Aging Essay, Research Paper

Although the percentage of elderly people in the United States has tripled since 1900, the population of elderly is expected to double between now and the year 2030. Not only is the number greater, but they are also living much longer. Even though there is a large population of elderly people in the United States, we as a society overlook them as if they aren?t there. Women make up majority of the older population and have a life expectancy that is longer than men?s. As a result of longer lives, women are expected to experience chronic illnesses and disabilities. They are also more likely to live alone, be single and become poor in their old age. When I went to visit the cemetery I realized that majority of the people deceased were elderly men. After my visit I came to the conclusion that men were more of the hard workers, which gave women the opportunity to take better care of themselves and in turn they lived longer lives.

The elderly are treated differently all around the world. The group presentations that were displayed in class gave me a better understanding of how older people are treated in different countries. The presentations taught me that in all countries the elderly are supposed to be treated with full respect. Japan is similar to the United States in some of the rules they have dealing with the elderly. Rules apply such as giving up your seat, helping with tasks and just showing respect. In the United States death is a spiritual celebration of the passing of a loved one. Death and dying is a sad moment for everyone, but it is also a ritual to celebrate the life of the deceased person and the life they have ahead of them in either heaven or hell.

As both the number of older people and their life expectancy increases, the greater the number of elderly that have to deal with a terminal illness or a chronic condition that may lead to a low quality of life. Quality of life is a term that refers to conditions necessary for happiness. A low quality of life would include conditions such as immobility, physical pain, mental suffering and extreme dependency. When older people are experiencing these low qualities they begin to believe that death is seen as an alternative. A study of 447 elderly adults was conducted to research the attitudes of the elderly toward end-of-life decisions. Fifty-two percent of the respondents were in the favor of striving for life, forty-seven percent favored withdrawing treatment, and twelve percent favored assisted suicide. When older people feel that they are becoming a burden on their family and friends they begin to look to assisted suicide. Sometimes we treat elderly people as if they were children. Although they may need some help they don?t feel they should be treated like they are unable to do things on their own.

Several programs were established to take care of the elderly population. The Older Americans Act was designed to develop a nationwide infrastructure of state and local agencies dedicated to planning, policy and program, and implementation on behalf of the elderly Americans. Other programs were established such as Social Security and the Medicare program. As time goes on the age will increase for such programs. Each year the life expectancy of people goes up which will make my generation and the generations that follow have to work longer to survive. With new technology and better health care supporters the life of elderly people is expanding greater each year. When I went on my service trip to visit my elderly person I learned that back in earlier times many women depended on their husbands to support the family. Being as though the man is usually the first to past away the women have to turn to jobs such as working in grocery and department stores.

In conclusion, I think I learned a lot about the older population and they were treated and portrayed in the media, television and movies. After the service trips, the class presentations and the films I realized that some stereotypes of the elderly are not always correct. Watching the class films taught me that all elderly people are not handicapped, immobile or grumpy. Throughout the class I learned the different perspectives on aging through film and discussion. The class helped me realize that there are elderly people that are grumpy, mean and dependent on others, while on the other hand there are elderly people that continue to be lively and indulge in daily activities.

Takamura, Jeanette. Getting Ready for the 21st Century: The Aging of America and the Older Americans Act; Health and Social Work, August 1999.

Cicirelli, Victor. Views of elderly people concerning end-of-life decisions; Journal of Applied Gerontology, June 1998.

Fordyce, Moira. Geriatric Pearls. 1999. F.A. Davis Company. Philadelphia, PA.

Kastenbaum, Robert. Defining Acts: Aging as Drama. 1994. Baywood. Amityville, NY.