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. The woman reports that her daily routine is rather structured. She works the typical Monday through Friday 8am to 5pm. Every morning she has a routine. The woman gets up very early and feeds her animals, …show more content…
The main theme that is identified is the capability to complete tasks without assistance, the freedom to make decisions for themselves, and the will to do whatever they want. These elements enhance quality of life and the determinants of quality of life are dependent upon health and financial means (Bowling, 2007). Driving is one of those important factors shared in the book and the first thing mentioned by the woman interviewed. Transportation allows her the freedom to participate and engage in activities that she chooses on a daily basis.
Challenges
The woman shares her major challenge with arthritis in her back. She reports being diagnosed two years ago. The woman reports that before she was diagnosed she would deal with a significant amount of pain in her back, limiting her ability to complete small tasks. She would often ask for help from her son. Her son would go grocery shopping and carry all her groceries, consequently her back pain limited her to what she could pick up. The woman reports that her arthritis is better now than in the beginning because she gets cortisone shots that are anti inflammatory.
The book on Ageing Well indicate the emotional and physical effects to barriers and challenges of illness, poor financial means, and unsupportive family dynamics. Illness and poor physical health interferes with a person 's independence and can be damaging to self esteem, feelings of autonomy, and overall
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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,
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
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.
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,
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.
Aging and being old was dominated by negative characteristics and conditions such as illness, depression, and isolation for a long time (Eibach, Mock, & Courtney, 2010). At first glance the terms “success” and “aging” seem to be in conflict to each other. When asking people about aging, their answers have many facets that are also found in psychological definitions: successful aging is seen as health, maturity and personal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generativity, coping, and acceptance of age-related limitations. In the psychological sense successful aging is also often seen as the absence of age-associated characteristics (Strawbridge, Wallhagen, & Cohen, 2002). It seems that successful aging means is not aging.
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,
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 thirteen years completing elementary school and high school followed by four years of college. Debbie graduated college with a degree in Elementary Education. Her various occupations over the past years have ranged from a caretaker of small children, homemaker, Sunday school teacher, and general managers of different business. She is currently the general manager of a
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.