HSM 330 Chapter Notes - Chapter 11: Long-Term Care, Social Exchange Theory, Dementia

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Health Services Management
• Course: HSM 330
• Professor: Daolun Chen

Document Summary

Social support, health, and aging: social support is important for both mental health and physical health throughout the life span, but it may be especially important in late life. 3 functions of social support have been identified: aid (instrumental help), affect (emotional support), and affirmation (acknowledgment of one"s values or agreement with one"s attitudes). Emotional support refers to the quality of the person"s relationships with others, including empathy, caring, companionship, love, and trust. The intention of social support is often to alleviate the psychological distress of the person. Finally, affirmation is the knowledge and understanding that one"s belief"s and attitudes are similar to others, therefore providing membership and acceptance in a group. Informal support network members consist of family, friends, and neighbors. This group provides instrumental and emotional support, companionship, acceptance, love, understanding, and respect. Quasi-formal support: the quasi-formal support system includes community organizations and service workers.