Poverty and Aging Women with Disabilities in Canada

For many people, having a disability and growing older can be a social and health care burden. While some older people are in extreme poverty and lack access to healthcare, others live with disability. Access to health care services is constrained for the elderly. People with impairments are particularly impacted. They are paid less and frequently live in poverty when it comes to employment as well. More than men, disability endangers the health of older women. Their capacity to integrate into society through employment, healthcare, and other social activities that improve physical and mental health is impacted. Looking at the current health care system in Canada, it has definitely improved from previous times; however, it is not working at it should.

In spite of advances in the medicine and medical care, Canada is yet to fully offer care in a flawless and cohesive manner. There is a high-quality care for elderly patients however hey have to wait for a long time to get it. To respond to growing population of people, the health care system ought to offer consolidated, continuous care to meet the chronic and multifaceted care needs for this group. This entails identifying the increased role for patient and family caregivers in the care process and the significance of fostering efforts that enhance the social determinants of health and healthy living. There ought to be collaborative changes from all players concerned.

According to Canadian Medical Association, (2016) Statistics shows that over 15% of the Canadian populace is above 65 compared to only 7.6 percent in the 1960s. These numbers are expected to increase in the coming years. The Canadian health care system was designed specifically for the young and vibrant population; however, with the growth of the elderly population incorporating those with disabilities, changes, as well as new policies, have to be made.

Since most people with disabilities tend to live in poverty due to disparities in employments, they have a problem accessing health care. Almost over 70 percent of the elderly population have a chronic ailment. Due to the increasing rates of disability and chronic illnesses, demand for health acre services is high in this group. Looking at both genders; male and females in terms of health care, they all tend to have equal access to health care. Women have tend to have more ailments thus they frequently have to seek medical attention (Chappell, 2003. In home care systems, a majority of seniors stay in private homes. This is because many prefer independence and personalized care. Services they require include health care and other home support services.

Looking at those with disabilities with both genders more so that from a poor background; the care is offered mostly from the family members. This group is often functionally dependent and thus put a lot of stress on the caregivers. With both genders, there is a slight difference in terms of medical treatments and costs (Chappell, 2003). Women have frail health compared to men; therefore, medical cost shall be a little bit higher as they shall require specialized care. They key thing, however, is that there is a slight difference regarding health care, cost, or caregivers for both genders living with disabilities.

More than half of working-age individuals living with disabilities is off the labor markets. Therefore, as they age, they become more prone to poverty. The majority of the aging women live in poverty predominantly those with disabilities. There has been efforts by the government to enhance the lives of this disadvantaged group. The Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD), the Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL) and wider disability community have realized the need to offer support to aging women with disability.The Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) endeavors to enhance the status of men and women with disabilities by alleviating disparity and favoritism. CCD has partnered with the government for over three decades to enhance the status of those with disabilities.

The Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL) is a national federation of 10 provincial and three territorial associations. CACL functions to encourage and realize whole inclusion of citizens with intellectual disabilities in every facet of communal life.The Canadian government has worked hard to offer financial aid to the retired women living with disabilities. Canadian Pension Plan (CPP)- Disability Benefits offers monthly taxable benefits to the disabled and their dependent kid. The employment insurance sickness benefits offer sickness benefits to people who cannot work due to sickness or disability (Disability Doorway, 2017).

Disability Tax Credit is designed to those with living with disability and cannot perform basic functions. It offers income tax relief to cushion disability-related expenses. Medical expense tax credit and attendant care expense reduction additionally offer tax relief. Medical tax credit offer relief for those who have sustained prolonged medical expense due to their condition. Residential Rehabilitation Assistance program (RRAP) - Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) offers financial assistance to enable landlords to pay for adjustments allowing those with disabilities to live comfortably (Disability Doorway, 2017).

Adult women are more prone to illness than the adult men, due to factors such as less muscle strength and minimal bone density as well as obesity. Therefore this might add to the cost of medical treatment. Women, therefore, tend to be prone to poverty to due increased medical expenses. Additionally, women are normally paid less than their male counterparts; therefore, this contributes immensely to their increased poverty rates after retirement.

References

Canadian Medical Association (2017). Retrieved 24 March 2017, from https://www.cma.ca/En/Lists/Medias/the-state-of-seniors-health-care-in-canada-september-2016.

Chappell, N. L. (2003). Aging in contemporary Canada. Prentice Hall.

(Disability Doorway 2017). Retrieved 24 March 2017, from http://www.disabilitydoorway.com/financial_assistance.59.php