Turkish Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2006 , Vol 52 , Num 1

Elderly and Social Services

Şadiye Dönümcü 1
1 Sosyal Hizmetler ve Çocuk Esirgeme Kurumu Yaşlı Bakım Hizmetleri Dairesi, Ankara

Aging is a biological process that reveals differences amongst individuals. Elderly people are being marginalized and discriminated. In a developing and changing society, the number of elderly people is increasing exponentially. Being old has become a social problem. Providing preventive, protective and supportive social services to the elderly people is essential. In Turkey, 'Sosyal Hizmetler ve Çocuk Esirgeme Kurumu (SHÇEK) Genel Müdürlüğü' is responsible for protecting and raising the social standards of the elderly population, often socially deprived and under economic poverty, by providing foundation care and social aid services. The existing and widespread model for care service is retirement home services; the country has 201 of them in which 17.394 old people are being cared for. A retirement home constitutes a new environment in which old people have less control on their surroundings. In our country, where 234 out of 235 old people live at their homes, services oriented towards these people are limited and insufficient. Old people having chronic diseases are not being supported enough. Well-being and increased quality of life for the elderly people can be obtained by taking the appropriate measures; it is necessary that relevant institutions cooperate in this context. Determining short and long term targets and putting them in practice to organize the care services for the old people in our country is now considered as critical 

Keywords : Aging, Social Services, SHÇEK