Regional Seminar on Preventing Psychological and Health Disorders in the Elderly
As part of the celebration of the International Day of Older Persons, which took place on October 1st, a regional seminar was held today at the Hammamet resort and reception center on ways to prevent psychological and health disorders in the elderly.
In a statement to Mosaïque FM, Wided Souid, head of the elderly service at the Regional Delegation for Women's and Family Affairs in Nabeul, emphasized that the percentage of elderly people in Tunisia is constantly increasing, reaching around 26% according to the 2024 general census of population and housing, and is expected to be around 20% over the next five years. This makes the work of protecting this fragile category constant and proactive, according to her.
According to Ms. Souid, the forward-looking vision for protecting the elderly from isolation, which is the cause of several psychological diseases, requires the development of several activities and programs. Among them, the day club program (or daytime leisure clubs), a project for which a specification book is being developed. It will allow private promoters to create care clubs offering recreational, intellectual, and social activities, similar to children's clubs. The Ministry of Women will contribute to this with a funding line of around five thousand dinars.
It is worth noting that the Nabeul governorate is located in the second region in terms of the number of elderly people in the country, preceded by the Greater Tunis region.
For her part, Dr. Sirine Ben Othman, a psychiatrist at Taher Maamouri University Hospital, stated that prevention is one of the most important components to protect the elderly from psychological disorders such as depression, agitated dementia, anorexia, and lethargy.
According to Dr. Ben Othman, the means of prevention consist of focusing on sports activities and family or community supervision, in addition to good nutrition and leisure. Dr. Ben Othman indicated that studies conducted in two care homes for the elderly in Sfax and Tunis revealed that the percentage of elderly people suffering from depression is between 35 and 50%, a rate that she considers very high.
Dr. Zohra Ben Aïchaouia called for the need to subject the elderly to periodic medical follow-up, good nutrition, and early detection of several diseases to ensure a old age with as little damage as possible. The same speaker also emphasized the need to involve the elderly in social activities and to take advantage of their professional and life experiences to protect them from feelings of isolation, emptiness, and neglect, which have a negative impact on their mental, psychological, and consequently physical health.
