specific needs of children and elderly left behind as a ... - IOM Moldova

The health of family members The involved perception in the of migration labour migration process
care who participated in the group discussions.
One of the experts told us: “There are elderly who categorically refuse to go
to the doctor, to have a test, some of them say: I don’t need anything, my children
left, nobody needs me! They will never see me again” (FG_ EE_urban).
Depression, negative emotions and sadness weakens the cardiovascular
system and significantly increases the blood pressure and the probability
of strokes and heart attacks.
A poor physical condition can have serious effects on how the elderly take
care of themselves. A worrying sign of their state is that the elderly begin
to pay less attention to their hygiene and household cleaning. However, the
weakening of age-related senses can prevent some elderly from maintaining
their own hygiene, even if they want to.
Depression and sadness may still influence the attitude the elderly have
towards treatment and medical prescriptions. Some elderly may express
confusion regarding the way they should take medicines, which requires
constant surveillance. Large amounts of unused or expired medicines are
another sign proving that some elderly can no longer take care of themselves
and need help.
Due to reduced mobility and coordination problems that come with
age, the risk of accidents and injuries increase. They have to perform all
the household activities, especially in rural areas. Here’s what an elderly
person aged 86 tells: “We still need firewood, water from the well, and I have
to take a little bucket to go after water and sometimes I stumble and I fall”
(III_E_5).
The loss of the ability to judge correctly, as a result of mental and neurological
changes, make the elderly, especially those who live alone and
cannot seek advice from a close person, more vulnerable to criminals.
This increases the risk that some persons may take advantage of these elderly,
leaving them homeless or with no living sources. In this context it
is important that a practitioner would timely evaluate the ability of the
elderly to take care of himself and to make rational decisions.
In many cases, these people take care of their grandchildren. When there
is financial support from their children abroad, it is noted that taking
care of their grandchildren motivates the elderly, increasing their interest
in life and responsibility to maintain adequate living conditions,
cooking meals, etc. Here’s what a grandmother aged 60, who takes care
of her two granddaughters (aged 5 and 4) said: “I got used so much to
them... I couldn’t live without them, without taking care of them... It is a
great pleasure for every grandmother to raise her grandchildren. It’s much
better this way, rather than living alone” (III_E_14). She is happily talking
about the household chores that she is doing for her granddaughters,
149