Research On Group Work Involved In Mutual Support For The Elderly Living Alone In Cities

With the deepening of China's aging,the problem of providing for the aged is becoming more and more serious,especially for the elderly living alone in urban communities.The problem of providing for the aged is more serious.Their physical health,spiritual support,economic income and expenditure and social interaction are not optimistic.This vulnerable group urgently needs the widespread attention of the society.It is gratifying to note that,as a new pension mode in China,mutual pension has begun to appear in rural communities in recent years,but the development of urban communities is lagging behind.At present,domestic scholars have relatively little research on mutual support for the elderly living alone in urban communities,and the public has not paid enough attention to the elderly living alone in urban communities.Therefore,it is necessary to carry out group mutual assistance for the elderly living alone in urban communities.This paper takes the elderly living alone in Wolong community as the research object,and analyses the necessity and feasibility of using group work method to intervene in the elderly living alone in the community.In the early stage of the group work,the author and social workers jointly entered the community,conducted a questionnaire survey on the elderly living alone in the community,and investigated the health status,economic income status,social interaction status,mental health status,and relationship with children of the elderly living alone in the community.Then the questionnaire data were analyzed to assess their needs,and ten elderly people living alone were carefully selected as group service objects.In addition,we also interviewed grass-roots community organizations to obtain the necessary resources for the elderly group mutual service activities.Subsequently,a mutual assistance group for the elderly living alone was established and seven group activities were carried out.Group activities are aimed at promoting cooperation and mutual assistance among the members.The basic tasks are to adjust the pessimism of the members and promote interpersonal communication among the members,to create harmonious and friendly neighbourhood relations,and to encourage the elderly to regain their confidence in life.After the completion of the group work,the author evaluates the degree of achievement of the group goals,the effect of group activities and the relationship between the groups,points out the success of the group,and reflects on some problems in practice.Finally,the author puts forward corresponding countermeasures and suggestions.In a word,based on the old-age needs of the elderly living alone in the city,the group work mutual assistance service is guided by the professional value of social work and the practical principle of the elderly group work.Combining with the previous research and practical experience of the old-age service for the elderly living alone,it applies the old-age social work methods and concepts to the service of the elderly living alone,expecting to contribute in this field.