HLTH340 Jenny’s Case Study -Assignment Solution

Perspectives of the People Involved

The case study focuses on Jenny, 66 years old retired and divorced woman living in a coastal town. Jenny has been independent since the age of 16 and worked in the business industry for 30 years. She divorced her husband at the age of 61 years and decided to move to a smaller town after her retirement. In her new residence, she does not have any relative or friend. Furthermore, the lack of hobbies or social activities makes her life difficult noting that her ex-husband and children live in the city. Being an elderly woman, divorcee, and retired, Jenny’s situation provides a complex yet interesting scenario to analyze.

Jenny James is grieving the loss of independence, social status, and the interpersonal interactions she enjoyed at the workplace and the life in the city. It is evident that being in a smaller coastal town, far from her children, friends, and ex-husband (a close friend) makes her feel lonely leading to the diagnosed depression. We can conclude that she views spending her retirement at a coastal town as an ideal way but the social and psychological adversities of the choice are worth re-evaluating. Although she is divorced, she maintains a good relationship with her Ex-husband who feels concerned for the lonely life of Jenny and the physical and emotional distance between them. Moreover, James and his children show concern over Jenny's lack of hobbies which limits her social interactions and opportunities to make new friends. According to Park &Yeo (2013), hobbies and other social engagements provide opportunities to meet new people and make new friends. For example, in Australia, the majority of the elderly engage in social activities such as volunteer work which help them achieve social satisfaction by developing new relationships. The children perceive that if their mother was in a stable relationship or had other social relationship to keep her company, she would be psychologically and socially healthy; thus eliminating the depression that might escalate into something sinister. In particular, this is a critical and probable cause for concern based on the findings by Payne (2010) discussed later.

Her general practitioner (GP) does not know her past life and he does not find out more about her social life which would help in understanding the cause of depression. Unfortunately, he concludes that Jenny is suffering from depression caused by old age leading to his decision to place her under medication instead of exploring other non-medicinal interventions.