A proposed conception from a social service perspective to confront the problems of the elderly using the task-focus model

The study aims to: Identify the elderly, social, psychological, health and economic problems and to develop a proposal using the task focus model to face such problems.  To achieve the research objectives, the analytical descriptive method and the questionnaire were used as a research tool. A research sample of 24 specialists and social workers working in Riyadh nursing homes was selected from the research community. The study had a number of outcomes: The elderly problems are concentrated in their feelings of inability to work, suffering from making decisions, and difficulty of forming new social relationships. The elderly psychological centered on their suffering from mood swings, hypochondriac, sleeping disorders. The most important health problems were memory disorders, impaired vision, diabetes, stress, and joint pain. Their economic problems focused on difficulty in finding new work with fixed income, difficulty in obtaining financial assistance, increasing the cost of medical supplies, and not being cared about by their children. In view of these findings, a number of recommendations were made: Developing elderly health insurance services, developing elderly health care services provided to them in the nursing home, developing their own health care services, providing medicines required for them, developing their social care services provided in the nursing home. Association of Elderly Friends shall be formed to adopt their family, health, social, psychological and economic problems as well as providing job opportunities for those who wish to get a job, expanding their social insurance system to ensure that they have the right income to meet their living needs. The Ministry of Labor and Social Development shall support the efforts exerted to apply the role of the community service within the community institutions and media contribution (audio-visual) to spread the culture of dealing with the elderly and caring for them.