An aging population poses more challenges and questions to think about.
Singapore has an aging population — in less than 7 years in 2030, one out of four citizens will be a senior citizen (above 65 years old). On a more day to day experience, many of my colleagues who are 50 and above have parents who are over the age of 80 — those parents who are chronically ill or have dementia are usually reliant on at least one their children as their main caregiver, especially if he or she is single.
Caregiving for aged and sick parents for prolonged periods usually lead to burnout, whether the caregivers acknowledge it or not. As my parents become older, I also need to be mentally and financially prepared to support them. My concern at a broader societal level is whether we are prepared to do so or have access to resources which can help in approaching aged care.
What is aged care? According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), healthcare services for the elderly can be broadly classified as either residential or community healthcare services. For the former, examples of facilities include community hospitals, chronic sick hospitals and nursing homes. Community healthcare services can be broadly categorised in two areas: home based and centre based. You can read more about these definitions here.
