Comparing Two Social Theories About Aging

In the U.S, one in four will be aged 60 years and older by 2050 (U.S. Census Bureau). This represents an overwhelming number of people who will either be in the caretaker role or be the ROC. Like today, most of the care will be provided by informal unpaid caregivers. The number of informal unpaid caregivers is expected to rise from 20 million in 2000 to 37 million in 2050 (Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation [ASPE], 2003). Because of the burden of care giving, many caregivers will experience depression, poor health and quality of life (Etters, Goodall, & Harrison, 2008). Their well-being is an important public health concern.

The final stage is the “family in later life”. During this stage, individuals must accept the shifting of generational roles, as they become the grandparents. They must be able to let go of some power to their offspring as they find their new place in the family system. Dealing with this change while facing potential decline in health, financial security, and loss of spouse can be stressful. Grandparenthood can be a reward substitute (Carter & McGoldrick, 1988, p. 20).

There are two theories of ageing. The disengagement theory is when the elderly unfortunately start to give up with activities or social life. They become withdrawn from society. This is when you disengage from any way of contact or interaction. The reason for disengagement theory may be because physical functions deteriorate. There are three phases of disengagement theory. These are shrinkage of life space is when you are not working or have no contact with friends and family. You don’t get to meet new people. You decide not to take up any hobbies or activities. The second phase is increased individuality. This is when you become independent and what others do does not matter to you. The third phase is acceptance. You start to accept

In the medical field, the workers are highly trained to be able to make a distinction between what is right and what is wrong. Elder abuse is becoming a serious issue in the health environment. As defined in the website, MedicineNet.com, elder abuse is: “the physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of an elderly person, usually one who is disabled or frail”. The older population consists of people over sixty-five years old. They are very fragile and sometimes they are forgotten or abused. The elderly can be victims of mistreatment in nursing homes, hospitals, or even in their own house. Nursing is the act of promoting health for others, and of providing care and security with the skills nurses have acquired. However, those who are nursing

Therefore, many people in America are worried if there is going to be a crisis in health care. The chapter also discussed that doctors and nurses are starting to make more house calls to the elderly population. These increasing house calls are due to their patient’s fragile nature which forces the patient to be homebound. Furthermore, the chapter also touched on the fact that many of the elderly people are going to nursing homes. This is due to many different reasons. One of the reasons is that years ago the family size was much larger and so there were many people in the family to care for the elderly in the family. But, in present time many of the elderly do not have as many children or that the children do not live close by

The way a nurse thinks about a patient can affect the patient’s quality of care especially in older adults. According to Pophan, Kennison & Bradley (2011) “Ageism refers to stereotyping and discrimination aimed toward older individuals.” Ageism happens frequently in older adults receiving healthcare. “One out of five of these adults experience discrimination in healthcare settings and one in seventeen experiences it frequently” according to the researchers of the nationally representative Health & Retirement Study done in 2008, 2010 & 2012 (Pecci, 2015). A nurse that stereotype and/or discriminate negatively affects the care of the older patient.

Further national demographics shifts, such as deferred marriages and childbearing for young adults, reduced family size, and families living at a distance, are also exacerbating this dilemma. Additionally, increasing longevity among older adults will extend the years of assistance needed from their families as caregivers, including some grandchildren (Bookman & Kimbrel, 2011).

Later adulthood is the time in life when changes in marriage, families, and peer relationships are affected the most by the loss of someone close to that person. “Most people 70 years of age or older are widowed, divorced, or single” (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010, p.619). Losing a spouse or close friend can create a sense of loneliness, which causes depression, anxiety and the emptiness feeling can become overwhelming. Depression also leads to psychological effects that will deteriorate a person’s health causing the chance for a terminal disease to become much higher. The weaker appearance of older adults causes family and remaining peers to step up in the role of making sure the person’s wellbeing is being met. (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). Living accommodations and healthcare needs

The loss of mutual resources between the caregiver and the elder contributes to the erosion of their relationship. The caregiver perceives that their care of

Multigenerational caregiving is on the rise. As life expectancies continue to go up and couples choose to have children later in life and often support them after the age of 18. Many “baby-boomer(s)” are now balancing dual caregiving responsibilities and have been labeled the “sandwich generation.” How does the sandwich generation balance caregiving responsibilities for two completely opposite age groups? The sandwich generation is a generation of families on the rise that are required to confront the varied burdens of raising children and caring for elderly parents, often having to face the damaging effects to their lives including stress, anxiety, financial problems, time lost from work, loss

Equally as important, the care recipients who are often left out of the conversation are the informal elder caregivers themselves, especially when their self-care is imperative to be successful in their caregiver roles. Reinhard, Given, Petlick and Bemis (2008) propose research supporting assisting informal elder caregivers in becoming competent in their role as caregiver, to become aware of self-care and for the safety of their care recipients.

The most significant finding in the first study, “Gendered Perceptions of Aging: Am Examination of College Students (Barnett and Von Rohr)” is that women have more positive attitudes towards aging than men. When the women were asked to draw pictures of their approach of aging, women drew old women that were smiling and positive, but they did not draw any old lady with a walking aid. Men drew old men that are mad or upset with a walking aid. The most significant finding in the second study, “Embracing Opposites: Meanings of Growing Old as Narrated by People Aged 85 (Fischer, Norberg, and Lundman), is that despite all the changes your body makes as it grows old, the most important one is to maintain one’s identity. The way someone maintains their

This paper will discuss my own perceptions of aging, using comics from the book “You’re Never Too Old to Laugh” by Ed Fischer. My reflection will draw upon different aspects, understandings, stereotypes and personal perceptions of the history and culture of aging. The first section of my reflection will examine my own perceptions of selected comics, including comics that demonstrate my representations of aging in the 21st century, an older individual in my life, ageist stereotypes, ancient times aging contrasts, 15th-18th centuries aging contrasts, my non-ideal aging embodiment and lastly, my ideal aging embodiment. I will then explore and reflect on how aging is presented throughout the book and what meanings are conveyed to me.

Firstly, the psychosocial experience of ageing will be examined followed by communication theories and strategies that highlight a person centred focus of care. Reg’s age-related changes will be explored in addition to outlining various nursing assessments that will enable to gather information

Recently, there has not been much written about the relationship between art and aging, or aging artists. We face an aging population, meaning the average age is rising, and there are more elderly people in proportion to young people. In order to better care for and understand the growing elderly population, there must be research and advancements made in all areas pertaining to human growth, longevity, quality of life, and wellbeing. Past research has shown that art and art related activities are beneficial to elderly people, however this topic should be revisited in order to bring attention to the benefits of the artistic process and encourage elderly participation.