Fight loneliness

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Addressing the phenomenon of social isolation of the elderly is a challenge to which the whole society must respond

 

The Spanish demographic pyramid narrows at the base and widens at the top. Births have the lowest figures since the middle of the last century, the po[CENSORED]tion ages and life expectancy is among the highest in the world, with 83.2 years. Those over 65 are around nine million people, an unprecedented brand, and in that segment there is a subgroup of over-aged inhabitants formed by those over 80, a group that according to projections will continue to grow.

This evolution enlarges the situation of dependence and loneliness of the elderly, according to a study carried out by the Acumafu cultural association of Fuenlabrada from the examination of the guest books of 11 nursing homes in the south of the Community of Madrid. The report concludes that only 40% of the 1,203 people living in those centers received visits between the months of January and June of last year, a percentage that fell to 15% during the summer holidays. Similar are the data of the last Christmas, since only 36% were accompanied and only 16% had dinner at home on Christmas Eve. Not in all cases this situation is the result of family detachment, since many older people do not have relatives or close friends.

Facing the phenomenon of loneliness is the challenge facing an increasingly individualistic society. The fact of being alone is different from the feeling of loneliness, which is sometimes linked to oblivion and abandonment. In order to alleviate these effects, non-governmental organizations have emerged, some of them driven by the Administrations, which contribute to mitigate the effects of incommunicado detention of the elderly through accompanying formulas that help them not to feel invisible in the residences. However, these centers are not always available to everyone. The number of places in Spain is around 380,000, which is a ratio of 4.2 per 100 people over 65, an insufficient figure according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization, which proposes a ratio of five.

Providing residences with the means to develop therapies and social activities focused on accompanying the elderly would help to avoid their isolation and to reduce the feeling of unpleasantness. Society faces one of the most silent contemporary evils. Aware of the problem, some countries have created a Ministry of Solitude to combat the unwanted effects of po[CENSORED]tion aging, a phenomenon that is unstoppable in the more developed states.