In the given case, I would attempt to establish communication between Mrs. Lo and her daughter and find out Mrs. Lo’s real interests. During the discussion, she might reconsider some of her traditional views and try to resolve her new situation together with her daughter. Mrs. Lo has no outstanding health problems and difficulties in maintaining her household. Thus, living in a retirement community is an unnecessarily radical measure for her.
A major challenge for Mrs. Lo is that she cannot travel long distances to meet her needs, such as shopping and church attendance, due to the absence of a car and a public transport. This problem does not directly threaten her health and is not a disastrous circumstance, but it has the potential to make her life more complicated. According to Tabloski (2014), in caring for older adults, one should not be guided by the principle of extending their lives, but by the principle of improving their quality of life in old age. The author argues that this principle is a key standard of gerontological nursing practice (Tabloski, 2014).
Thus, it should be concluded that moving to retirement community could adversely affect Mrs. Lo’s quality of live. It is necessary to identify other possible solutions to Mrs. Lo’s problem if her daughter does not want to move in with her.
Social and health care for older people is not always associated with their moving to a specialized institution. According to Mieke Deschodt (2017), “the majority of care-dependent older people are cared for in their own homes,” and only “about one fifth receive care in residential care facilities” (p. 3). Researchers note that, at present, there are a huge number of institutions caring for older adults, including remotely, and nurses are a crucial component of the corresponding programs (Mieke Deschodt, 2017).
Consequently, Mrs. Lo’s daughter may consider options offered by various private or public healthcare organizations that would satisfy her mother’s request. The same option is available to Mrs. Lo and senior people like her. They can request support from nearby social and healthcare institutions, which would appoint them a personal caregiver. These may include gerontological centres, social assistance centres, retirement communities, private and public hospitals. In the proposed case, the care may involve the delivery of food to the house or the transportation of Mrs. Lo to church or store.
References
Mieke Deschodt, R. N. (2017). Challenges in research and practice in residential long-term care. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 49(1), 3-5.
Tabloski, P. (2014). Gerontological nursing (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Health Science.