Developments throughout the last century have advanced things such as medicine and science at a fast rate, which allows people to have longer life expectancies. As in the early 1900s the average life expectancy was from 47 to 50 years world, but now from technological and scientific advancements in medicine, the average life expectancy in Canada is approximately 81 years old. With these accomplishments in aging it is important to look at the factors that can contribute to successful aging for older adults, including their well-being, health, community and family ties, and their overall attitude towards aging in general. As individuals who have negative feelings, attitudes or anxieties towards aging, often are less engaged with their families, less motivated to have healthy lifestyles and are ignorant towards preparing for future finances related to aging. …show more content…
It is important to look at everyone’s attitudes towards aging, including any differences in opinion between countries, how aging is viewed in popular culture and the media, men’s opinions towards aging compared to women’s, as well as looking at the terms that often surround the topic of old age. “A better understanding of adults’ attitudes to aging can have applied value in adding quality of life and health to increased years” (Nussbaum, et al., 2004, p.31). Through sociological study, it has been found that there are many factors that affect people’s attitudes towards aging; the positive and negative implications of attitude have significant results once people reach old
As the decades have passed, the life expectancy has increased rapidly. This means people are living longer lives and becoming much older than the average life expectancy. Along with living a longer life, ageism may start to appear in older adult’s everyday routines. Ageism can be seen in many places, for instance,: the grocery store, on billboards, in doctor’s offices, on commercials, etc. This seems to be a growing complication and may even hurt the feelings of some people reaching retirement age. Although some advertisements may not seem like they are trying to show any kind of bias, but in some cases they are.
So in conclusion attitudes towards aging has not really changed through the ages. We all want to grow old gracefully and live to a ripe old age. Maybe someday we will beat that sphinx's
...derly at work places and at home will improve their mental and social wellbeing. The aging population will affect every single citizen in Canada. Not one citizen wants a raise in taxes; however, if there is not any strategy setup to combat the aging population issues, Canadians will see raises in taxes causing frustration. Implementing these strategies will not only keep the elderly happy, but it will keep them healthy. The healthier an individual is, the less medical expenses, so why not get started on investing on this project which can save citizens several tax dollars. The results obtained in the primary research reinforce the support of the strategies presented. Majority of the participants understand the possible economic and health care issues the aging population will bring, thus getting started on this matter sooner will be beneficial for Canada’s future.
With healthcare in the United States advancing so rapidly, there are new ways to treat just about any kind of illness every day. With being able to treat illnesses in new ways, and also the advancement of medical equipment, comes the possibility of a lot more people living up into their 90’s, and maybe even getting to reach 100. The aging population, which keeps growing every so rapidly, will be using up a lot more sources as the years go by. This means, that we need to educate more doctors and nurses, etc., and also make more living facilities for older adults. The question that comes up in my mind, is when is “old” actually”. Most people stereotypically consider ages 75 and older old, but that doesn’t mean they are actually “old”, does it?
Aging is universal and it is a process that everyone has to go through. The only difference is that everyone goes through this process at their own pace influenced by factors that will be discussed later on in this paper. When we think about factors that have an influence on older adults and how their life may be affected, we must consider the different social institutions while analyzing influences from social factors, cultural factors, and personal values. Abuse to older adults, stereotyping and informal care and technological advancements that affect older adults are the three topics that will be discussed in this reflection. Furthermore, will connect the three topics I have chosen to the knowledge that I have gained from my interaction
Attitudes are the foundation of quality of care for older adults. Among health care professionals, discrimination and stereotypical behaviors are very prevalent, even though more often than not these individuals do not realize their actions are ageist. “Ageism hinders people from seeing the potential of aging, anticipation their own aging, and being responsive to the needs of older people” (McGuire, Klein & Shu-Li, 2008, p. 12). Attitudes are directly correlated with how individuals age and whether individuals stay health and live longer (McGuire, Klein & Shu-Li, 2008, p. 12). The care that older adults receive from healthcare professionals is directly influenced by that provider’s attitude about growing older. All too often, health care providers rely on a patient’s chronological age rather than their functional age when determining their needs and what interventions are prescribed. Another issue lies in providers viewing the complaints of older patients as a part of “normal aging”, therefore potentially missing life-threatening problems that may have been easily resolved. “Age is only appropriate in health treatment as a secondary factor in making medical decisions, and it should not be used as a stand-alone factor” (Nolan, 2011, p. 334).
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
Aging and old age for a long time presented as dominated by negative traits and states such as sickness, depression and isolation. The aging process is not simply senescence most people over the age of 65 are not Senile, bedridden, isolated, or suicidal (Aldwin & Levenson, 1994). This change in perspective led the investigation of the other side of the coin. Ageing is seen as health, maturity and personal Royal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generatively, coping and acceptance of age-related constraints (Birren & Fisher, 1995). Psychological und...
There are changes in the demographic as the population grows older, the number of older adult’s increases and thus, there is an increase of proportion of patients that are older adults for nurses to take care of (Wells, Y., Foreman, P., Gething, L., & Petralia, W., 2004). The nurses are there to assist and support the older adults in achieving wellness within their situation through empowering the clients (Touhy, et al (2012). Caring for older adults is important as there is an increase in population with deteriorating health. When caring for a client it is important to incorporate Jean Watson’s caring theories and Carative Factors to help influence and support the care. She encourages nurses to co-participate within the caring process by establishing unity and trust between the nurse and client. First, this paper will explain a situation in where I cared for an older adult and it will then introduce Jean Watson’s lower order needs, specifically the need for activity and how it relates to the older adult I cared for. Lastly, this paper will explain the nursing interventions I implemented to meet the lower order need, with a discussion of Carative Factor #4 relating to the client.
Ageing is something that everyone will eventually experience if they are fortunate to live a long life. The process of ageing comes with various negative and positive outlooks. In western culture, ageing for both genders is particularly condemned. In the media in particular, the process of ageing for men and women vary greatly. Where, women are condemned for ageing more than men are. Media greatly highlights on the stereotypical notion of ageing especially in the aspect of portraying men and women and their social roles through advertisement. I will be discussing
Older adults are a very knowledgeable population and have had a lot of life experiences. As people age, things start to change physically, mentally, and socially. It’s important to understand the process of aging, so that older adults can be taken care of properly. I interviewed P.R. who is a 71-year-old male that lives alone in his home. P.R. is a retired coal miner, and is currently living off his social security and savings. He lives close to both his daughter and son, who frequently help him out with things that are needed. P.R. was able to give me a lot of insight about specific challenges that he has experienced in his life that is associated with aging. I will be discussing challenges that P.R experienced physically, mentally,
Late adulthood should be a time in a person's life where they feel fulfilled. They can look back on their memories and be happy with the way they have lived their life. Now, too many elderly people are not satisfied and look at this stage as depressing. Most fear death of either a loved one or for themselves. This topic is interesting to me because elderly people should make the best of their last stage of life. This topic discusses about getting older, the life changes that they go through physically, emotionally, and mentally. We should know more about it so that we can help our family and friends get through one of the best, yet toughest part of our mortal life.
Aging and being old was dominated by negative characteristics and conditions such as illness, depression, and isolation for a long time (Eibach, Mock, & Courtney, 2010). At first glance the terms “success” and “aging” seem to be in conflict to each other. When asking people about aging, their answers have many facets that are also found in psychological definitions: successful aging is seen as health, maturity and personal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generativity, coping, and acceptance of age-related limitations. In the psychological sense successful aging is also often seen as the absence of age-associated characteristics (Strawbridge, Wallhagen, & Cohen, 2002). It seems that successful aging means is not aging.
Both the percentage of elderly (in relation to this research defined as people of 55 years and older) as part of the total population and the average age has and will be increasing (1950 – 2050) [1]. The increasing population of elderly requests a growing demand on the need for care, and demands changes for the future health care system, states Dall et al [2]. Peek et al [3] add to this that the majority of elderly prefer to live independently for as long as they possibly can, even when their health is declining. Policy makers also favor ageing in place, to enhance the quality of life of elderly and to reduce the workload of caregivers [4].
The relation between culture and age has often been the subject of discourse in recent gerontological studies. It is argued that there is an inherent relation between the two. The difference marked by age or our perception of old age, in particular, is a cultural and social construction. Consequently, the meanings and value assigned to old age are also socially constructed. This in turn leads to a reshaping of identity or what Holstein and Gubrium term as ‘self-construction’(Randall and McKim 235). However, what we need to consider is whether it is only this construct that is solely responsible for determining our response to aging. Does our environment have complete agency in shaping our attitude or is it also dependent on how we, as