The United States: The Process Of An Aging Society

In Josh Barro’s article, he mainly discusses the theme of Social Security. He explains how if we raise the age for people to access Social Security, that will harm poorer Americans who have a lower life expectancy due to the type of work they do or because of lack of other proper benefits. In the video, Coming of Age in and Aging America, they discuss the main theme of aging in America and the difficulties and obstacles these individuals face on a daily basis, especially in terms of Social Security. The video covers a variety of situations that the elderly face and how America can work to make the lives easier especially in a world where our elderly population in growing. One example was in a hospital where they were able to integrate new techniques and systems to make it easier for people to work longer into their lives. The main themes of Sharon Kaufman’s journal article were health care and the reform of current plans, and discussion of life-prolonging procedures. She discusses the three main procedures used in the U.S. which are organ transplantation, cardiac procedures, and cancer treatments. Finally, Segal’s text covers the themes and policies related to aging and elderly population. She discusses the acts and programs that have been put into place such as the Older Americans Act of 1965, social security, pensions, and Medicare/Medicaid, along with a variety of others.

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)

Something that American society has not experienced before is how to handle an aging population that is growing quickly and projected to double by the year 2050. The current growth in the number and proportion of older adults in the United States is unprecedented in our nation’s history. By 2050, it is anticipated that Americans aged 65 or older will number nearly 89 million people, or more than double the number of older adults in the United States in 2010 (The State of Aging and Health in America, 2013). Mirroring the aging of the U.S. population as a whole, the number of self-identified LGBT adults age 65 or older is expected to double by 2030 -- from 1.5 million to 3 million (Dennis, 2014). For a marginalized lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community (LGBT), the choice of a health care surrogate to make medical decisions can be very difficult. Issues of discrimination, lack of legal and social support, varying levels of relationship commitment, and complications of disclosure to family and medical professionals (Buckey and Browning, 2013, p.233). The purpose of this research is to address end of life care issues facing the aging LGBT Community which include; issues with advance care planning and surrogate decision-making, issues with a partner and family involvement, and issues with healthcare provider-patient communication.

As we begin to enter an aging America many positive effects will foreshadow, like having more experienced workers, changing perceptions of how we think of the aged and aging, them being active in the community, and obtaining their place in society. In observing the history and how far we have come along with regards to our views, government funding’s, and where they will live can only improve as future elderly come into existence. So much as 40 years into the future there perhaps will be modifications to reduce working hours to 4 days a week. Changes like this would shift our demographic work style that would ease us into our older years and living longer and happier lives. This growing demographic that’s estimated in the future will play a

I don’t mind typing in my information or filling out paperwork while I am at a doctor’s appointment. I am okay with either way, but others may not feel this way. I do feel like some people would type more into a computer instead of writing it all down or speaking with the medical professionals. In the article, The American Perspective on Aging and Health, a lot of elderly people feel frightened by new ideas or technology such as computers, Internet, social media, etc. It’s not because they are incompetent it’s because of their way of thinking. In my opinion, a doctor’s office should have an assistant that is kind, patient, and passionate about working with all populations. This assistant should assist the patients when they need help or become

The CDC (2013) defines aging in place as “the ability to live in one’s own home and community safely, independently, and comfortably, regardless of age, income, or ability level” (Healthy places terminology). The idea of aging in place has received growing attention from many entities over the past decade. According to AARP (2014), one in three Americans is now 50 or older, and by 2030, one in five Americans will be 65 and older. Moreover, evidence exists that home evaluation and home modification interventions are effective in promoting home safety, positively influencing task performance, and reducing falls in the older adult population. Regarding health care practitioners and older adults, a variety of major public health problems exist

Older people in modern America are viewed much differently than they once were in the past. Grandparents went from giving every grandchild a very valuable life lesson to being ignored in the streets and at the dinner table. Everyone is so worried about what’s on their phone or tablet that they do not realize how little attention this generation of elders is receiving. Could the recent upgrade in technology be the result of modern America’s neglect towards elders or is it how little people care?

The aging population in the United State is at risk for not only chronic health problems, but abuse including, physical, sexual, psychological/emotional, and/or financial. With the increase number of elders being seen by healthcare professionals it is important to know what suspicions to look for, to report accurately and appropriately.

Gerontology is important to study due to the aging population of the United States and more specifically in the state of Maine. In the United States the life expectancy continues to rise where according to U.S. Census Bureau by 2020 "life expectancy in the U.S. will be 77.1 years for men and 81.9 years for women" (2014). This is changing how the work force as well as different health care professions that are working with the aging population. It is important to continue to study this population and the best ways to help them be healthy and happy as they age. When I hear geriatrics, I just think of older people. The residents at the nursing home I work at also come to mind.

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.

The assignment is to consider, imagine, and/or visualize the future of health and health care with respect to specific field of health. This author has chosen the future of health in connection with gerontology, geriatrics, and aging. Prenatal care is a field of health that should get a great deal of attention because, outside of those cloned or created in labs, all humans are born. The same logic follows for focusing upon gerontology: every human ages, unless they are in stasis, anti-gravity environments, or have access to magic. All humans will get older. A number of those aging humans will reach elderly age. There are more and more elderly people on Earth. The Earth is experiencing a great deal of changes in the wake of the 21st century, changes that go far beyond innovations in technology. The demographics of the world's population are changing. There is a greater percentage of elderly people on Earth. More people are living longer. Health care needs to adapt in order to stay in pace with the changes in the world. Health care is a universal issue and gerontology should be a universal concern. Lack of attention to geriatrics is a demonstration of a gap in ethics.

In Rethinking Age and Aging, by Warren Sanderson and Sergei Scherbov, the concept of life-expectancy changing the meaning of age is explored in great detail. As quality of life and life expectancy improve, the ability of people to maintain certain lifestyles for longer grows. This ability is changing how society manages questions of age, with regards to social policy and age-specific benefits.

Elderly people are very delicate, therefore they can only commit to a limited amount of labor. Applying people over the age of sixty five to Military type activities would be unbeneficial to our country. Once you get to a page in your life your body starts to wear and tear, therefore it would be hard for the elderly to do anything in the army. Senior’s in general deserve rest, that they have earned through a long, hard fifty-five years of life. Therefore elderly people should not have to serve our country any longer.

The beginning of the 21st century has been the most remarkable time in the history of human life with respect to life expectancy. Individuals on a planetary scale are living longer than was previously envisaged. More than 36 million people in some of the world’s largest economies, along with a number of European countries, are above the age of 60. Better living conditions, improved health standards and proper medical care are key determinants of longevity of life. Individuals who are 40 years old can prepare to age well if they understand certain aspects that can aid them to age gracefully. Ageing well is dependent on the extent to which individuals are able to remain conscious of the social, psychological, and physical challenges of the aged.

In fact aging is not just biological but psychological and sociological. No doubt, aging is a physiological phenomenon but the problems of the aged are sociological. The number of the aged above 60 is likely to go up from 350 million in 1975 to 590 million in 2005 according to UNESCO estimate. In developing countries more than half of them live. India alone had 43 million old people in 1981. The number of aged in future would increase at a much faster rate than ever before. Almost half a billion people, more than 90 percent world’s population were over 60 years in 1990 that number will triple to 1.4 billion by