Older Women In Prison Case Study Essay
The purpose of this paper is to review the prevalence of older women in prison system and how they are affected with Alzheimer while incarcerated, which hinder them to navigate the social support and reintegration into the community once they are release. Moreover, case study will be present describing the symptoms and how it affects an individual as well as investigate the theory that will help support this population with this disease. Furthermore, dominant social discourse on Alzheimer, policy surrounding healthcare, and direct social work practice supporting individual from micro, mezzo, and macro will be examined.
The growing population of older incarcerated women in becoming alarming and the need for healthcare services will increase as well (Reviere and Young, 2004, p. 56). Moreover, elderly inmate women experience the highest rate of chronic physical problem and …show more content…
mental health problem (p. 60). This can be attributed to the loss of a loved one who might be financially supportive of them.
Many women become vulnerable when they encounter traumatic event. As a result, some cope with drugs while others cope engaging in fraudulent activities. My argument here is not to say that what they are doing is right or wrong but we must understand that each individual strength and weaknesses are different. While some women are able to cope with traumatic event successfully, other women collapse and seek negative supportive system. Schoon (2006), states “Some individual appear to escape the potential adverse effect of disadvantage. Changes in development are possible at many point across the life course, illustrating the potential diversity in ontogenetic outcome, regardless of similarity in risk experienced (as cited in Cicchetti et al., 1993; Lerner, 1996) (p.22)”. Schoon (2006) further argues that, “change in the level of adaptation at later time points can be expected, based on changes in the environment, or changes guided by active individual choice and self-organization involving reciprocal person-environment interactions (p.22)”.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, degenerative brain disorder. It causes worsening deficits in areas of cognition, behavior, and activities of daily living (Billings et al., 2005, p.675). While Rice et al, (2001), argues that “the prevalence of AD is expected to increase during the next several decades as the general population ages (p.809). According to Lindsay, et. al. (2002), “Among Canadians aged 65 years or older, Alzheimer’s disease account for almost two thirds of prevalent cases in dementia (p.445)”. Furthermore, women are 70% more to be affected with Alzheimer which put them at higher risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer disease (Government of Canada). This might be due to the fact majority of women are the caregiver for those affected with Alzheimer. The cause of Alzheimer is unknown, however, research believe that genetic factors play a significant role in the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (Munoz and Feldman, 2000, p.65).
As seniors age, they experience chronic diseases, intolerable pain, frustrating incapability, mood swing and cognitive impairments, which can be stressful for caregiver’s and their loved ones. However, it can become a peaceful shelter with care and affection of family and friends but being a primary caregiver for an elderly person can be an overwhelming job especially when you have a family of your own. For example, issues such as bathroom safety, pain management, proper nutritional care, special care for elders with incontinence are very important to be remembered.
The disease exacts an emotional, financial, and physical toll on the families it affects and creates a burden on the tax payer due to experiment cost on finding the cure and causes of disease. In Rising Tide: The Impact of Dementia on Canadian Society (2010), states “The annual total economic burden, expressed in future dollars, increases substantially from approximately $15 billion in 2008 to $153 billion by year 2038 (p.22)”. For any country to claim that providing healthcare for the elderly is an economic burden is absolutely appalling. This makes me question the dominant discourse values and beliefs especially when the elderly had paid their share of nation building through had work and paying tax. How could any government not put into consideration that it is their responsibility to cater to the needs of these vulnerable group. So therefore, I conclude that paying tax does not necessitate to better healthcare provision in the future. The burning question is what is our government doing to provide better healthcare services for the citizens that elected them into office. I am aware that during election time, politicians makes unrealistic and empty promises to buy our votes but at least they should consider that the most important thing should be providing adequate resources towards the healthcare system.
My case study is in regard to Mrs. Williams who has lived alone for the past several years after the death of her husband. She is 65 years old and had just been released from prison after serving 4years. Mrs. Williams lost her only son to heart attack and her daughter In- law and grand children lives far away causing her to have limited contact. After the death of her son, she started engaging in fraudulent activities and shoplifting to support herself as she was working part-time cashier at a grocery store. Mrs. Williams son was previously supporting her financially before his death.
While in prison, she was reported to correctional officer by her roommate who felt concern with her cognitive ability, behaviour, and lack of sleep. On many occasion, her roommate reported that when she has a conversation with Mrs. Williams, she seems aloof, repeat the same question or statement, claimed there is poison in her food and would not eat it. Her roommate was able to figure out that she broke her denture and ask Mrs. Williams to go to the infirmary for a new one, which she never did.
As her roommate concern grew, the officer in charge had to report what was going on with her colleagues and Mrs. Williams was booked for doctor’s appointment. At the doctor’s appointment, Mrs. Williams was unable to follow direction and the doctor’s questions. Mrs. Williams was able to identify herself but claimed to have no idea where she is nor did she know the current day, time and month. As the doctor asked more and more questions, Mr. Williams became agitated and answer that she doesn’t know (maybe she cannot comprehend what was being ask of her).
Mrs. Williams will occasionally call the doctor by his son’s name and asked him several times about her grandchildren. Lab test revealed iron deficiency and hypoglycemia.
To adequate support the need of Mrs. Williams, it would be necessary to work with her from strength perspective theory. This theory explained how an individual should be able to do as much as possible by him or herself in other to preserve their dignity and give them a sense of belonging. Judge, Yarry, and Orsulic-Jeras (2010), states “…the strength-based approach emphasizes current possibilities and option and includes individuals undergoing treatment as active participant in their own wellness process (p.409)”.
By working from this theory, her needs and goals would be met through a collaborative approach with case management during the initial intake assessment.
Since Mrs. Williams has no relative who lives nearby, it would be necessary to place her in long term care where she can be sufficiently cared for by healthcare professional. The strength base approach operationalizes with my personal philosophy of empowerment and self dependent because it does not diminish the challenges the individual may be experiencing. This approach recognises and promotes the worth, dignity and uniqueness of older people in the face of social attitudes that can sometimes stigmatize and marginalize them. However, it does promote gross and fine motor skill. For Alzheimer individual, exercise can improve both gross and fine motor skill, which can facilitate well-being. To critically reflect on this approach, I will argue that it might be difficult to use with someone who is in the late stage of Alzheimer. The individual will not be able to correspond to any type of verbal prompt, redirection, or socialization with his/her
peers.
The dominant social discourse of people with Alzheimer are characterised by negative connotation and stigma which imply that individual with Alzheimer are aggressive, violent, deviant, and lunatic when in fact this is there own way of communicating their unmet needs. Moreover, the assumption of the dominant social discourse believes that if an Alzheimer patient removes his or cloth it is considered sexually inappropriate when in fact there are many “normal” people who walks around in society without any T-shit on, are we to judge them and label them sexually in appropriate? When in fact they took their clothes of due to excessive heat similar to the same way an individual with Alzheimer took his or her clothes off. Dupuis, Wiersma, and Loiselle, (2012), explain
The growing population of older incarcerated women in becoming alarming and the need for healthcare services will increase as well (Reviere and Young, 2004, p. 56). Moreover, elderly inmate women experience the highest rate of chronic physical problem and …show more content…
mental health problem (p. 60). This can be attributed to the loss of a loved one who might be financially supportive of them.
Many women become vulnerable when they encounter traumatic event. As a result, some cope with drugs while others cope engaging in fraudulent activities. My argument here is not to say that what they are doing is right or wrong but we must understand that each individual strength and weaknesses are different. While some women are able to cope with traumatic event successfully, other women collapse and seek negative supportive system. Schoon (2006), states “Some individual appear to escape the potential adverse effect of disadvantage. Changes in development are possible at many point across the life course, illustrating the potential diversity in ontogenetic outcome, regardless of similarity in risk experienced (as cited in Cicchetti et al., 1993; Lerner, 1996) (p.22)”. Schoon (2006) further argues that, “change in the level of adaptation at later time points can be expected, based on changes in the environment, or changes guided by active individual choice and self-organization involving reciprocal person-environment interactions (p.22)”.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, degenerative brain disorder. It causes worsening deficits in areas of cognition, behavior, and activities of daily living (Billings et al., 2005, p.675). While Rice et al, (2001), argues that “the prevalence of AD is expected to increase during the next several decades as the general population ages (p.809). According to Lindsay, et. al. (2002), “Among Canadians aged 65 years or older, Alzheimer’s disease account for almost two thirds of prevalent cases in dementia (p.445)”. Furthermore, women are 70% more to be affected with Alzheimer which put them at higher risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer disease (Government of Canada). This might be due to the fact majority of women are the caregiver for those affected with Alzheimer. The cause of Alzheimer is unknown, however, research believe that genetic factors play a significant role in the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (Munoz and Feldman, 2000, p.65).
As seniors age, they experience chronic diseases, intolerable pain, frustrating incapability, mood swing and cognitive impairments, which can be stressful for caregiver’s and their loved ones. However, it can become a peaceful shelter with care and affection of family and friends but being a primary caregiver for an elderly person can be an overwhelming job especially when you have a family of your own. For example, issues such as bathroom safety, pain management, proper nutritional care, special care for elders with incontinence are very important to be remembered.
The disease exacts an emotional, financial, and physical toll on the families it affects and creates a burden on the tax payer due to experiment cost on finding the cure and causes of disease. In Rising Tide: The Impact of Dementia on Canadian Society (2010), states “The annual total economic burden, expressed in future dollars, increases substantially from approximately $15 billion in 2008 to $153 billion by year 2038 (p.22)”. For any country to claim that providing healthcare for the elderly is an economic burden is absolutely appalling. This makes me question the dominant discourse values and beliefs especially when the elderly had paid their share of nation building through had work and paying tax. How could any government not put into consideration that it is their responsibility to cater to the needs of these vulnerable group. So therefore, I conclude that paying tax does not necessitate to better healthcare provision in the future. The burning question is what is our government doing to provide better healthcare services for the citizens that elected them into office. I am aware that during election time, politicians makes unrealistic and empty promises to buy our votes but at least they should consider that the most important thing should be providing adequate resources towards the healthcare system.
My case study is in regard to Mrs. Williams who has lived alone for the past several years after the death of her husband. She is 65 years old and had just been released from prison after serving 4years. Mrs. Williams lost her only son to heart attack and her daughter In- law and grand children lives far away causing her to have limited contact. After the death of her son, she started engaging in fraudulent activities and shoplifting to support herself as she was working part-time cashier at a grocery store. Mrs. Williams son was previously supporting her financially before his death.
While in prison, she was reported to correctional officer by her roommate who felt concern with her cognitive ability, behaviour, and lack of sleep. On many occasion, her roommate reported that when she has a conversation with Mrs. Williams, she seems aloof, repeat the same question or statement, claimed there is poison in her food and would not eat it. Her roommate was able to figure out that she broke her denture and ask Mrs. Williams to go to the infirmary for a new one, which she never did.
As her roommate concern grew, the officer in charge had to report what was going on with her colleagues and Mrs. Williams was booked for doctor’s appointment. At the doctor’s appointment, Mrs. Williams was unable to follow direction and the doctor’s questions. Mrs. Williams was able to identify herself but claimed to have no idea where she is nor did she know the current day, time and month. As the doctor asked more and more questions, Mr. Williams became agitated and answer that she doesn’t know (maybe she cannot comprehend what was being ask of her).
Mrs. Williams will occasionally call the doctor by his son’s name and asked him several times about her grandchildren. Lab test revealed iron deficiency and hypoglycemia.
To adequate support the need of Mrs. Williams, it would be necessary to work with her from strength perspective theory. This theory explained how an individual should be able to do as much as possible by him or herself in other to preserve their dignity and give them a sense of belonging. Judge, Yarry, and Orsulic-Jeras (2010), states “…the strength-based approach emphasizes current possibilities and option and includes individuals undergoing treatment as active participant in their own wellness process (p.409)”.
By working from this theory, her needs and goals would be met through a collaborative approach with case management during the initial intake assessment.
Since Mrs. Williams has no relative who lives nearby, it would be necessary to place her in long term care where she can be sufficiently cared for by healthcare professional. The strength base approach operationalizes with my personal philosophy of empowerment and self dependent because it does not diminish the challenges the individual may be experiencing. This approach recognises and promotes the worth, dignity and uniqueness of older people in the face of social attitudes that can sometimes stigmatize and marginalize them. However, it does promote gross and fine motor skill. For Alzheimer individual, exercise can improve both gross and fine motor skill, which can facilitate well-being. To critically reflect on this approach, I will argue that it might be difficult to use with someone who is in the late stage of Alzheimer. The individual will not be able to correspond to any type of verbal prompt, redirection, or socialization with his/her
peers.
The dominant social discourse of people with Alzheimer are characterised by negative connotation and stigma which imply that individual with Alzheimer are aggressive, violent, deviant, and lunatic when in fact this is there own way of communicating their unmet needs. Moreover, the assumption of the dominant social discourse believes that if an Alzheimer patient removes his or cloth it is considered sexually inappropriate when in fact there are many “normal” people who walks around in society without any T-shit on, are we to judge them and label them sexually in appropriate? When in fact they took their clothes of due to excessive heat similar to the same way an individual with Alzheimer took his or her clothes off. Dupuis, Wiersma, and Loiselle, (2012), explain