Interview A Senior citizen

Despite the laws and systems in place that perpetuated racism and discrimination, he led a very successful life. He dropped out of school in 8th grade, grew up without his father and lived in poverty, but was able to have a successful career, purchase a home for his family and lead his household. In this past I had thoughts of not wanting to grow old, but after reading about late adulthood and conducting the interview with my grandfather, I realize that it is not the depressive and uneventful period I originally imagined it to be. I also realize that late adulthood is the not the ending of life, but the continuation of new experiences. My grandfather takes great pride in his life experiences and instead of focusing on shortcomings and negatives, he chooses to highlight his success and happiness. He has lived a very long and full life and his stories encompass much of the developmental information discussed in the late adulthood period. This assessment has also awakened in me, an interest in exploring geriatric social work. There is much to learn from our elders, and additional knowledge of this group will allow me to learn how to best serve and support clients in this age

L was married for 20 years. She has 2 daughters; one is going to school and the other lives in Texas. Her mother has been living with her for 3 ½ years. She enjoys movies, having coffee with her friends once a week, and her two grandchildren. She is active in her church, and used to do prison ministry. She works in Gerontology at the Health Sciences Center and has been a Tech employee for 25 years.

After spending an afternoon interviewing my elderly father-in-law, I gained insight into how he perceives the aging process and the impact on the quality of his life. First, and foremost he viewed aging in a very positive and healthy manner. He believes that a positive attitude assists in accepting physical and psychosocial changes and enjoyed the fact that he and his wife are both physically fit and cognitively alert. He felt confident that advances made in health care and the quality of their lives would continue to be empowering. He enjoys the benefits of being a senior citizen including discounted travel, free education, and other incentives marketed towards seniors. He expressed a sense of well-being with respect to the numerous

Aging is a universal phenomenon and humans are no exception. Gerontology deals with the psychological, social and biological aspects of aging process. A recent study shows that people aged 85 years and older are expected to augment from 5.3 million people to 21 million as the world reach 2050. In

These stereotypes, however, are very far from the truth about what occurs during the late adulthood stage. They stem from a form of prejudice referred to as ageism (Berger, 2008). Gerontologists define ageism as “A form of prejudice used to categorize and judge individual based on their chronological age only” (Berger, 2008, p. 615). The issue of ageism can promote patronizing treatment toward persons in the late adulthood stage and even foster discrimination. For example, people in the West unconsciously process

Introduction The Elder Woman interviewee for this paper is 70 years old, Caucasian, single, and lives alone. The woman reports that she is divorced and has two children that are grown, married, and has grandchildren from both of them. The woman reports that she gets along very well with her ex husband because it is the best situation for the children. Her son lives close but her daughter lives in another state and keeps in contact with her frequently. She currently works as a Care Manager for a health plan organization.

Race and poverty factor into the aging process in several ways. First, there is a growing number of minority older population in America (158). This growth will continue to rise in the future. As a result, the United States of America will have a diverse older population. Secondly, many older minority groups face disadvantages. These disadvantages are due to discrimination they have faced throughout their life. Furthermore, cultural and economic barriers can keep older minority people from a satisfying old age. Novak also stated, “Minority older people have lower incomes, poorer health, and shorter lives than other older people (160). Also, the people who are classified in the minority groups, experience aging different than the dominant white people do, due to their past. Lastly, the minority group members can teach us other ways of growing old. This means that they will show us how they grow old in their societies and communities. These minority groups have demonstrated strength and stability in an ever changing world, even when they felt prejudice and discrimination from others.

Introduction In our society today, the older population is a diverse and growing group with more and more individuals reaching the life stage of late adulthood, and even very late adulthood. According to Hutchison (2015), the late adulthood stage begins at 65 years of age and continues through 85 years of age and the very late adulthood stage begins at 85 and carries through until death. During the aging process, many changes occur within the body and mind as well as family structure and social roles. Individuals who have reached these life stages today may have lived through the Great Depression, the World Wars, the Civil Rights Movement, and many other important historic events, all of which have shaped their life experiences. For

102). “Reaching old age means living with less income” or that’s what it used to mean. In the United States elderly has had a 45% increase in income leading them to not only having less elders be poor but having greater gains than young adults (Macionis, 2014, pg. 104). One of the main reason as to why the elderly population has grown massively over the last few years and will continue to grow is primarily because of the “baby boomers.” With these Baby Boomers getting close to the age cap of becoming an elder the populations’ growth will increase the problem of Ageism.

Janice: You did an amazing job in presenting your summary. I thoroughly enjoyed reading key highlights mentioned in your post. You stated that “effective communication between nurses and other health care team members is critical to patient safety; lack or inadequate communication compromises patient safety.” Your statement certainly resonated with me, as this is something I had witnessed firsthand during the care process of my Grandmother. My family once had to make a critical decision of removing my grandmother from the nursing home facility she was currently staying at the time, after my family discovered that the nursing home did not follow specific instructions provided by the surgeon who performed a hip surgery on my grandmother. Indeed,

 Interview A Senior Citizen PSY/600 Vineeta Cooper September 30, 2013 Interview a Senior Citizen I interviewed a senior citizen named Debbie. Debbie is 57 years old and was born in Lynchburg, Virginia. She was raised with two other siblings. She has two brothers and she is the oldest of the three. Debbie attended school for

 Week 4 Later Adulthood Development Report Tonya Gray BSHS 325 September 28, 2014 Marcy Stern Week 4 Later Adulthood Development Report Introduction As adults enter the stage of later adulthood, many changes will begin to develop for each person. The aging process includes transitioning from work life to retirement, changes to roles, social positions, social policies,

The study of aging and old age is referred to as Gerontology (Stuart- Hamilton, 2011, p. 1). The study of Gerontology is concerned with the changes, which affect older adults (Stuart- Hamilton, 2011, p. 1). The main role of Gerontology is to not only explain the aging process, but to also improve older adults lives and experiences (Stuart- Hamilton, 2011, p. 18). Gerontology is interdisciplinary and there are three main disciplines, which are considered to be the essential foundations of the study (Alkema & Alley, 2006, p. 578). The disciplines include biology, sociology and psychology (Alkema & Alley, 2006, p. 578). The three disciplines allow aging to be considered from their own specific perspectives (Alkema & Alley, 2006, p. 578). The

Aging is a difficult process to experience for anyone. It is easier when one has a great support system not only from the family, but from the healthcare team as well. My uncle Billy, age 71, experienced a motor vehicle accident in 2003 resulting in early retirement. Prior to the accident, he was a hardworking man that lived to provide for his family. It’s tough to imagine your life completely changing from one day to another. Luckily, although his endurance has decreased, he can still be an independent man.

Aging can be a scary thing for many individuals. Aging can bring on fears of losing quality of life, becoming ill or disabled, losing mental capabilities, and not being able to care for one’s self, and many other issues. Some of these issues can be addressed by changing ways of