The Role Of Aging In The Beginning Of The 20th Century

We all will one day face the reality of growing older. There are many aspects of this change that will affect us in a large way. According to the Merck Manual of Health and Aging, 1.5% of Americans are 85 or older. This research states that the number of people 100 years or older could rise from 1 out of 5,578 in the year 2000, to 1 out of 472 in the year 2050. It brings out that women have a longer life expectancy than men, among people aged 65 and older in the year 2000, there were 70 men for every 100 women. For people aged 85 and older the figure was 41 men for every 100 women. The site goes on to say that approximately 11% of Americans aged 65 and older are below the poverty line. (The Merck Manual of Health and Aging:

According to Statistics Canada, aging population has steadily increased since the mid-1960. The age of 65 and older comprised 15.7% of the country’s population. Promoting health in these aging population is very crucial to minimise the severity of health complications that might occur in the long run. Gerontological Nursing involves the care of aging people and emphasize the promotion of the highest possible quality of life and wellness throughout the lifespan (Eliopoulos, c2014 p73). Aging people need Gerontological Nurses who are knowledgeable and willing to promote health and optimum quality of life with the consideration of their core needs such as physiological balance, connection and gratification (Eliopoulos, c2014 p78).

Their way of life/lifestyle became more open minded, people started to question the reasons for high birth rate and early marriage

In this video, we learn that the aging baby-boomer population is over 5 million people age 80 years and older living in the United States. By the year 2050, there will be an estimated 19.5 million seniors in the United States. We also learn that a nursing home’s average cost is $219 per day. Today’s life expectancy is 78 years compared to the year 1900 when the life expectancy was just 45 years. I believe life expectancy increased today compared to a hundred years ago because of scientist being able to improve medicines and find cures for diseases, and the fact that medical technology has

***New Technologies improve urban living and a modern mass culture emerges. Reforms in Public education raise literacy rates; African Americans work to end legal discrimination. Advances in science and technology help solve Urban problems, including overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, and death***

The human species of the world are growing older, and existing longer. Research shows that the average life expectancy of humans living past the age of 80, since the 1800s to that of 2011, has increased by almost 10% per year, with women leading the way with a growth expectancy growing from that of 6.4% to that of 9.6%, surpassing their male counterpart whose life expectancy show an increase from 5.9% to that of 8.2%. As the human life expectancy increases, there also comes an increase concerns by individuals and government official alike in regards to elder care. This literature looks at what is being carried out by individuals as well as government officials to deal with the cost of living longer. We will examination approaches identified

The 1920’s were a booming time for the United States. Massive change was occurring and this led to a lot of new types of conflict about different reasons than ever before. The war had just ended and with that started a new era of people who unlike before had different morals. This was one of the biggest conflicts of the time. During the 1920’s the biggest cause of conflict were the old generations vs. the new generations because of the rapidly changing morals and the new ideas being accepted by society. This also led to a lot of changes in the United States as a whole with the result of us being more open to new ideas and new freedoms. There were some major reasons for some conflict in the United States during this time and they all were connected to the idea of old vs. new.

Aging is a universal phenomenon and humans are no exception. Gerontology deals with the psychological, social and biological aspects of aging process. A recent study shows that people aged 85 years and older are expected to augment from 5.3 million people to 21 million as the world reach 2050. In today’s world Gerontology has an enormous role to play so that the senior citizens could be analyzed and their needs may be addressed with compassion and empathy.

Many people started to focus more on materialistic goals (such as who could have the biggest party, who could own the best car, and who could get the most women/men) rather than moral values (such as hope, peace, the pursuit of happiness, etc.). Their were some societal changes. Such as people who started to want to break out of the norm. They wanted to live life, tempt the laws, and be free. Leisure activities, such as dances, sports, and movies rose by about 300%.

In America, people are changing their views on aging and the elderly. Some of the reasons that the attitudes are changing could be due to more elderly people are remaining in the work place longer, as opposed to retiring early. Riffkin (2014). And there is the fact that we baby boomers are living longer. Even though the U.S. only ranks 53rd with a life expectancy of 79. That’s an increase of one year since 2010. (“The World: Life Expectancy” 2016)

The transportation changed greatly from horse drawn carriages to electric powered street cars that were more comfortable and faster, this also meant the roads needed to be wider like they were made in France after the revolutions by Napoleon the 3rd. Public health was made better by people like Edwin chadwick who was an advocate for better sewer systems and cleaner factories. The class structure changed a great amount due to reform in the government to make a middle class made up of skilled workers and unskilled workers, this led to the class structure being more balanced and rich people didn't control everything like the old times. Family life changed because men were seen as the bread winner and didn't need to spend time with his family

living longer. It is estimated that the U.S. population of older adults who will turn 65 will

As aging is a stage of development that cannot prevented, the question of “can one’s aging be more successful than another?” is posed my many. Researchers continually consider the differences between aging successfully, and aging unsuccessfully. As researchers work to complete their studies, many find a reoccurring basis of successful aging. A basis of successful aging can be set including: physical health disease free, chronic illness free, mental health disease free, among many others. The only problem with this basis is the difference from person to person in terms of what makes aging successful. As individuals age, their mental state is a large predictor of how the person will age. A positive mental state about aging, will have a more positive effect on a person’s aging process. Many factors may influence the positivity of aging, such as negative aging stereotypes and discrimination because of older age. These negative aging stereotypes include but are not limited to: older adults are not as smart, older adults are angry all the time, older adults are bad drivers, older adults are isolated and never socialize. In adult aging and development, having a positive outlook on aging will lead to better mental and physical aging.

The increase in life expectancy is partially to blame for the increase in elderly citizens, as there are now better medicines and medical procedures to cure ailments which could have easily killed a person 10 or 20 years ago. As Levine said, "There are more elderly and a larger proportion of elderly in the population now than ever before in the history of the world, and individuals live longer and have a longer span of healthy, vigorous life than ever before" . We have to prepare, not only to have more aged people in the work force, but also to have adequate pensions and supplements to aid these people when they do retire.

Humanity has come a long way as we evolve and adapt to the changing environment. Through the years, we have managed to overcome several limitations, which in the past were nothing more than dreams. We succeeded in landing on the moon and communicating over long distance, yet there are still some boundaries we have yet to cross despite our best effort. Aging is an inevitable process of nature. While we cannot stop the ticking clock in our body, we have made it possible for aging to be delayed and relieved to a great extent through advance technology and modern governance. High-tech equipments and medications are available for the treatments of more illnesses as our understanding of medicine improves and governments nowadays are doing