Download Healthy Aging

Gerontology 300
Introduction
Prof. Worsfold
5/24/2017
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Introduction
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I would like to introduce myself,
your Instructor and my graduate
assistant-TM- Melissa- and then to
get you to tell us a little bit about
yourselves and why you are taking
this course.
Information on the Gerontology
Department, library and support
services
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Topics of Discussion
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In this lecture we will introduce the
course, go over the outline and the
assignments and some of the
administrative arrangements to
complete the program.
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Topic One
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Healthy aging: What is it?
What are the ongoing processes in
response to aging events and
transitions?
What are the areas of concern for
the aging Adult in our society?
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Healthy Aging
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Areas to address are: Health both
mental and physical
Independence and functional loss
Life satisfaction across the aging
spectrum-Attitudes towards aging
Finances and Economics
Housing
Social Integration
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Health Aging
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Gerontology is the study of aging
in its bio-psycho-social
manifestations. We must also add
the spiritual component
Social Gerontology draws on
research from the social sciences
and medicine to identify successful
aging and to address areas of
concern-physical and mental frailty
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Healthy Aging
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Successful aging has social and
individual implications: areas of
public policy, lifestyle,
interpersonal relationships and
community development.
In Canada this is done with a backdrop of both individualistic,
capitalistic and socialistic
structures in our society
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Healthy Aging
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Studying aging processes requires
both scientific and descriptive
analysis. Ageism as a social
attitude-Introduction and Chap.
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Chronological age has definitive
markers-age breaks: young-65-74,
middle-75-84 and old/old 85 +
Studies on cohort aging gives us
valuable information (Stats Can) 8
Healthy Aging
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Studies also include: social roles
and role changes in the aging
process, and attributes of attitudes
and beliefs, cultural and gender
issues, social and economic
status.
This reviews such issues as
retirement, changes in marital
status, extended parenting, end of
life issues
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Assessing Population Aging
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There are three measures of pop
aging: 1. The percentage of population
65 and over. If 10% of pop is over 65 it
is considered old.The the percentage
increases the pop ages.
Why 65? Look at Course Fact Book
Reader and page 27 Textbook
2. Median age-median-one half pop is
older and one half is younger. When
median age increases pop is
considered aging. Stats Can-2000-36.8
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POP AGING
3. Dependency Ratios-social burden-aged
dependency ration-no of people 65 and
over as a ratio of persons 15-64. Stats
Can 2000 183/1000. These numbers
are affected by fertility and mortality
rates. Dependency ratios are also only
tied to paid labor.( pages 28-29 Text)
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How has Canada’s pop aged?
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Factors which influence aging-1.
Baby Boomers-born1946-1962. They
will enter old age in 2011-2027 2.
Aging of current pop-In 2000 3% of
pop were 80+ whereas in 1961 it
1.4%
Fertility-when it declines the pop
ages-urbanization, cost of raising a
family, women’s participation in the
labor force, effective measures to
control reproduction.
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POP AGING
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Look at pop pyramids-Fig 1.2-Course
Reader-Fact Book
Mortality decline and increased life
expectancy which impact longevity and
life-span.
Two kinds of life-expectancydependency free and chronic disabilitythe concept of Compression Ratio is
more people are able to postpone
chronic disability. This is gender related
given the life expectancy data.
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Healthy Aging
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Functional Age: This looks at
issues such as appearance,
capability, movement from
independence to frailty
Subjective Age: This is influenced
by social class and self-identity
and media influences. Discuss
examples
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Cohort studies
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Cohort studies examine
aggregations of data gathered for
like groups of individuals who are
experiencing the same events in
the same time intervals
Cohort aging is the continuous
advancement of the cohorts own
life span
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Cohorts
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There are five distinct cohorts in
the 20th Century: 1910-1926-Swing
Generation, 1927-1945-Silent
Generation, 1946-1964-Baby
Boomers, 1965-1976-Baby Bust
and 1977-1994-Echo Boomers
Cohorts vary in race, gender,
ethnic composition and size
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Structural Change
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Here we must look at issues that
affect aging such as: Culture and
Institutions
Contexts in which we age
Social units such as families and
kinship structures
Educational systems, health care,
social welfare programs
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Ageism
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New ageism presents itself in the
form of patronization, lack of
autonomy, denial of emotionality
and media presentation on how the
elderly are portrayed and
represented or what they are
excluded from.
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Ageism
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Lets look at Print: Novels,
Newspapers and Journals both
popular and scientific
Film: About Schmidt, On Golden
Pond, Notebooks, Life with Ivy etc.
Examine the positive and negative
presentations
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Ageism
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This the issue of stereotyping the
elderly and affects attitudes,
policies, media, interpersonal
relationships, attributes, categories
and power.
Lets review some examples from
personal experience
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CAUSES OF DEATH
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As the pop ages, the causes of death
change and most death occurs in
Canada in old age.
Epidemiological Transition Theoryhistorical transitions-plagues,
pestilence and famines to pandemics,
chronic diseases and infectious
diseases. This is also impacted by
socioeconomic development
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CAUSES OF DEATH IN CANADA
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Chronic and Degenerative diseaseheart disease, stroke, neoplastic
diseases, respiratory diseases.
Gender related-females have lower
mortality rates, but this decreases with
age and begins to even out with some
exceptions-stroke and suicide-read
pages 16-21 in the Fact Book
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What This Means
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Gerontology is a broad area with
both social and psychological
concerns as well as medical and
biological studies of the aging
process. This is then pasted into
an economic and cultural
background and modulated by
education and experience.
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Next Steps
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Our next lecture will look at the
Theories of Aging and will examine
how we approach the study of
aging within certain frameworks
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