America’s population is rapidly aging. It is currently predicted that the population of older Americans will be at an all-time high by 2030 with people over the age of 65 representing 20% of the US population (Hoyer & Roodin, 2009). Over the next 40 years, the Administration on Aging further projects the population aged 65 and over will be twice as high as it is now, and the number of persons age 85 and over will be three times its number today. Current demographic trends by The Administration on Aging (AoA) project that approximately 35 million Americans, or one in eight, are age 65 or older, and three out of five are women.
Given continually declining birth rates and rising old age rates, there stands to be a shortage of resources across the aging life course spectrum. This point is illustrated by The U.S. Census Bureau data on birth rates; which has found a shift in the age dependency ratio. In 2000, according to the US Census Bureau, the number of children (aged 0 to 17) per 100 people in the adult population (aged 18 to 64) was 42, a decrease from 51 in 1950. Furthermore, due largely to the size of the baby boomer cohorts, combined with advanced medical technology, the number of older adults aged 65 and up was 36 per 100 people compared to merely 13 similarly aged older adults per 100 people in 1950 (Wilmoth & Longino, Jr.).
The AoA currently has the average life expectancy at birth listed as 79.4 years for women and 73.9 years for men. The AoA’s projected numbers show that by 2040, for every 100 men 65 years of age and older, there will be 127 women and for every 100 men 85 years of age and older, there will be 168 women. This proportional difference is largely due to life expectancy. Women on average, live approximately s...
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...tay at home mothers and caregivers.
Assumptions of what is or isn’t “women’s work” need to be halted at all costs. Controlling images of women, aging, the workforce, and home life need to become less stereotypical, and negative. They also need to become more gender neutral in the messages of everyday life as more opportunities all around are now opened for and too women.
Further Research Suggestions
How can policies regarding Social Security credit earnings be changed to include giving credit to women who leave the workforce to care for family members and/or have a family? What measures can effectively be put into action to ensure equal pay for women compared to men, and minorities compared to the rest of the population? How can socially constructed ideas of gender roles be changed so that women are not penalized or ostracized for not marrying, or having children?
According to www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, there will be a need for assistance with activities of daily living (ADL's) increases dramatically with age. Only 2.6 percent of person’s age 65-74 need assistance with personal care compared with 31.6
Takamura, J.C. (1999). Getting ready for the 21st Century: The aging of America and the older
Jacobsen, L. A., Kent, M., Lee, M., & Mather, M. (2001). America's aging population. Population Bulletin, 66(1).
An aging population is indeed a problem for the society and will possibly cause many social and economic difficulties in the future. According to David Foot (2003), professor of Economics at University of Toronto, an effective birth rate of 2.2% against current 1.75% will be necessary to replace the current work force in the near future and the government’s policy of bringing in more immigrants will eventually fail (Foot, 2003, 2). However some people predict that the increased size of an aging population will drive growth in the home, health care, and many other industries resulting in job creation and economic growth (Marketwire, 2013, 1). Majority of the people are of the opinion that the issue will be mainly in the health care and economic activity. As humans age, they start to develop health problems, leading to more visits to a medical clinic putting extra burden on health care system.
In this generation, more men feel the desire to be more of a caregiver to their children, but often lack the resources to do so. There is an immense amount of stereotypes placed on men and women that stop them from being the parents that they may want to be. As a society, there should be more steps taken to move to a more gender equal world. In order to do this, there needs to be more resources available for both men and women, such as time off and the elimination of a glass ceiling and gendered division of labor.
One of the fastest growing groups in in the United States is known as the Sandwich Generation. The “sandwich generation” name was first heard in 1981 when social worker Dorothy Miller developed the phrase to describe middle aged adults who were caring for aged relatives, while still looking after adolescent children (Steelman, 2014). In the last century (1900-2000), the expected life span of a person residing in the United States increased from 47 to 76 years. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the number of Americans aged 65 or older will double by the year 2030, to more than 70 million. This increase in the elderly population has placed a strain on the government systems of Medicare for healthcare and Social Security for living expenses. High costs along with the decline in the job mark...
Uhlenberg, Peter. 1992. “Population Aging and Social Policy.” Annual Review, Sociology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
According to the U.S. census bureau older adults are an important and rapidly growing segment of the United States’ population. There are about 40 million older adults aged 65 and older residing in Unites States and it is projected to be more than double by 2050(Population Reference Bureau, 2015). This projection is due to advancement in health care facilities and better education (Population Reference Bureau, 2015). As people age they face various physical, psychological and social roles changes which affects their quality of life.
The existing U.S. population is over 315 million and rising. In the year 2030, 72 million Americans will be 65 or older, a 50 percent change in age demographics since the year 2000. The change is primarily due to the aging baby boomers, who were born at the end of World War II. Americans are living longer than ever befo...
As more and more Americans are living well into their 70’s, the children of these ageing parents are left with the responsibility of taking care of them. "By 2030 approximately 80 million Americans, or 20 percent of the population, are projected to be sixty-five or older, and 2.3 percent of the population will be eighty-five and older" (Bookman & Kimbrel, 2011 pp. 118). Several variables will determine what service and type of care the elderly can reasonably expect. These include health services such as Medicare, Medicaid, social security, government's involvement in regulating health care, and society in general.
As the population of the United States ages and lifespan increases, the U.S. is being faced with challenges that could either hurt the country or benefit it if plans are executed correctly. By the year 2050, more than thirty-two million Americans will be over the age eighty and the share of the 80-plus generation will have doubled to 7.4 percent. Health care and aging population has become a great deal considering the impact it is having on the U.S. The United States is heading into another century with an outstanding percentage of people within the aging population. Today’s challenges involving health care and the aging populations are the employees of health professions being a major percentage of the aging population, the drive into debt, and prevention and postponement of disease and disability.
In today’s society, what was once said to be true and taken as fact regarding older people is no longer the whole story. As Laslett states, “At all times before the middle of the twentieth century and all over the globe the greater part of human life potential has been wasted, by people dying before their allotted time was up.” (1989a), and to a great extent a lot
Today, world’s population is aging at a very fast pace and United States is no exception to this demographic change. According to the U.S Census Bureau, senior citizens will be accounted for 21% of the American population in 2050 (Older Americans, 2012). Although living longer lives may not seem like a negative sign, living longer does not necessarily mean living healthier. Older adults of today are in need of long-term and health care services more than any generation before them (Older Americans, 2012). Because of the growing need for senior care, millions of families are facing critical decisions on how to provide care for their parents. In addition, declining birthrates may cause people to have less familial care and support as they age. To be able to provide the necessary care for senior citizens government funded long term care insurance program is needed.
Loue, S. and Sajatovic, M. 2007. Encyclopedia of aging and public health. New York: Springer.
America is a country where everyone is free to live however they like, but it is possible for some people to live a happy life, if no one is around to take care of them. Nearly three hundred million people reside in the America, and out of those three hundred million populations, senior citizens make a 12 percent of the entire population. A senior citizen is commonly known as a person who is over the age of 65 and living on retirement, or known as social security benefits (Census Bureau). Ever since Franklin D. Roosevelt implied the act of Social Security in 1935, seniors are regularly provided a financial help, but seniors, along with financial help, seeks also accompany of someone who can look after them. Because of constantly growing needs of senior citizens, government as well as many non-profit organizations is working on helping seniors. Therefore I decided to research on this particular issue in my community, and I found that 64.5% of seniors are living alone in metropolitan area of Atlanta.