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Aging population and impacts
Negative impact of aging population
The causes and consequences of an aging population
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Having had many discoveries with research about health and medicine, society as a whole has been living longer than ever before. With major breakthroughs in healthcare, the world population has a life expectancy of 70 years according to the GHO (Global Health Observatory) at the World Health Organization. While having an increased life expectancy is exceptional, there are also many new social, political and economic issues governments will have to face. The issues that will have to be addressed are mainly negative as the aging population is going to cost quite a bit of money to keep them healthy. Social programs such as pensions will have to be increased, healthcare will have to be expanded with an extensive amount of money going towards geriatric medicine and having the labour …show more content…
Having increased taxes could put a serious strain on the workers as their net pay would become smaller. The smaller net income could drastically affect single parent families to provide for themselves and their kids. This would further the poverty that already exists within many countries. A risk that could follow with having to increase the taxes on the working class is the threat of a strike. Having to increase taxes in the developing countries would be more challenging as tax evasion and avoidance are more prevalent. To be able to collect enough revenue to develop more advanced healthcare and social programs, developing nations must have an effective way of taxing. “An effective tax system is at the heart of an effective state. Sustainable tax revenues provide essential funding for public services and ultimately allow developing countries to stop being aid dependent”. The political situation that comes with the aging population ties in with the economical impact as
The purpose of this paper is to illuminate and discuss healthcare vulnerabilities of the elderly rural population in Baker County, Florida and describe how the nursing profession can address these problems. Rural health has been a complex and multifaceted challenge for government and healthcare practitioners. The elderly who live alone in the county suffer from low socioeconomic status, low health literacy rates, declining cognitive and physical health and lack of healthcare facilities. The health status of this vulnerable group is impacted by rural culture and social values, healthcare policy and funding affecting rural healthcare facilities, distance and lack of transportation, and health literacy.
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.
Many poor and middle classes can’t afford to take care of their families because of the increase taxation on themselves and their family. They have to suffer because of wealthy people's’ decisions. Also, the wealthy have enough money to pay more taxes than the normal tax payer. It's affecting everyone. The taxation is hurting the poor financially. As a result, their communities are being affected negatively because of the increasing amount of poor people, which is ridiculous and breathtaking.
are forced to live off of. What happens if there is not enough to go
Prominent musician, Celine Dion, once said, “There’s no such thing is aging, but maturing and knowledge. It’s beautiful, I call that beauty.” To many, growing old is just a natural, beautiful part of life. It is inevitable. It is inescapable. The functionalist perspective of sociology states that the elderly perform a function in order to keep society running with ease. Functionalists focus on the disengagement theory and how people tend to disengage from society as they approach death. Symbolic interactionists focus on how environmental factors and relationships with others affect the aging experience, focusing on the activity theory and the continuity theory (Carl, 2011, p. 220). Conflict theorists focus on the discrepancies that arise between different age groups. They also focus on the economical side of aging and the issues that may arise due to an active elderly population (Carl, 2011, p. 221).
By the end of 2030, the elderly population will grow four times as fast as the population, and more than two-thirds of Americans over 65 will need some long-term care before they die. 77m baby boomers are already
Seniors and low-income families would suffer the most if a National Sales Tax were imposed. Seniors receive a majority of their fixed income from Social Security and supplement their income with savings. Since they have already “been taxed once on their earnings, they would essentially be taxed a second time on purchases.” (6) There are ideas though on ways to make exceptions for seniors so that they do not get taxed a second time. Lower-Income Families would also be affected because they receive benefits and credits, reducing personal taxes, however, they would possibly lose these if the National Sales Tax were adopted. A National Sales Tax would require them to pay more out of pocket towards food or services, reducing their monthly income. However, the National Sales Tax could reverse this problem by enticing individuals and families to consume less This will allow them to not only build savings but also lower the cost of goods and services because there will be less of a demand for them. The individuals of the United States will ultimately benefit from a decrease in the cost of goods and services regardless of their income status.
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.
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.
Independence is a socially constructed concept within a capitalistic patriarchal society that serves to marginalize and oppress the elderly members of the society. Why do many women of the elderly population within the United States live alone? What is it about our society that has encouraged the elderly population to live alone and without the vital familial support that is so often necessary for people who are reaching their golden years? Elderly people in the United States are one of the most vulnerable groups of people who have traditionally been marginalized. They are viewed as weak individuals because they are no longer able to physically work for pay. Many of them choose to live alone yet suffer in isolation because of the lie they have been sold. According to the symbolic interactionist theory, if independence is the ultimate reward for a lifetime of achievement, surely remaining independent and alone is preferable to living with loved ones. The elderly person does not want his or her social networks to believe the elderly person is weak. Isolation is preferable to dependency and being a burden upon another individual or family.
“You are only as old as you feel”. Everyone at some time in life has heard this saying. People are more and more resisting the idea of aging. In Betty Friedan’s book, The Fountain of Age (1993), she suggests that a new stage in life is emerging from this trendy resistance of growing old. Many people have tried to put a label on the trend. It has been called the “third-age”, “encore years”, and even referred to as the “second missionary journey”. This time of life that is being referenced is the period of late adulthood. Psychologists, such as Erik Erikson, have referred to this stage in life as a period of new identity. Throughout life, each new experience, each gain or loss, requires a reassessment of one’s identity. The idea of who am I, is often challenged in old age. (Berger, 2008). The days of being able to socially define who we are, by what we do have passed and now it is time to begin that “second missionary journey”. Different from the psychological perspective of aging and this life course, sociologists focus in on ideas of how changes in culture and times have brought about this new “third age”. Their explanations are based mainly on the concepts of generations, such as the “baby boomers” of the twentieth century. Through this distinct concept, the new stage of late adulthood can be better explored and further explained. The areas of who these people are, what they do, and what drives them to do it are of most interest to those not experiencing the same changes. Late adulthood is no longer a site of poverty in the cycle of life, but instead is a chance to redefine oneself as an agent of social change.
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.
The government use of taxes plays a crucial role in today’s economy as well as personal finances, it has and will continue to leave its mark on the world we live in.
Hence, ageing problem could be a severe blow to an economic system; for instance, the human resource would slightly be diminished. In order to facilitate the economy, people would be likely to conduct the varieties of product and to supply goods to consumers, the aim is to achieve higher goals and gain more income. If the demographic problem is deteriorating, the economic system must be affected by lacking of human resource and decreasing of consumption. Even though the medical system is nearly perfect, it still needs funds to maintain and enhance the level of the medical service. There is a list of projects that need support in financial way, which are the educational purpose and facilities build, is a necessary payment. The financial burden of the government is confessedly escalating. There is not only a burden of developing the medical system, but also the infrastructure is also needed; such as, nursing home and the public facilities for elderlies. There is a possibility that the shortage of the medical services supply would likely to emerge in the forthcoming future. The quantity of elderly is growing that currently we could fulfil the demand of the medical service, but it is hard to ensure that the medical service can be satisfied the order in the future; hence, more health care service is indeed needed in future. Besides, we have been concerned that the expenditure on the elderlies, and the proportion between youngster and elderly. Last but not least, the revenue to the government is the instantly issue also need to be considered. Reducing production and eliminating general income, the power of the consumption would likely decline correspondingly. Therefore, the amount of taxes to government must decrease. The majority of the people agree with the reason that ageing problem cause catastrophic consequence to society and it would be
Technology in terms of medicine has also increased the life expectancy of the average person. With new technological advancements in surgeries, medicines and treatments the average life expectancy is still on the increase. A recent study shows that the average life span for 2004 of a United States Citizen is 77.4 years old. This has increased significantly from 1900 where the average lifespan for a male was 48.2 and for the female 51.5. Thanks to technology we can now live longer.