Using Material from Item 2B and elsewhere, asses the view that an ageing population creates problems for society. Many western societies such as the United Kingdom are experiencing the social, political and economic issues that are associated with an ageing population. Rising life expectancy poses a number of problems. People are living longer due to medical advancements (including the NHS) and improved sanitation. This has resulted in more services being needed to support the continually ageing population.
decreasing mobility, loss of eye sight etc.) that mean they need other people to do things for them. Health care is in ever increasing demand in the UK and it is proven that the elderly visit their doctor more often and have more home visits. They also occupy hospital beds for longer. The government of a country has to find money to pay for this care.
Introduction The elder population within the United States and around the world is increasing daily, and statistics evidence the current trend of continued rapid increase over the coming decades. The phenomenon of aging, despite its natural occurrence, comes with a unique set of challenges within the population that give credence to its vulnerability. The challenges within the elderly population range, along a spectrum, from finances to failing health, and as a result, have had major impact on the health care system. These challenges have also directly impacted the stakeholders in various sectors of the United States health care system, and special adaptations have been made for delivery of care and meeting the needs that the elder population presents. Over the years there have been studies regarding the trending and needs of this vulnerable group, and actual and potential solutions have been implemented to charter the course of care.
One primary factor is the population growth patterns. Currently the American population is growing older, which means there is both a growing need for nurses as well as the implication that the workforce of nurses is also growing in age, roughly half of the nurses being 50 years or older. In most professions the reason for shortage is more directly related a lack of qualified applicants to the profession, in the case of nursing it is more directly related to the colleges and universities cannot meet demands of an increased enrollment. The inability to increase the enrollment is secondary to a lack of resources to both teach courses as well as issues related to student saturation at clinical sites (Fox & Abrahamson, 2009). A third contributing factor is very interrelated to nursing education is that nursing education has shifted from hospital-based diploma programs to university and college programs.
Today’s economic and political events define the types of trend(s) measured in modern society and how it affects human services (Thompson, 2000). According to the projections of the U.S. population, the population of persons age 65 and older is expected to more than double between 2012 and 2060, from 43.1 million to 92.0 million. The increase in the number of the "oldest old" - those 85 and older are projected to more than triple from 5.9 million to 18.2 million, reaching 4.3 percent of the total population. (Census Bureau 2012). This demographic will continually increase due to baby boomers entering their retirement years as well as the number of elderly living past the age of 85.
Lifestyle and chronic illnesses are on the increase. Each year more people are being diagnosed with diseases that without correct long term management will place further strain on a system that is at breaking point. An ageing population and crtitical shortages in our health care workforce are all adding up to a
o) Proportion of populations living in nonfamily households has increased. S. Why the Changing Population Matters for Politics and Government xxxii. The aging of the population will inevitably increase the burden on the nation’s Social Security and Medicare health care systems, which will be forced to support the needs of that rising population. xxxiii. The racial and ethnic makeup of the population (along with other influences) can significantly affect the nation’s political culture and people’s political attitudes.
Ethical Health Care Issues Paper The elderly population, individuals aged 65 years, and older in the United States anticipated to increase in numbers from approximately million today to more than 70 million by 2030. This anticipated rapid growth in the census increases of elder individuals, presents challenges for family, loved ones, and society to meet effects of age-related changes, acute, and chronic disease processes (Plassman, 2008). Dementia, a disease more prevalent in elderly individuals manifest with a decline in memory, and cognitive impairments leading to lose of independent functioning with wide-ranging effects on the individual, families, loved ones, and the health care system. According to Plassman,
This is added to costs for advanced health care. Many feel that this will increase taxes, even causing some to not work because of how much they will have to pay to social security, putting an even further gap between the working and the elderly. We are often left with the question, what about us when we become elderly? When we reach elderly age, the elderly population will almost be doubled, and the working taxpayer percentages will be lower due to infertility, who
Current research from the National Institute on Aging indicates that the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease doubles every five years beyond age 65. As the population ages the disease impacts agreater percentage of Americans. The incidence of the disease is rising in line with the aging population in America. 2012 Alzheimer’s disease Facts and Figures article provides a statistical resource for U.S. data related to Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia. An estimated 5.4 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer’s disease in 2012.