Health, aging, and the elderly

Rising over 65 population will put pressure on:

- health care system - social security - Medicare - the overall economy if they spend less in retirement

Aging: physical changes

- reaction time slows - senses and muscles strength diminish - memory loss

Gerontology

- Gerontology is a field of science that seeks to understand the process of aging and the challenges encountered as senior grow older - gerontologists study what it is like to be an older adult in a society and the ways that aging affects members of a society - at a multidisciplinary field, gerontology includes the work of medical and biological scientists, social scientists, and even financial and economic scholars

conflict theory on health

- capitalism and the pursuit of profit lead to the commodification of health - the dominant group ensure that they will have healthcare access, but the subordinate group will not - this creates significant healthcare- and health- disparities between the dominant and subordinate groups - health disparities result rom social inequality, racism, sexism, ageism, ableism, fat phobia, and heterosexism

people with disabilities

- disability refers to a reduction in ones ability to perform everyday tasks - impairment describes the physical limitations - before the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, people in the U.S. with disabilities were often excluded from opportunities, public accommodations, employees etc. in a world designed for the convenience of the able-bodied - still face stigma and unemployment

Functionalist theories of aging

- disengagement theory suggests that withdrawing from society and social relationships is a natural part of growing old - activity theory suggests that for individuals to enjoy old age and feel satisfied, they must maintain activities and fund a replacement for the statuses and associated roles they have left behind as they aged - continuity theory states that the elderly make specific choices to maintain consistency in internal (personality structure, beliefs) and external structures (relationships), remaining active and involved throughout their elder years

Cognitive changes in aging

- fluid intelligence refers to information processing abilities, such as logical reasoning, remembering lists, spatial ability, and reaction time - fluid intelligence tends decline over the course of adulthood - crystallized intelligence encompasses abilities that draw upon experience and knowledge - older adults often use crystallized intelligence to compensate for declines in fluid intelligence - adults who engage in mentally and physically stimulating activities experience less cognitive decline

functionalist views of health

- functionalists created the idea of the sick role - the sick are unable to fulfill their normal societal roles, so their sickness weakens the society - therefore, it is sometimes necessary for various forms of a sick person back in line with normal expectations - in this model of health, doctors serve as gatekeepers. deciding who is healthy and who is sick- a relationship in which the doctor has all the power

medical sociology and the social construction of health

- medical sociology: the systematic study of how humans manage issues of stress and illness, disease and disorders, and healthcare for both the sick and the healthy - the social construction of health: emphasizes the sociocultural aspects of physical, objectively definable phenomena

symbolic-interactionist view of health

- medicalization of the deviance of the process that change "bad" behavior into "sick" behavior - alcoholism was defined as an illness, not personal falling - demedicalization normalizes behavior that was once understood as "sick" - in 1973 the American Psychological Association stopped labeling

Conflict theories of aging

- modernization theory the primary cause of the elderly losing power and influence in society are parallel forces of industrialization and modernization - age stratification theory states that members of society are stratified by age, just as they are stratified by race, class, and gender - exchange theory suggest that we experience an increased dependence as we age and must increasingly submit to the will of others, because we have fewer ways of compelling others to submit to us

the social construction oft he illness experience

- patients control the manner in which they understand and reveal their diseases an the lifestyle adaptations patients develop to cope with their illnesses - today, many institutions of wellness acknowledge the degree to which individual perceptions shape their nature of health

Health disparities within the United States

- race, class, gender, and insurance status all impact health care and health status - in 2014, 13 percent of people had no health insurance - it is wise to look at these issues from an intersectional perspective - overall the U.S. spends more money than other industrialized nations, but not everyone has healthcare and there are significant disparities in access and outcomes

Symbolic interactionist theories of aging

- subculture of aging theory focuses on the shared community created by the elderly when they are excluded (due to age), voluntarily or involuntarily, from participating in other groups - selective optimization with compensation theory is based on the idea that successful personal development throughout the life course and subsequent mastery of the challenges associated with everyday life are based on the components of selection, optimization, and compensation - gerotranscendence is the idea that as people age, they transcend limited views of life they held in earlier times

Challenges of aging

- the loss of independence - diminished physical ability - age discrimination - risk of elder abuse - risk of poverty ( the national poverty rate among the elderly had risen to 15 percent in 2015)

Health problems

High income countries - heart disease - respiratory disease - diabetes - depression - cancer low income countries - lack of access to clean water and basic sanitation - malnutrition - maternal and child mortality - infectious diseases - lack of medical personnel - cancer exists but is far less pressing than the above issues

Death and the five stages of grief

In some cultures, death is accepted as a natural part of life. Hospice is a service that provides a death with dignity; pain management in a humane and comfortable environment; usually outside of a hospital setting. Hospice is changing attitudes to death in the United States. Elizabeth Kübler-Ross proposed five stages of grief: 1. Denial 2. anger 3. bargaining 4. Depression 5. acceptance

Mental health

People with mental disorders (a condition that makes it more difficult to cope with everyday life) and people with mental illness (a severe, lasting mental disorder that requires long-term treatment) often stigma

Elder abuse

Physical: bruises, untreated wounds, sprains, broken glasses, lab findings of medication overdosage sexual: bruises around breasts or genitals, torn or bloody under clothing, unexplained venereal disease emotional or psychological:being upset or withdrawn, unusual dementia-like behavior (rocking, sucking) neglect: poor hygiene, untreated bed sores, dehydration, soiled bedding financial: sudden changes in banking practices, inclusion of additional names on bank cards, abrupt changes to will self-neglect: untreated medical conditions, unclean living area, lack of medical items like dentures or glasses

Psychosocial factors in aging

Social connectedness and social support are important for positive aging

Social epidemiology

Social epidemiology is suture of the causes and distribution of diseases - it can reveal how social problems are connected to the health of different populations

Social gerontology

Social gerontology refers to a specialized field of gerontology that examines the social (and sociological) aspects of aging. Researchers focus on: - developing a broad understanding of the experiences of people at specific ages - mental and physical well-being - age-specific concerns such as the process of dying

Universal healthcare vs. socialize medicine

Socialized medicine: when the government owns and runs the entire healthcare system like the United Kingdom universal healthcare: a system that guarantees healthcare coverage like Canada

Comparing the U.S. to other Nations

The U.S. spends far more money on healthy care as a percentage of GDP than any other nation - however, the United States lags behind almost every industrialized country in terms of providing care to all its citizens - the United States has a comparable quality of care to other industrialized countries with better cancer treatment, but worse preventative care

Life-stage subgroups of older adults

The United States' older adult population can be divided into three life-stage subgroups: - the young-old (approximately sixty-five to seventy-four years old) - the middle-old (ages seventy-five to eighty-four years old) - the old-old (over age eighty-five) Today's young-age group is generally happier, healthier, and financially better off than the young-old of previous generations. In the United States, people are better able to prepare for aging because resources are more widely available

the meaning of illness

illness have both biological and an experimental component. Our culture dictates which illnesses are: - stigmatized (illnesses that are discriminated against and whose sufferers are looked down upon or even shunned by society) - considered disabilities - contestable (meaning some medial professionals may find the existence of this ailment questionable)

the social construction of medical knowledge

medical knowledge is socially constructed; that s. it can both reflect and reproduce inequalities in gender, class, race, and ethnicity

the sick role

the individual who has fallen ill is not only physically sick, but must now adhere to the specifically pattern of social role of being sick with rights and obligations. The sick person's rights are twofold: 1. being exempt from normal social roles 2. not being responsible for their condition the sick person's obligations include: 3. trying to get well 4. cooperating with the medical professionals