Self-neglect among the elderly in Ireland

McCann, David (2016) Self-neglect among the elderly in Ireland. Bachelors thesis, Dundalk Institute of Technology.

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Abstract

The following research project examines the topic of self-neglect among the elderly in Ireland. Self-neglect is a hidden and undeniably complex problem and presents a serious public health issue. A detailed analysis of the literature reveales multiple themes such as the adverse health outcomes of older people who self-neglect, their refusal of services and interventions, and the ethical challenges faced by health and social care professionals. A qualitative research paradigm was utilised for the purpose of data collection, with two separate practitioners from the Health Service Executive being interviewed in order to ascertain their perspectives on self-neglect, given their extensive professional experience of the phenomenon. The findings of the research project underscores the significance of self-neglect among the older population, highlighting how it is far from being a straightforward problem with an easy solution. Although the prevalence of self-neglect based on both participants’ estimations of their caseloads was corroborated by the literature, cases which come to the attention of professionals are generally not deemed to be representative of the true extent of self-neglect within the population due to self-neglect behaviours remaining hidden, often times only coming to the attention of others when there is a crisis in the older person’s medical presentation or something happens publicly. The study findings also revealed that instances of self-neglect can occur simultaneously with elder abuse, whereby family members could be depriving the older person of the resources they need to adequately provide for themselves. Other findings highlighted the lack of any formal self-neglect assessment tool among public health nurses, making identification of self-neglect subjective and not standardised; the convoluted process of referrals in relation to accessing certain multidisciplinary services; and the major challenges in making a medical determination of capacity, an area which may become even more compounded with the introduction of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015. However, more study is needed in this particular area especially when the new legislation becomes operational. Finally, the study findings revealed that self-neglect has both good and bad outcomes, with good ones being summed up as a complete ‘turn-around’ in the older person’s condition. Bad outcomes were described as especially difficult because the self-neglect persists and the risk persists while professionals are left trying to positively engage and build relationships with the older person who is denying service intervention and does not see their own behaviour as problematic.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelors)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Elderly people; Neglect.
Subjects:	Social Sciences > Older people Social Sciences
Research Centres:	UNSPECIFIED
Depositing User:	Sean McGreal
Date Deposited:	08 Jun 2016 09:24
Last Modified:	08 Jun 2016 09:24
License:	Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0
URI:	https://eprints.dkit.ie/id/eprint/498

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