 in 2030. Taking care of the elderly is seen as a major problem in our country due to changes in the family structure, economic hardship, and cultural changes. This makes the elderly feel alienated, lonely, and depressed. Survey done by Izmir University of Economics showed that two out of every three elderly experienced mild or medium level depression.”
‘Poverty in Elderly Increases’
Kızıl also pointed that the elderly were below the poverty risk, and poverty ratio for elderly people increased to 18.7% in 2012.
‘Nursing Homes Still Have a Bad Image’
Factors such as lack of social security, lack of education, chronically diseases, and inability to move easily were among the major problems the elderly people faced, stated Kızıl and she said, "Nursing homes are considered as places for homeless elderly where they receive care. Even though the number of nursing homes and adult day care centers, especially in the private sector, increased they are still not popular due to the belief mentioned before, or they only serve people with social security or money.”
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