Living Long but Dying Alone in Singapore
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13 July 2024 22:33 WIB
By: Ad Maulod, Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore
Singapore's longevity success hides a dark side — the lonely deaths of its seniors — exposing a need to address social isolation in its aging population.
Koh, aged 75 and partially blind, was used to doing everything together with his late wife — running errands, visiting museums, and attending musicals. But after her passing, Koh felt as if he had lost his vision and purpose.
"My wife and I, we're not exactly gregarious people. But we didn't feel isolated because we found a lot of happiness in each other's company," he said.
"My loneliness is related to the fact that you can't do many things by yourself. Sometimes people do not realize that I am blind. Especially when I am outside, people can get very nasty. I just feel very alone."
To cope, Koh spends all his days listening to music at home, justifying that it's normal for older people to retreat socially, especially with limited mobility and having no one that he needs to talk to specifically.
"I do get unhappy; then again, other people have it a lot worse," he said.
Disconnection and death
News of older people dying alone at home and their bodies being discovered much later, appear frequently in Singapore's local headlines.
Called 'lonely deaths', at least 37 such incidents were reported last year.
This April alone, three such cases occurred within a span of a week, sparking concerns about the well-being and safety of older persons, like Koh, who live by themselves and are largely disconnected from the rest of society.
Lonely deaths are the outcome of what can happen if social isolation and loneliness among our elders remain unaddressed.
Singapore has been newly designated an "engineered" Blue Zone — a place where people are expected to live longer and enjoy a better and healthier living environment.
This zone aims to create social infrastructure and policies that will contribute to Singapore having the world's highest life and health expectancy — yet this accolade raises additional concerns.
Lily, 103, summed up the sentiment: "Being alive is the most difficult thing to do, it is useless to be alive. Cannot move around, cannot walk, what else is there to do?"
Yap, 74, wants to have coffee and make new friends in his neighborhood. Instead, he feels like a "bird trapped in a cage", because leg pains and a lack of money limit his ability to do so.
Longevity isn't everything
Increased lifespans are seen as a positive thing but for some older adults, they can come with a harsh reality: living with disability and poor health.
This can leave them feeling trapped in their own bodies and circumstances, limiting their ability to engage meaningfully with the outside world, even if they leave their homes.
Aspirations to overcome loneliness were stymied by fears of falling, perceived discrimination or negative judgment, being the subject of gossip, and being a burden — while poverty, pain, limited mobility, family dynamics, depression or low mood, and caregiving responsibilities were reasons for individuals remaining isolated at home, further perpetuating chronic loneliness.
