Organizational decision making processes and frameworks

Organizational Decision Making

Today, the issue of aging and eldercare services is at the forefront of social, political, and financial concerns. Indeed, the development of medical services and a better understanding of longevity and health have combined to create a situation in which the older adult population is rapidly increasing. This is creating a rapidly increasing effect upon the ability of the country to provide its older adults with the services and care they require. Americans who are 65 years and older, for example, currently constitute about 13% of the total population in the country, while accounting for 30% of federal health care costs. These numbers are expected to increase almost exponentially over the next decades, and have already created a situation in which, often, more than one generation are making use of care services at the same time. For companies that specialize in elder care, it is therefore vital to research this sector of the population, its current situation, and future needs in order to ensure the long-term effectiveness and sufficiency of health care for the elderly. Indeed, testing design and implementation have become vital for organizational decision making in this area if the future is to create a situation for older adults in which they can be assured of sufficient and effective services while aging with dignity.

One of the areas in which research is vital is both the physical and mental health of older adults and how these affect each other. Old age often means physical decline and chronic disease. Experiencing this breakdown of the body can have very detrimental effects on the mental health of the individual. Becoming ill on a chronic basis, for example, tends to be very stressful and the individual experiences a basic loss of control, which will also affect the mental health of the individual. Physical illness can also be a leading cause of depression among older adults. The mutual effect of physical and mental illness on each other should therefore be tested in order to discover ways in which both can be managed in such a way to ensure effective living for the older individual, even if physical illness is unavoidable.

One of the ways in which this can be achieved is by means of social support. Social support curbs the sense of isolation that often comes with aging. It is also one of the most powerful tools to battle stress and depression. Social support can promote both physical health and psychological well-being. It is important to test various ways in which this can be achieved. Low-impact exercise programs are one of the ways in which both social support and physical well-being can be promoted. Older adults taking part in such programs, for example, will meet others in their peer group, make friends, and find new ways in which to give their lives meaning. Implementation can occur by means of approaching care homes for the elderly and advertising in community newspapers. Services can either be offered at institutions for the elderly or community centers.

Another important factor in researching and understanding the challenges that come with aging is the cultural factor. Cultural sensitivity is highly important in implementing elder care services. Ethnic minority older people, for example, may traditionally be leery of formal agency services, as their cultural traditions dictate that aging parents should be provided for by children or other family members. This factor should be taken into account when designing ways in which to provide care services to these groups.

In response to aging and age-related issues, legislation has been implemented to ensure the fair and legal offering of services to older Americans. According to Niles-Yokum and Wagner (2011, p. 15), the Older Americans Act provide for several areas of care, as well as research and development in the provision of these services to older people. Title IV of the Act, for example, provides funding mechanisms to support research for more effective research and implementation when it comes to services to older Americans.

New approaches not only to service delivery, but also to training, is fundamental to these efforts. Training has been revealed to be an important component of providing effective care for the elderly. Here, testing is an important component. Individuals and institutions who work with older people should implement regular testing procedures to ensure that they continually provide effective care services to the aging population. Such testing procedures should be targeted towards improvement and implementation on an organization-wide scale.

According to Niles-Yokum and Wagner (2011, p. 16), the targeted development and training for the gerontological workforce began as early as the 1970s, where the focus was mainly on researchers and educators in the subject are of gerontology. Today, this has developed to include special skills sets such as mental health interventions. There are also centers of excellence in gerontology to ensure the effective delivery of care services to the older population. This is an important implementation to ensure the quality of care for older people.

In terms of testing, these centers of excellence should be investigated for their scope and reach. If there is not a sufficient number of these centers, more should be implemented in target areas. Furthermore, excellence should also be the goal of care homes and other centers focused on providing care for the elderly. In addition to training personnel for various areas of elderly care, the services themselves should also undergo continuous testing for their effectiveness in providing the care that service users need. This is particularly the case in terms of optimizing both mental and physical health for older people.

The current focus of Title IV of the Older Americans Act is independence, health, and longevity as a result of care services. Before this focus, the title focused on education and training for personnel working with older people. With the current focus, education and training still remain an integral part, while also widening the focus to create optimal services that are in fact focused on the needs of service users rather than exclusively on the knowledge needs of service providers. The implementation of the new focus occurred by means of innovations such as the AAA network, an investigation into the future of senior centers, adult day programs, and consumer-directed programs. Specifically, the funding provided by Title IV functions to implement initiatives to help those at risk for institutionalization to remain as part of the community, as well as evidence-based prevention and management of disease. The focus has therefore become the actual needs of the older community rather than only a theoretical focus on the training and development of personnel. Concomitantly, this implementation also means that training and development can occur on a more targeted and effective basis (NCMHA, 2012).