The Ageing Population : A Demographic Problem

There are many different problems that an ageing population creates for society. There are many reasons why there is an increase in the ageing population, as Item B states “In common with many western societies, the United Kingdom has an ageing population. Rising life expectancy and a relatively low birth rate have meant that the average age of the population is rising”. Also the decline in fertility has led to an increased amount of people who are over the age of 65 and this poses many different issues within society.

The recent growth in the number of older adults in the United States is unusual in the history of America. The anticipation of the elderly population (65+) by the year 2050 will be almost 89million people, or greater than the population of the elderly in the year 2010 (CDC 2013).

Health care has been an issue for the United States for several years. Universal health care has still not been accomplished, and this means there are many people uninsured across the country who could be seeking medical attention, but cannot afford it. Another problem recently surfaced for the United States. This problem is the aging population. There are many factors that have contributed to the aging population, and they greatly effect health care.

People are living longer because of significant improvements to health care system that has occurred over a five-year period, a drop of individuals who smoke has resulted in a decline of people who suffer from smoking-induced conditions like lung and heart disease, the numbers of people who smoke have gone from 19 percent to 16 percent. Moreover, a fall in child and infant death rates by 20 percent from 2007 - 2012 has also added to increased life expectancy. Falling fertility rates (TFR) have also been declining which is also a cause of an ageing population. The fertility rate have been falling for an extended period, with TFR, being its highest in 1961 at 2.1 but since then it has gradually declined and in 1999 it was at its lowest of 1.75 and as 2014 was 1.80 and now in 2016 is

To prevent the right of freedom from being taken away, we must result to better habits that will save lives and the state of humanity. Everyone should take in account of the adverse effects and the things we may lose if the baby-having trend continues. It’s more than right of freedom being taken away, but the things we use to function as a society. It should be an initiative taken by the government to educate those who are not aware the effects of people excessively having children. In good essence government control may be the end result to alleviate the issues that may arrive if the continuing of planned or unplanned births remains

Loss is defined as the experience of having something taken from you or destroyed (Loss, 2016). In the senior population losses become more common and frequent due to dwindling health circumstances, among other circumstances. “Functional losses experienced by the elderly include physical performance, balance, mobility, and muscle strength” (Nakano, Otonari, Takara, Carmo & Tanaka, 2014, p. 583). Situational or circumstantial losses may be the loss of a partner or the loss of a home due to being transferred into a retirement home or health care facility. Losses are enhanced by any diseases a person may have making it more difficult to deal with these losses. “Taking a look at diabetes; diabetes plays a key role in many individuals in the older adult population lives, more than 25% of adults over the age of 65 in America have been diagnosed with diabetes” (Kirkman, 2012, p. 2650). This disease alters the rate of which losses are experienced and in turn how the elderly grief over the loss. “Diabetic patients are more likely to experience depression and diabetic patients are more likely to undergo amputation from limb loss” (Spiess, McLemore, Zinyemba, Ortiz & Meyr, 2014, p. 1068). Being diagnosed with diabetes impacts every aspect of one’s life and creates difficulties in caring for oneself that need to be dutifully addressed.

The aging of the population will have wide-ranging implications for the country (Ortman, Velkoff, & Hogan, 2014). By “aging,” demographers often mean that the proportion of the population in the older ages increases. As the United States ages over the next several decades, its older population will become more racially and ethnically diverse. The projected growth of the older population in the United States will present challenges to policy makers and programs, such as Social Security and Medicare. It will also affect families, businesses, and health care providers.

I believe the most pressing issue facing the aging population on a daily basis is financial security while living on a fixed income. Aging individuals’ sources of income include Social Security, employment, private pensions, and assets. The median household income for those 65 and older in 2007 was only $27, 798 (Hooyman & Kiyak, 2011). I chose financial security as the most pressing issue facing the older population because it influences several other areas. Sources of income for the aging population are sometimes insufficient to maintain proper housing, may cause health problems, and restricts access to nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The difficulty that the lack of financial security can pose for an aging individual leads

The US Census Bureau projects that by the year 2030 more than 20 percent of the total US population will be of age 65 and over, compared to only 13 percent in 2010 and 9.8 percent in 1970 (Outreville, 2013). This population trend is believed to grow even more by the year 2060. Although the aging population is an important population trend to consider with healthcare as a whole, that is not the only one. The US is also projected to become a majority-minority nation for the first time by the year 2043 (Outreville, 2013). This diversity is happening more in certain parts of the US than the entire US as a whole. The ageing population and the increasing racial diversity of the population are the most important trends to the planning,

Throughout the world and throughout history, the young have always outnumbered the elderly. Over the next 40 years this will change. The population over 60 will grow by one billion to a total of two billion. For the first time in human history there will be more people over 60 than under 15. One in every five people will be elderly. In 1950 there were twelve working people for every elderly person, today nine working people and in 2050 4 working people. More money will go out and less money will come in. (HelpAge International, 2014) Economies will face a change in terms of growth, savings, debts, investment, consumption, labor markets, pensions and taxation. Social impacts will consist of changes in family composition, living arrangements,

The United States’ population over 65 years of age is increasing as the baby boomers reach retirement age. Greater life expectancy is a result of people living longer with better nutrition, healthcare, and management of chronic diseases. In the primary care setting, where I work, we have a large patient population of older adults. Caring for middle-aged and elderly patients requires greater time and intensity than caring for most younger patients. It is not unusual for an elderly patient to have six or more chronic conditions and twelve or more prescription medications which require coordination and monitoring. Updated HIPAA consents and Health Care Proxy documents are essential to providing seamless care. Since primary care involves repeated encounters with patients over time, I am quite familiar with many of my patients and their families and, when appropriate, assist families to assure that these are documents are current. Additionally, I have had personal experience caring for an aging family member.

For the elderly population is at risk of being affected by the health care crisis that currently exist in the United States in the near future. Many individuals have conflicting views on how resources should be allocated to this population, but as health care workers we should advocate for the best interest of this population. Resources should not be allocated in a certain way based on a human being age. The article, Paying the Price: The Pressing Need for Quality, Cost, and

According to the article “ Increased immigration urged to support economic growth amid aging population.” by Nicholas Keung has stated that Canadian government needs to raise the level of immigration from one-third to 470,000 by 2030 in order to sustain the economic growth among an ageing population.

Generally, social work is acclaimed as related to working with younger populations and handling abuse or neglect in the home. In television shows, you often see social workers entering the homes of children who experience abuse and removing them from the situation. While this can be part of the job description, social work is a diversified field with many career opportunities. Social workers specialize in a range of different areas based on client age and individual need. The social worker’s ethical job responsibilities are outlined in NASW’s Code of Ethics (1999). This paper will review these responsibilities in relation to aging populations and then focus directly on the social workers practice with aging

Fertility is one of the main issues discussed when talking about the demography of the United States. The U.S. economy plays a rather large role in the rising and falling patterns of the country’s fertility rate. In many past occurrences of economic hardship in the country fertility levels had decreased. One of the main reasons for that being in times of financial struggle, men and women are less likely to want to have children. Being able to support a family is already a difficult task but when people are getting laid off from jobs, unemployment rates are increasing, and the economy is struggling many people can barely afford to buy necessities for themselves never mind for an entire family. An extended decrease in fertility levels could