Aging Research Paper

The Older Americans Act (OAA) funds critical services that keep older adults healthy and independent—services like meals, job training, senior centers, caregiver support, transportation, health promotion, benefits enrollment, and more. The Act is overdue for reauthorization—and Congress needs to seize this opportunity to update and renew its commitment to these programs and those they serve. To ensure America’s aging population is able to maintain and live healthy lives provisions are needed to the current OAA. These provisions include:

Provide scholarships to local students to train in eldercare and/or technology; build eldercare into high school and college curricula and county health department programs

Our culture likes to ignore that everyone has sex for pleasure in some form or fashion. Created and preached has been a hard-fast narrative that sex only equals intercourse, and intercourse is only reserved for procreation or for the enjoyment of the young and beautiful, which very quickly begins to limit our understanding of the needs of those not using or falling into these realms, young or old. Consider that the young will age, the beauty will fade and procreation not forever possible. Things we cannot control will happen physically, causing our bodies to not be able to operate in ways that we once enjoyed, but that should not make us abstinent against our will. While some natural physical

42 USCS 3002, The Public Health and Welfare, Chapter 35, lists the programs for older Americans. The Aging and Disability Resource Center is a part of the State’s system of long term care.

There has been an increasingly large amount of awareness placed on the governments role in prevention and standards for the control of health care and communicable diseases. In this growing effort are provisions applying to long-term health and stipulations for proper treatment and care. Gradually, a shift from local community efforts to care for the elder has transferred to a prominent government role. Several committees have been created to assist with the implementation and over view of care and acts to instigate change. Amongst the major changes that have been set in place effecting long-term care, was the passage of the Social Security Act of 1935 and Medicaid insurance.

The objective of this study is to examine the evolution of programs and services for aging population over the last fifty years. Toward this end, this brief study will conduct a review of literature that addresses these shifts and changes in policy. The timeline of the history of the services and pogroms for the aging population in the United States is shown in the following timeline and an explanation for these develops will next follow the timeline.

The first Article that I read while doing research about my program was Delivering aging services: Stability and change in policies and programs. The article is about informing the elderly and their families about services that are available to them through the Older American Act (OAA). The article emphasizes that the Information, Referral and Assistance (IR&A) programs was established to help family and elderly adults identify programs that would help them in their community and homes. (Roberto,

Today, one of the fastest growing segments of the population is the elderly. Due to healthcare advancements to increase longevity, 70 million American citizens will be considered elderly by 2030! This is all possible due to the research done by the medical community, although the NBAC (National Bioethics Advisory Commision) does not recognize the elderly as a vulnerable population. In fact, the agency does state that vulnerability can be context-specific, if a population may be at risk due to age, health, functional status, chronic, or terminal illness. Which, are some of the reasons that describe the elderly population. This can lead to an imbalance of subject at researcher when the elderly are not considered a vulnerable population. Also,

Intrinsic skin aging results from the normal chronological processes that affects all organs during aging and is influenced by numerous factors that change during aging such as decreases in hormonal production [42]. It is well established that decreases in hormonal production results in a loss of moisture in aging skin, with concomitant reduction in elasticity, epidermal atrophy, increased collagen degradation and wrinkling of the skin [43 44]. Adult skin progressively thins at a rate that accelerates with age and all components of skin appear to decrease in thickness with age [45, 46]. The changes that occur to different layers of the skin are depicted in Figure 3.

For this paper, I had the privilege of interviewing one of my friend’s grandmother. Her name is Jamie Hansen and she is a healthy and active 68-year-old grandmother. In the beginning of the phone call, I asked some basic background knowledge questions such as how many grandkids she has and if she was a widower or not. I found out that she and her husband are happily married and that she has six grandchildren. As I got to know her more I started asking questions that pertained to the interview aspect of social theories. I figured out that Mrs. Hansen’s responses led to an application of the continuity and socioemotional selective theories.

Are you freaking out because you’re approaching 50, or already over 50? Does it feel like you’ve lost your youthful attraction and luster? I hope not, because while you may not be that young anymore, the best is yet to come!

There are many ways to stop the signs of aging. There is the wrong way, which can lead to skin cancer and the natural method to stopping the signs aging. One of the natural methods to stop the signs of aging is to avoid consuming too much alcohol. While it proven that many drink alcohol beverages, the main purpose to have fun at party, and some think it a way to release stress, which is another sign of aging. Consuming too much will not only cause lung cancer, but will clog any blood flow around the facial area.

As a 25-year-old adult, consider myself on the younger spectrum as far as biological age. However, I am being reminded daily that I am getting older. I no longer can recover from a workout as rapidly as I used to, I require more sleep after a night of staying up late, there are no more “all nighters”, and I have recently developed pain in my joints and spine. As you may have noticed, all the reasons I have listed above seem obviously negative. This is exactly what I am hoping to get out of this class. A positive perspective of the aging process. I have noticed when I pay attention to the physical aging process my body undergoes; my brain is focused on the negative changes and instead should be focusing on what my age has given me over the years. I am hoping, through taking this class, I will expand my knowledge tremendously on the aging process and begin to switch my way of thinking to a more positive one and begin living a better quality of life as the years pass.

The movie Last Vegas (2013) thoroughly presented the concept of the embodied aging and experience by creating a storyline based on the character, Billy, shared the good news of him finally proposing to his much younger girlfriend with his dearest friends and wanted them to be supportive in his decision-making. All four friends decided to escape from their daily lives a couple of days in order to throw a bachelor party together for Billy in Las Vegas (Last Vegas, 2013). They have been best friends since childhood, yet have experienced a different aging journey (Last Vegas, 2013). In the film, seniors are perceived as dominant and powerful characters because of their life experiences and wisdom.

Our nation is experiencing an increased growth in the older adult population, this brings the concern for their well-being since they are usually at risk for injuries and poor health in general. The elderly often have decreased and impaired mobility, visual or hearing deficit, numerous chronic health conditions, social and economic disadvantages, all of this can put them at risk for falls, poor nutrition, depression, and inability to live independently.