Aging: A Vital Process

1. Aging: A Vital Process Chapter 22

2. Chapter Twenty-two Aging • The process of becoming older, a process that is genetically determined by t profoundly affected by one’s environment.

3. Chapter Twenty-two Generating Vitality As You Age • Physical and mental change occur gradually, over a lifetime. • What Happens as you age? • Characteristics associated with aging are not due to aging at all. • Result of neglect and abuse of our bodies and minds

4. Chapter Twenty-two Table 22.1 Americans Who Rate Their Health as Fair or Poor, 2007

5. Chapter Twenty-two Life-Enhancing measures: Age-Proofing • Challenge your mind • Older adults who stay mentally active have a lower risk of developing dementia • Reading • Doing puzzles • Learning language • Studying music • Develop Physical Fitness • Enhances both psychological and physical health • Eat Wisely • Eating a varied diet full of nutrient-rich foods • Follow the recommendations in the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

6. Chapter Twenty-two Life-Enhancing measures: Age-Proofing • Maintain a Healthy Weight A program that expends more calories through exercise, cutting calorie intake, or a combination of both. • Control Drinking and Overdependence on Medications • Don’t Smoke • Schedule Physical Examinations to Detect Treatable Diseases • Recognize and Reduce Stress

7. Chapter Twenty-two Dealing With The Changes Of Aging • Planning for Social Changes • Retirement • Important relationships • Developing satisfying interests outside work • Saving for an adequate retirement income • Changing Roles and Relationships • Increased Leisure Time • The Economics of Retirement

8. Chapter Twenty-two Adapting to Physical Changes • Hearing Loss • Vision Changes • Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) • Slow disintegration of the macula (tissue at the center of the retina) • Presbyopia • Cataracts • Arthritis • 100 different types of arthritis • Osteoarthritis is the most common • Menopause • Usually occurs during a woman’s forties or fifties • Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) • Osteoporosis

9. Chapter Twenty-two Handling Psychological and Mental Changes • Dementia • Brain deterioration in elderly individuals • Affects 7% of people under the age of 80 • Two types of dementia • Alzheimer’s disease • By changed in brain nerve cells • Multi-infarct dementia • Series of small strokes or changes in the brain’s blood supply that destroy brain tissue

10. Chapter Twenty-two Handling Psychological and Mental Changes • Grief • Dealing with grief and morning • Aging is associated with loss • Depression • Unresolved grief can lead to depression, a common problem in older adults

11. Chapter Twenty-two Aging And Life Expectancy • Life expectancy • Average length of time we can expect to live. • 2006 – Life expectancy for the total population was 78.1 years • Average life expectancy of white Americans is 78.5 years • Average life expectancy of black Americans is 73.6 years • Maximum Life span – 100-120 years

12. Chapter Twenty-two Life In An Aging America • America’s Aging Minority • People 65 and over are a large minority • Over 37.3 million people • About 12% of the total population in 2006 • Expected to double by 2030

13. Chapter Twenty-two Figure 22.2 A Statistical Look At Older Americans

14. Chapter Twenty-two Table 22.3 Percentage of Older Americans with Chronic Conditions, 2005

15. Chapter Twenty-two Family and Community Resources for Older Adults • 66% of noninstitutionalized older Americans live with a spouse or family member. • 30% live alone • Only 4% live in institutional setting • Over the age of 85, about 15% live in a nursing home.

16. Chapter Twenty-two Family and Community Resources for Older Adults • Family Involvement in Caregiving • Medical power of attorney • Other Living and Care Options • Community Resources • Senior citizens’ centers or adult day-care centers • Homemaker services • Visiting nurses • Household services • Friendly visitor or daily telephone reassurance services • Home food delivery • Adult day hospital care • Low-cost legal aid • Transportation services • Case management • Transportation

17. Chapter Twenty-two Family and Community Resources for Older Adults • Governmental Aid and Policies • Food stamps • Housing subsides • Social Security • Medicare • Two parts of funding • Payroll deduction by FICA tax • Monthly premiums paid by people who choose to enroll • Pays about 30% of the medical costs of older Americans • Medicaid • Changing the Public’s Idea of Aging

18. Aging: A Vital Process Chapter 22 Chapter Twenty-two