Caring for the Elderly in Kuwait

This article is based on the author's research investigation titled “Toward visualizing a proposal from a general practice perspective in social work to reach the social adjustment in the elderly residing the social nursing home: applied study on the old‐age home (asylum) in Sulaibikhat area in the city of Kuwait.” Caring for the elderly is a humane issue encountered by many developed and developing nations. This dilemma of caring for the elderly has increasingly spread throughout the world. United Nations statistics reveal that there are over 200 million people who were over 60 years of age in 1950. The number increased in 1975 to 350 million, and further increased to 950 million in 2000. It is expected that the number will exceed 1,100 million people by the year 2025. In Kuwait, the number of elderly people has increased rapidly. Table 1 shows the number of elderly people in the last three years, according to gender and nationality. It is clear from the data displayed in Table 1 that there is a continuous annual increase in the number of elderly people residing in Kuwait. In light of this continuous increase and the government's interest in providing full care for the citizens, there is a great need to reconsider the status of this helpless group once again to fulfill their basic needs in accordance with the latest scientific and social development that is carried out by the country. The needs of the elderly are considered an important necessity, resulting from psychological and biological factors, as well as the nature of social relations associated with aging. Satisfying these needs will ensure the social adjustment of the elderly, while at the same time, accomplish the societal goals. Satisfying these and other emotional needs has given impetus to establishing comprehensive nursing homes in Kuwait, and shed more light on the social adjustment of the elderly residing in these homes.