The Elder Woman Interviewee For A Health Plan Organization

The most rapidly growing age group in the United States is the elderly, or those individuals age sixty-five and older (Wood, Wood, & Boyd, 2011). Late adulthood stretches from age 65 to the end of the lifespan (Laura E Berk, 2010, p. 1). Or it can be called gerontology which is the study of the aging processes and individuals as they grow from middle age through later life. ("Association For Gerontology For Higher Education ", n.d.). In order to understand the changes in late adulthood I interviewed a sixty eight year old African American male, who I will refer to as the participant. He is retired from Military and Law Enforcement each he has

In the early 1940’s Marie was born into a small tight knit family living in a small rural Kentucky town. Marie is now in her seventies and has led a very interesting life traveling the country, raising four children, and shaping her chosen profession. Our interview sessions were conducted over a period of time, as Marie is very active and has little “free time” to spare.

Interviewing John gave me a better understanding with our older generation, and the struggles they faced throughout their lives. The purpose of this paper was to gain a better knowledge about our elder’s health, lifestyle, and many challenges they have encountered.

The elderly experience many changes in marriage, family, and peer relations (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman,  2010). Generally retirees who are married have been in their marriages for many years. These couples have a routine that they are used to and have followed for many years. There are unsaid rules of who handles the finances and who handles family responsibilities, such as taking care of the home. Retirement may disrupt these roles and routines and change everything about them. Medical issues can also take a toll on a marriage (Dale, Smith, & Norlin,  2009). If one spouse becomes ill or debilitated in any way, the healthy spouse may become angry, depressed, and frustrated with taking care of all of the responsibilities. If a spouse dies it can be very difficult for the living spouse to deal with (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman,  2010). Retirees who are not married also face new problems when faced with retirement. This group of people must learn to live on a fixed income. Peer relationships change because older people tend to reduce their number of contracts with the world and tend to be less active and withdraw from their social surroundings (Dale, Smith, & Norlin,  2009). This is called disengagement. This is a very difficult task, and only a few people can adjust with it smoothly. Those who were more active in social activities in their earlier lives, find it most difficult. Older people also

In a health care system beset by inequality, excessive spending, and average outcomes, one segment of the population in particular presents a variety of problems and opportunities that need to be addressed: the elderly. Individuals over the age of sixty-five in the United States utilize a disproportionate share of medical services compared to the rest of the population, and the growth of this demographic means that any concerns associated with it will only continue to intensify. By studying the health care that is provided to the elderly, one not only gains insight into how this population segment could be better served, but also into how the delivery of health care for the entire population could be improved to ameliorate the problems associated with access, cost, and quality.

The term “aging” refers to a complex process of biological, physical, psychological and social changes in a person as he/ she ages over their lifetime. Typically, the term refers to older adults and takes on the meaning of the process of “getting old” and “being old”. It relates not only to how individuals live, act and perceive themselves, but also to society’s culture and perceptions, society’s policies and support systems designed for their needs - be it health care, social,

Worldwide, with increase in life expectancy more women and men are experiencing the role of grandparent and length of occupancy in the role is increasing (Armstrong, 2003). However in America, after age 75, about 9 percent have difficulty carrying out activities of daily living (Berk, 2010). When considering the cultural approach of aging in late adulthood, we see that aging adults are treated differently depending on what community or cultural background they originated from. With the increase in life expectancy, many opportunities had been provided to psychologists to conduct research and practice with aging adults (APA, 2003). This has enabled many researchers to study aging in the United States and other countries. With those

Because of advancements in health, individuals are living longer. As a result, we find a growing population of people in late adulthood that is greater than decades before. These individual have varying degrees of health, but the majority of which are still capable of leading active lives. Berger (2011) describes there are 3 categories of old: young-old, old-old, and oldest-old. In the United States, young-old account for 70 percent of the late adult population and are “healthy, active, financially secure, and independent” (Berger, 2011, p.499). The groupings are not based upon an age, but rather on their health, vigor and financial security. Of the three groups, only the oldest-old are dependent on others for care. Even though there are varying

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,

For this project o had to think of person whom I knew was at least 60 and that I was comfortable enough talking to. The person who best fit this criterion was my neighbor George West. Mr. West was born in June of 1941, and is 73 years old, he has served in the Vietnam War, was a detective for the CIA for a little bit, and then decided to settle down with his family here in El Dorado Hills. He as a very interesting past that I would would be really interesting to talk about and learn about. I talked with Mr. West at length about his experiences and perspective in the war, and how this had a direct influence on him today, and what it was like seeing history occur before his eyes, and social trends of today are seen by him. I essentially aimed to learn more about the Vietnam War, Cuban Missile Crisis, and other earlier Cold War polices. I also asked him a lot about his experiences wight he CIA and a lot of the work that he did with them and how that has changed his perspective on American culture today. This premised a talk about many historic events that also happen to be terms such as the Watergate scandal, his experiences and views on the the Space Race, as well as the social climate during the assassination of the President Kennedy. I capped this riveting discussion of with Civil rights, and his role at the time, as well as how he was major contributor and what he though about the process.

When it starts to get to hard for them they have different places where they can live at. For example, continuing-care retirement community, assisted-living facility or even moving in with a relative. Throughout the last year I have learned quite a few things by living at home with my grandparents and by working at a nursing home. I already knew somethings about ‘aging challenges’ but I also learned a few new things from reading chapter 14 and 15.

The older adult I had the opportunity to interview was my boyfriend 's step grandmother. I met her a few years ago when we took a vacation in Florida, and thought she would be a great person to interview, because she is outgoing and has aged well. I conducted a telephone interview for this assignment, because she is currently in Florida for the remainder of the Spring season.

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.

As people age they develop many special needs related to the later period of life. Many elderly people have specific physical needs where adaptations to their home are necessary or where they need specific equipment for self care. Old age also brings new emotional challenges for the elderly person when the family can be useful in helping to meet the persons mental health needs. Senior citizens experience needs in their social life; they also experience the need for activities with other seniors. Health needs also negatively affect the elderly and cause multiple physical problems. Every elderly person experiences needs that are related to each of these areas.

Complications are part of aging, and severe health difficulties, deteriorating purposeful capabilities, economic limitations, and loss of social position are a few of the possibly life-altering topics that elderly adults may confront (Flood & Phillips, 2007). Psychological ups and downs and lingering sickness are linked with older adulthood, and they may distress an individual’s capabilities. The social and psychological trials are owed to fluctuations in part to: minimal interactions, losses, and housing situations. Age-linked variations are unavoidable for example,