Abstract
M.A.
The basic assumption of this mainly exploratory study is that aging
is a time of growth, creati vity and new opportunities. The aged
person is an individual who has rights and experiences basic needs.
The rendering of all services and provision of resources should take
cognisance of these values. Furthermore it is the privilege of each
aged person to be involved in the planning of the provision of such
resources.
This research project was further based on the assumptions contained
in the ecological approach, with special reference to the life model
evolved by Germain and Gitterman (1980). Central to this approach
is the view that people, like all living organisms, together with
their environment, form an ecosystem in which each shapes the other.
At times, people change environments to make them conform to physical
and psychological needs, and they must then adapt to the changes
they have induced. At sti II other times, people adapt by seeking
new environments - such as a congenial service centre. for the aged.
The purpose of this study was to discover the aged in Kempton Park
as a client system, to ascertain the quality of their lives and to
establish a few guidel ines for the planning of future health and
welfare services.
A list of the names and addresses of all white persons aged 60 years
and older and living within the municipal boundaries of Kempton Park
was subsequently obtained from the Municipality of Kempton Park. A
representative sample from this research population was drawn by
means of a technique of random sampling, after eliminating aged
persons already living in sheltered housing facilities.
In order to obtain information on certain characteristics of the
aged group in Kempton Park a carefully constructed questionnaire was
mailed to 950 of the persons concerned.