Custom «The Expected Increase in the Elderly Population and Ways Society will have to Change to meet their Needs» Essay Paper

The world is experiencing an increase in the number of elderly people. Life expectancy has increased over the past years because of the improvement of our modern technology. On-going research about diseases, medicines, and public health has been a great help on prolonging life. The increase of elderly population will require more budgets from the government especially Medicare and Medicaid. Government has to provide more programs for the elderly that are accessible, convenient, and supported, especially to those without family to take care for them. As the population continues to age, the impact of the elderly on the society has increased and in future, this will change the way people view old age.

According to the United Nations Population Division (2011), population aging is taking place all over the world because of three major trends: increased longevity, declining fertility, and the aging of “baby boom” generation. Presently, persons are living longer compared to the past and life expectancy has increased and is expected to increase further to 76 years by 2050 (United Nations Population Division, 2011). The world fertility rate has decreased and it expected to drop further by 2050; this means that, as people have fewer offspring, the number of the aged will increase. The high shares of elderly persons will also increase from the aging of large children cohorts born following the Second World War. The increase in the longevity and elderly population will also result from anti-ageing technologies, which range from memory-enhancing medicine to advanced joint replacements’, compression of morbidity, and healthier lifestyles. The UN Population Division (2011) projected that by 2050, the aged people will represent 22% of the world population from the current 11%. In addition, the number of people aged over 60 years will increase by a factor of almost 10 and those aged over 80 years (oldest old) will increase by a factor of 26. This means that in the future, the number of aged people will be very large and the society will have to change to meet their needs.

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The increased elderly population will mean there will be a dramatic increase in the older and retired population compared to the shrinking population of the working ages; this will create political and social pressure on social support systems. This will necessitate radical modifications to be enacted, which might take the form of tax increases, cuts in benefits, lower costs of living adjustments, massive borrowing, and later retirement ages. These will be painful policies, which will become essential in order to sustain the retirement programs and other programs for catering for the aged.

The increase in the number of elderly people will also pose a great challenge for the health care systems. As the number of aged people increase, the prevalence of frailty, disabilities as well as chronic diseases (such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, cerebrovascular disease, cardiovascular disease) are expected to increase considerably. More budgets from the government especially Medicare and Medicaid will thus be required to take care of the aged people with these conditions. To meet the ageing population needs, the government will be required to reorganize changes in labor, its social security systems, and more collaboration between the governments and other agencies to resolve political and socioeconomic problems.

An increase in the ageing population will also mean that fewer resources will be available for the working adults and the children because of the increase in the non-working population. Organizations will be required to come up with additional incentives to keep the older workers in the payrolls longer. There will also be need for additional resources for almost every kind in order to meet the needs of the increasing elderly population. Families will also have more elderly to cater for. This means that some of the resources will be directed to the aging relatives from other obligations such as children. There will also be an increase in products, institutions, and programs, designed purposely for the aged people.

The human growth hormone (HGH) replacement therapy provides natural growth hormone replacement therapy. The therapy is an important treatment of aging, as replacing normal levels, which decline with age, is critical to this treatment. The treatment helps patients to increase muscle mass, reduce body fat, boost energy levels, strengthen bones, restores youthful immune function, lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, increases wound healing time, restores firmer and smoother skin, sharpens vision, improves cognitions and regrows hair. All these factors contribute to longevity. People often say, “I must be getting old” because of circumstances that surround them; for instance, due to forgetfulness and increase in age among other factors. There are valid signs of ageing such as a poor immune system, which result to diseases.

Part 2

Answer 1

The two major biological theories of ageing are the wear and tear theory and the free radical theory. The two theories differ on the causes of aging whereas their similarity lies in the fact that they agree that ageing starts from the cells. The wear and tear theory suggests that over the years, cell damage builds up and eventually wear out the cells. The free radical theory suggests that damage from highly reactive molecules within the cell causes aging. I agree with the wear and tear theory because the human bodies like all multicellular organisms are constantly wearing out and being repaired. Every day thousand of cells die, replaced, and the damaged cell parts repaired. Parts of the body wear out from repeated use like the components of an ageing car and hence this theory seems credible.

Answer 2

Some of the factors that affect longevity are:

-caloric restriction

 -antioxidant therapy

-DHEA: The Wonder Hormone

 -The Human Growth Hormone

          Caloric restriction is the best strategy for increasing longevity as it has fewer side effects. It extends life span in most species and slows functional decline linked with aging in different organ systems as well the start of diseases related to age. One of the methods of caloric restriction is reduction of fat tissue.

Answer 3

As a health or social service provider to Mrs. G. and her family, the five issues of concern are the conditions the woman suffers from, the crowded living conditions, failure to change the wound dressings, taking medications sporadically, and the fact that the woman has not agreed to being placed in a nursing home. The issues that are of the highest priority have to do with the irregular taking of medication and the inability to change the wound dressings. The conditions the woman suffers from i.e., diabetes and high blood pressure require that the medicines be taken regularly and as prescribed to ensure the conditions do not lead to other complications, for instance, high blood pressure may cause a stroke is not well monitored. Secondly, the wound needs to be dressed regularly to ensure it does not become septic. A discussion regarding one of these issues with Mrs. G. and her family should begin with first establishing rapport with Mrs. G. and the family and then approaching the issue of placement. Mrs. G. should be the first person to talk first regarding nursing home admission to ensure that she is Ok with her admission in the home and that the relationship between her and the daughters is not destroyed. She is upset that the doctor had talked to them about placing her in a nursing home. It is not usually easy for the elderly to go to a nursing home as they lose their independence and freedom. Mrs. G has to first consent being taken to the nursing home.

Answer 4

The single most important thing for prolonging life is eating a healthy and balanced diet. The most difficult thing to prolong life is keeping safe as death can result from other situations such as accidents. I want to live for 90 years. People of different ages-parents, grandparents and children answers differ in that they all suggested different years; children want to live forever, the parents want to live 100 years whereas the grandparents suggested they want to live for 80 years. The three groups have different expectations in life.