KUALA
LUMPUR: The public are advised to educate themselves on healthy ageing,
personal care, having enough savings and health insurance policy as
preparations for old age.
Malaysian
Healthy Ageing Society (MHAS) advisor Prof Nathan Vytialingam said the public
should realize at young age on how to manage themselves before they become a
burden to others in their golden age.
“The
biggest challenge for us (at MHAS) is to educate people on healthy ageing, but we
will not stop our efforts to encourage them to educate themselves and seek some
advice from experts, especially regarding financial and healthcare.
“We
believe by doing this, they will be prepared to age healthily and enable the
elderly to age better,” he told Bernama after his talk on Intimacy in the
Elderly at the Empowering the Elderly Programme here Saturday.
Nathan
said the media and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) also had important
roles to play in educating the public on healthy ageing.
“I think
if we get together and cooperate with each other, we could organise a lot of
awareness programmes. We could not expect government to do it alone because it
is also responsible,” he said.
Furthermore,
Nathan said more well-trained people were needed to provide healthcare support
for the elderly, especially those with psychological problems.
“Some
adult children might have difficulties coping with their retired parents and
need professional help. This situation occurs because the parents tend to
believe that they have lost their friends and feel so lonely to the extent of
being depressed,” he said.
As such,
he suggested that more day-care centres for the elderly be set up to enable
them to socialise with their peers.
“The
children can drop their parents at this centres during their office hour. We
will assist the elderly by providing several activities to keep them occupied,”
he said.
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