Gerontology Research Papers

“The term ‘aging out’ refers to children within a state’s foster care system who are still in the system upon reaching the age of majority or when they have graduated from high school” (Craft, 2017, Aging Out). Many of these children “have not found permanency with an adoptive family … or they have not been able to return to their biological parents” (Craft, 2017, Aging Out). A child typically ages out at 18 years, “but some states have extended services beyond this age because so many young adults are just not ready to be thrust out into the world on their own at such a young age” (Craft, 2017, Aging Out). If a foster parent chooses to continue parenting the foster child once they have aged out of the system, they are able to as long as the foster youth is okay with this. If an individual continues fostering a child, they will no longer receive money from the state.

To advance my current knowledge of how ageism affects older adults in relation to healthcare, I will review professional literature and interview two elders for their accounts of how they feel they are treated by their physicians, social workers, and other healthcare professionals. The individuals will be from different socioeconomic standings to find commonalities and differences of their experiences. Ageism is a significant topic for all social workers to understand and recognize when working with the older adult population for many reasons. Fist, as a social worker, one of the codes of ethics we are expected to live up to in our profession is to promote the dignity and worth of a person( NASW, 2017). By doing this, social workers recognize that older adults have the right to self –determination and decision-making ability for his/her life. An older adult who is not offered the same form of treatment for surgery based on age alone, is a form of ageism social workers

The well-being and safety of your aging loved one is important to you. Since you cannot be with them every day, you want to make sure they are receiving the best care possible. Although, you know that your senior loved one needs assistance at home they might not be as open to the decision. There are things that you can do to communicate your worries and concerns with your aging senior.

I found the most recent state plan on aging at http://www.dea.ri.gov/documents/RIDEA%20State%20Plan%20on%20Aging%20October%201%202015%20to%20September%2030%202019.pdf. The Older Americans Act requires states to submit this plan every four years and it provides updates on legislation and activities were done over the past time period to support older adults, as well as give updates on what will be worked on in the future. It is sent to the State of Rhode Island to ensure policies are up-to-date and will provide the best care for this population. This is necessary in order for taxpayers to see where their money is going and how the RI DEA is planning to care for the older adult population. Otherwise, without this document, the department

Mrs. Audine Blue is my client for this “Elderly Adult Survey.” Interviewing this lovely lady was delightful as she revealed her birthday of August 15, 1933 and is 84 years young. The lovely Mother Blue originally from North Carolina was afforded to live for a while in California, as well as, in New York before returning to North Carolina. Married to Mr. Henry Shelton Blue at very young age, they have one daughter, one grandchild, and one great grandchild. Asking about her parents, Mother Audine became sad considering they died while she was young. The cause of their death was hard work and cruel treatment that Mother Audine had to witness as a child. However, she recalled how they put their trust in God and

While there are many theories within the Social Work/Gerontology discipline that is relevant to this topic, the one theory that seems most relevant is Activity Theory. Activity Theory argues that older people continue to benefit society as well as themselves when they continue to be active as they age. The theory argues that a senior’s positive perception

If your senior loved one requires assistance for senior living in McKinney, TX, Comfort Keepers is your answer. In addition to the standard services such as personal care, transportation, light housekeeping, laundry, companion care, etc., Comfort Keepers provides both common and proprietary technology services. While many of these services focus on safety, such as fall detectors and medication reminders, social media support is also an important component of senior care.

“Older people are likely to be seen as a burden and a drain on resources, rather than as a resource themselves”, this being a common interpretation many have on elderly because of Ageism (Irving, 2015, p. 72). The term “Ageism” was developed in 1969 by Robert M. Butler, the director of the District of Columbia Advisory Committee on Aging (SOURCE). Ageism, meaning, the prejudice and discrimination against older people (Macionis, 2014, pg.104), has been an un-noticed growing stereotype. When many think of becoming an elderly they mostly think of the things you can’t do any more. This point exactly has been the driving force of Ageism’s growth. Originally the term was introduced by Butler because of his partnership with the NCHA (housing) and

Aging to me represents a normal cycle of life and normal part of my life path. However it’s up to me how I age. Trying to lead a healthy lifestyle will hopefully allow me to age well.

A human service worker in the aging area needs to be aware of gerontology, meaning to have the basic information about the aging process and experiences of the older adult. (p. 222-240)

For this week of the course, the assigned article for this assignment is titled "Good genes are nice, but joy is better". This article is the second in a series on how Harvard University is studying the issues of aging. The author of the article is Liz Meneo, a Harvard staff writer. The original date of this article is 11 Apr 17, and it can be accessed at: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/04/over-nearly-80-years-harvard-study-has-been-showing-how-to-live-a-healthy-and-happy-life/

Today, one of the fastest growing segments of the population is the elderly. Due to healthcare advancements to increase longevity, 70 million American citizens will be considered elderly by 2030! This is all possible due to the research done by the medical community, although the NBAC (National Bioethics Advisory Commision) does not recognize the elderly as a vulnerable population. In fact, the agency does state that vulnerability can be context-specific, if a population may be at risk due to age, health, functional status, chronic, or terminal illness. Which, are some of the reasons that describe the elderly population. This can lead to an imbalance of subject at researcher when the elderly are not considered a vulnerable population. Also,

697). Though AED, practiced yoga with her sister, kept a healthy diet, she had to give up on certain activities as she mentioned “I gave up driving a while back, … in my late eighties … cutting back my trees until I was ninety-eight years old … some days I feel as old as Moses … it’s hard to be old, ... when you get as old as we are, you have to struggle to hang onto your freedom, your independence” (Hearth, Delany, & Delany, 1993, p. 208). III. Sociological Assessment Furthermore, the problems that older people face are several, for instance “in a physical senses, we seldom have a place for older people, buildings, libraries, theaters, parks are built for children and young people” (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2016, p. 717). Older people, are seen as a burden for their relatives especially if they are sick by aging or worse when they have to face chronic illnesses such as Alzheimer and other dementias. Identically, early retirement has an impact on people aged 65 and up, due to would not receive any more, their full check pay, as when they were part of the workforce. Though the retirees “are intellectually and physically capable of working” (Papalia & Feldman 2012, Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2016), they are forced to leave their jobs. Annie E. Delany, retired from her private dentist activities' earlier than her 65 years old, to take care of her mother. She

For this paper, I had the privilege of interviewing one of my friend’s grandmother. Her name is Jamie Hansen and she is a healthy and active 68-year-old grandmother. In the beginning of the phone call, I asked some basic background knowledge questions such as how many grandkids she has and if she was a widower or not. I found out that she and her husband are happily married and that she has six grandchildren. As I got to know her more I started asking questions that pertained to the interview aspect of social theories. I figured out that Mrs. Hansen’s responses led to an application of the continuity and socioemotional selective theories.

One of the greatest challenges of the twenty first century will be the tremendous increase in the number of older adults throughout the world. Elderly people are the most rapidly increasing age group in Canada. In 2000 there was about 3.8 million Canadians were 65 years older. Statistics of Canada projects that by 2021, it will get doubled (Hick S., 2010, p.270). It is sure that this demographic trend will affect most part of our society, especially the health care needs and the delivery of health services. There will be a huge increase in the issues that affect the older Canadians. It is important that future health care professionals especially the social Service workers should be prepared to meet the needs of the increasing aging population across the globe. This paper examines the main problems faced by senior population in Canada, the different social work theories related to ageism and the different roles, values, knowledge and responsibilities needed for gerontological social work practice.