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.
When comparing the pieces together, it is clear that all of the works had to deal with aging and the
Elderly people (women and men age sixty-five or older) (Macionis, 2005), Have many obstacles to face as they grow older, many of these obstacles involve social inequality. Not only do the elderly have to learn to deal with many forms of Ageism (the stereotyping and prejudice against individuals or groups because of their age), some also have to deal with the fact that they do not have enough savings or pension benefits to be self supporting, for most people over sixty-five, the major source of income is social security (Macionis, 2005). This forces many elderly Americans back into the workforce to continue to earn money to support themselves and or spouses. Although many elderly Americans may choose
doctor, then what are they to do? They can not just sit at home and
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)
With the generation of baby boomers approaching senior age by 2025, it may be difficult for them to adjust to the new technology and implement it in their everyday activities. Baby boomers are commonly known for the rejection of modern conveniences in exchange for traditional technology and for traditional values. So how will this cripple the changing trend of life for the aging population and there to decisions of living at home alone and last but not lease Medicare and the risk factors of making such a life changing decision? These issues create a group who are underserved and vulnerable. Underserved because of the barriers they encounter when caring for themselves by trying to eat healthy and the inadequate health care cost. Vulnerable because of the economic disadvantages and the health conditions they may face while dealing with this financial burden. If these problems are not address we will a heavy burden in our healthcare system.
Experience working in the field of health care lends insight to the growing needs of the older adult population, and the barriers which impede our capacity to meet them. As the Baby Boomer age is approaching older adulthood, the rise for financial,
In 1965 the first Aging American’s Act was passed. This legislation was part of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society reform. In passing this legislation nearly 50 years ago, the government created a new department the focused on the rights and needs of the gaining population called the United States Administration on Aging. The original legislation was complete with seven titles. The articles include Title I—the Declaration of Objectives for Older Americans; Title II—Establishment of Administration on aging; Title III—Grants for state and community programs on aging; Title IV—Activities for health and independence, and longevity; Title V—Community service senior opportunities act; Title VI—Grants
After reading The Age of Dignity by Ai-Jen Poo, I realize that she brings out many good concerns and information about where our country is heading in the upcoming years. Throughout her book we discuss our golden years and the care that we should be able to receive and how crucial it is for our personal wellbeing, independence, and securing our own futures. The 85 plus age group is one of the fastest growing demographics in the US and Poo talks about the possible solutions that need to be created in our infrastructure before we have an even bigger crisis on our hands. It’s a fact that the elderly baby boomers cohort is growing faster than we can care for them, this shows that we need to implement a new system that will be able to care and support our many elders in their life, and how we can do it with financial competency and dignity.
The objective of this study is to examine the evolution of programs and services for aging population over the last fifty years. Toward this end, this brief study will conduct a review of literature that addresses these shifts and changes in policy. The timeline of the history of the services and pogroms for the aging population in the United States is shown in the following timeline and an explanation for these develops will next follow the timeline.
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.
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
With the aging society in America means that there will be larger number of older people than young people. As a result of this fewer people will have to pay taxes to support public necessities and there will be fewer young people to provide services for the elders. This will also highly affect the health care in America because many seniors will have a chronic illness and there will be a shortage of healthcare workers to assist them. This will affect retirement because retirement income is made up of welfare payments, savings, and public and private pensions. Most publicly financed retirement pensions are funded by programs or most commonly know, social security. Social security is a universal income support program for elders and is usually
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
Social aging is referring to the changes in individual’s roles and relationship in the society as they age. There are many different theories concerning sociological aging. Social theories on aging examine the relationship between individual experiences and social institutions e.g., aging and retirement; aging and institutional care; aging and government policy etc (Barkan 2012). All have limitations, and some can be considered more than others when attempting to understand social changes in aging. Also individuals move through life surrounded by social support system. Some theories of aging such as, role theory, activity theory, modernization, etc. consist of different ways older adults transition through life such as, networks of relatives, friends, and organization that help provide emotional support and help in managing activities in daily living.
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.
As the life expectancy in the United States rises, the number of elderly in the population has also expanded. These increases have led to the oldest-old (people aged 90 and older) to become the fastest growing age group in the country. The oldest-old face many unique challenges because of their age, one of which is disability. Disability in the elderly has major impact upon society 1 and will continue will be a growing burden in years to come.