Elderly people living alone

Abstract

Introduction: In the last decades, a social phenomenon has emerged: the number of elderly people residing in single-person households, that is, living alone. Among these individuals are those who accumulate losses in health, social and personal life during their lifespan. Objective: To integrate scientific knowledge about elderly people living alone. Methods: It is an integrative review performed on four international databases. The theoretical reference of the Quality of Life was chosen to categorize the results. Results: After critical reading and analysis of 16 selected articles, two main themes and four subthemes emerged. The first main theme was named by “Contextualization of the Elderly that Lives Alone”; the second main theme was called “The role of family in the life of the elderly living alone”. Conclusion: This age group needs a support network to maintain their quality of life; this network must encompass family members, friends, neighbors and health professionals and these must aid the elderly living alone in daily activities, travels and healthcare, among others; since the elderly living alone usually present chronic conditions, cognitive/motor deficit and higher risk of social isolation.Key-words: gerontology, geriatrics, nursing, Physical therapy.

Living Standards in One-Person Households of the Elderly Population

“…There is a research deficit was found that would relate analysis exclusively to one-person households of the elderly, while it seems to be obvious that this kind of households may be different from the multi-person households. The lack of research is also confirmed by other researchers [21]. For example, in the household run by one person, as a rule, there is no dependence on other people during making decisions about the amount of expenditures on particular categories of goods and services, and financial resources are not combined with other people.…”

“…In many countries of Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland, there are more one-person households at the retirement age than at the working age. The prevalence of "living alone" at the end of life varies widely in the world, but in all countries the growth of this part of society has been mighty in last decades, even in societies in which, traditionally, there are strong family ties [21,22]. Summarizing, among elderly persons there is an increasing trend towards independent living, and great number of older persons across the world live alone [23,24].…”

“…The growing number of one-person households of the elderly is the result of socio-demographic changes that have taken place and are still observed in human history [25]. On the one hand, the elderly persons who live alone, can be in such an experience by its own choice, aiming at independence and autonomy; on the other hand, there are individuals who live alone for lack of choice, child evasion, for long physical distances between elderly and family members, for loss of spouse [21]. The increase in the number of the elderly poses many serious social implications to a country, particularly regarding their well-being, quality of life.…”

Computerized Senior Citizen Health Monitoring using Mobile Application

“…There is a high risk of a bad incident that could happen while they are alone at home. By alone, it is considered that an elderly person who does not reside with their family members, including those who live with employees [2]. Therefore, it is essential to provide an effective solution to help senior citizens to manage themselves at home and assist them to live independently.…”

“…Ageing is a stage of the life cycle, irreversible, natural and that occur differently from individual to individual [2]. As people age, health becomes a critical factor because they might experience many changes and uncertainties that might affect their life.…”