The Lonely Life of the Elderly

In Chapter 15: Aging and the Elderly, the U.S. birth rate has been falling for more than a century. It happens because children are more likely to survive into adulthood, and so couple have fewer children. As more women work outside the home, they choose to have fewer children. Greater material wealth and advances in medicine have raised living standards so that people benefit from better housing and more nutrition. The oldest segment of the U.S. population, is increasing rapidly and is already forty times greater than in 1900.

Data from the Census Bureau tell us that in 2015, there are around 47.8 million Americans age 65 and older, up from about 25.5 million just 35 years ago; demographers predict that in another 35 years, there will be nearly 88 million Americans in this age group. The rate of growth of the “oldest old” population—those age 85 and older—is even more dramatic: Their numbers currently stand at approximately 6.3 million, but by 2050, that number will have almost tripled, to 18.7 million Americans. This population explosion is unprecedented in history, and the resulting demographic shift is causing profound social and economic changes.

Many of the elderly find themselves living in isolation. There are many reasons why the elderly will find themselves living alone and in isolation. Many times caregivers have difficulty intervening. Social isolation can have many effects on the health status of the elderly. When alone the mental, physical and even the nutritional status of the older person can be affected. Trying to get the person to accept that they are being isolated can be difficult. There are a few resources that can have a positive impact on the elderly. This paper discusses issues of isolation and the elderly.

Being a social worker with older adults for over 30 years has shown me that this population is vulnerable to social isolation due to a multitude of losses. These include the death of one’s spouse and friends, retirement, reduced finances, physical and cognitive decline. The recent advent of social media has brought the potential to improve emotional well-being by connecting people. A number of studies have explored the relationship between Internet and quality of life, however, there is little evidence available looking specifically at social engagement tools as a means to improve emotional health. I would like to focus specifically on the effects of social engagement on isolation among older adults and I believe doctoral research is necessary to achieve this goal.

What do you think of when you hear someone talk about the effects of bullying? Do you think of the victims committing suicide or you would think of Columbine, however these cases are extreme. One of the gunmen in the Columbine shootings was prescribed an antidepressant medication (“Columbine shooter was prescribed anti-depressant”). Have you ever done something wrong? Have you ever called someone a name? Well you might be considered a bully. The reason that I feel I have the right to talk about this is because I have been on both the receiving and distributing end of bullying. Bullying should not be such a big problem because bullying is not a serious problem, bullying does not lead to suicide, and kids aren’t fully developed.

Bullying is a subject I totally take personally. There have been many occasions in which I found myself a victim of this epidemic, because that’s exactly what it is, an epidemic, a silent war, that no one seems to understand or even want to face alone, this issue that have swept under the rug all across this nation for a very long time, for far too long. The buck stops here! While reading through my Sunday morning paper over breakfast, I happened to run across a story that really tugged at my heart strings, and this is not the first story like this I’ve read. A young woman in high school here in my town kills herself because of continual bullying initiated by someone else at school. The question that runs through my mind is, why? There are

The world population is growing older; it is going to have an enormous impact on public and private interests. Between 2012-2050, the United States will experience considerable growth in its more elderly population. The US Census project that by the year 2030 the population of individuals aged 65 and over will be reached approximately 73 billion. It generates social and economic difficulties such as the tendency of economic growth, the workforce, health care system, immigration, and pension system (Ortman et al).

In today’s society we do not value or honor the aged. The world tends to look at the age as a menace and they possibly use resources that could be used for the younger generation. As a child, I was taught to honor and love all people especially the elderly because they had wisdom and knew the road that the young must take. My experience is that people very seldom respect older people.

The process of aging and becoming an elder has almost been a right of passages for eons. In many cultures, mostly outside the United States aging and older adults are a cherish part of society, and are given the utmost respect. Over recent years, this respect and praise that s given in many cultures does not necessarily hold true in modern society in the United States.

It is estimated that in the year 2050, 27% of all voters will be over the age of 65. Comparable to the study of technology, government and politics is a continually evolving field. It would suffice to say that there is a technological age gap between a 16 year old, and a 65 year old person. Currently, grandparents are trying to keep up and learn how to use things like smartphones, and more advanced computers- but it is not something that they were ever educated about, so it is hard. One could make the same argument for politics. The current eldery age group grew up in times of great repression, and they faced many other difficulties than kids of today do. The elderly knowledge is still important, but so is the knowledge of young adults. Sixteen year olds and up are being

As younger adults witness positive images of aging the paradigm shift begins. Vulnerable and burdensome, and being a drain on the economy will be replaced with individuals that are community assets (Greene, 2007). Intergenerational

The elderly population consists of 43 million Americans and will continue to grow with specialized experiences and needs, indicating this demographic requires public health awareness. (Ortman, Velkoff, Hogan 2014). Social isolation is one of the most prevalent health problems for the older adults, often overlooked, but important due to its detrimental impact on a patient’s physical and mental health. Social isolation is described as “ a state in which the individual lacks a sense of belonging socially, lacks engagement with others, has a minimal number of social contacts and they are deficient in fulfilling and quality relationships” (Nicholson Jr., 2009, p.1346). Evidence has shown that social isolation increases risk for morality (Perissinotto, Cenzer, Covinsky, 2012 p.1078-83), increases risk for re-hospitalization (Nicholson, 2012 p. 137-152), increases cardiovascular disease in women (Thurston, Kubzansky, 2009 p.836-42), a decline in cognitive function (Shankar, Hamer, Mcmunn, Steptoe, 2013 p.161-70) and

Thao up a bit. The elderly are often seen as no longer being valuable members of society yet they

Older people can learn many things from my generation. One thing they can learn is acceptance. My generation can teach older generations to be more acceptant of other people and their differences whether it’s their gender, ethnicity, nationality or religion. People are not born to hate, hate is taught. I would like to believe that my generation is more compassionate. We could teach older people compassion by being more compassionate and teaching future generations the same. If we all just treat each other as we would like to be treated the world would be a better place for all.

As we get older, our social connections often gets smaller, only having things or people that are extremely important to us. In this paper we will be examining the social-psychological problems; social isolation and loneliness that are faced by elderly by facilitating the response to five main discussion topics. The following discussion will facilitate the understanding of social isolation and loneliness, the risk factors, explore the prevalence of social isolation and loneliness in long term care facilities and the role of occupational therapist assistants and physiotherapist assistants have this emerging issue of social isolation.