ELDERLY IN BELGRADE: ANTHROPOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE QUALITY OF LIFE WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES
Keywords:
quality of life, elderly, old age, diabetes type 2, health, anthropology of ageingAbstract
In this paper, I analyse the quality of life (QoL) of elderly with type 2 diabetes in Belgrade, using objective and subjective indicators. I chose this topic for two reasons. Firstly, diabetes, especially type 2, is a so-called 21st century epidemic, which affects the QoL of people in general. Secondly, it especially affects the QoL of elderly with diabetes, who are in the majority of those diagnosed and often develop complications, which has not been sufficiently researched from a non-medical perspective. With this paper, which focuses on the everyday of elderly life with diabetes, I wish to change that. As subjective indicators I analyse the mental toll of diagnosis on the interviewees and their physical health (patient-doctor relationship, access to information and opinions on the better QoL which the state/healthcare system could provide). Objective indicators in this paper are: housing, employment before retirement, possible employment in the present, as well as the pension level. I place all these objective indicators against the price of medicine and equipment needed on the monthly basis. I conducted semi-structured interviews with five elderly people with diabetes in Belgrade during August 2023, with additional information provided by four family members. The limitation of this paper is at the same its relevance for future research, which should focus on the mental health of the elderly, which is often a taboo topic due to the social understanding of the elderly as a burden to society.
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