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Technology And Its Effects On Health And Social Security System

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Introduction
By 2050, the number of Americans sixty-five and older is going to double, to more than eighty million. Moreover, research found that almost ninety percent of Americans, including those older than seventy, want to age in place for at least the next five to ten years of their lives. As the American population ages, and as the digital health field expands, technologies addressing the unique challenges of aging in place will become more of a reality. Great strides already have been made to improve aging. Seniors who want to age in place need to be as independent as possible. Technical innovations for successful aging offer opportunities both for older people and for societies with growing numbers of old and very old people. …show more content…

Unfortunately, the number of unofficial caregivers is also expected to decline. In 2010, researchers estimated that there were seven potential caregivers for every elderly adult over age 80. This ratio will drop to four to one by 2030 and eventually fall to three to one by 2050, because baby boomers are aging away from being caretakers to becoming the ones who need caretaking. This becomes even more problematic in light of the fact that 68 percent of Americans think they will be able to rely on their children and other family members when it comes to long-term care (Matthews, 2013).
If family members are not available, the elderly may have to rely on a visiting nurse or go into an assisted living center, which may only add to the already mounting medical bills that seniors acquire. Medical care for one person over age 65 is between three to five times costlier than care for one person under age 65, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported, and sometimes the costs and the responsibilities fall on the next generation. By 2050, 227 million adults globally are expected to require a caregiver to help them through the aging process (Matthews, 2013).
This suggests that older adults will soon overwhelm the number of caregivers available to assist them. To compensate for this, many are looking towards helping older adults stay in their home for as long as possible, even if they experience functional or cognitive impairments. This idea is known as aging in

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