Aging Population

The population of the world is getting older a day after another. The 2017 Revision report of the World Population Prospects indicates that by 2050, the number of aged people above 60 years will be more than double as it is now. Going forward, the report predicts even a higher number than we may imagine. Similar, regarding dependency ratio, United Nations report has indicated the old-age dependency ratio has been on the rampant increase as well. In 2005, the ratio was 11.3 then increased to 11.7 in 2017 and is expected to hit 14.4 by 2020.  Coincidently, no country around the world is left out instead all countries are experiencing population growth in the number of older persons. The aging population is set to become the most significant social transformation in human age. The aging population is less self-sufficient which impacts the sufficiency in various aspects ranging from labor, healthcare, transportation, housing to production. Even though the society has put in the effort to ensure that the aged population is cared for, much is a way to be achieved. Therefore, there is a need to examine factors surrounding population aging, possible consequences, and alternatives on overall life quality improvement to lower the increasing age population rate.

Guralnik, J. M., Fried, L. P., & Salive, M. E. (2006). Disability as a public health outcome in the aging population. Annual review of public health, 17(1), 25-46.

In this article, the authors Guralnik, Fried, and Salive who work in medical institutions in Baltimore, Maryland examines the effects the improvements in life expectancy have caused. The article written in the twenty-first century notes that these improvements have had the mortality for older age decline that has resulted in prolonged expectation of life. In support of this argument, the article illustrates the change in life expectancy that was experienced in the twentieth century where people who could reach 65 years could live additional 11.9 years. The increase in the life expectancy for the older population continued to increase the better part of the twentieth century to about 17.5 years towards the end. As an impact owing to a large population making to survive to ancient age following the increased life expectancy, the article expresses worries for medical care and support for this aging population.

 

The evidence based on the figures analyzing the improved life expectancy in this article especially in the past century is the time in explaining the increasing aging population. The stakeholders and policymakers can use the report to find the way in which the issue of the aging population can be handled in respect to the improved life expectancy. Relatively, the article aligns with other sources that have indicated that the population of aged people is increasing.

 

Fried, L. P., Carlson, M. C., Freedman, M., Frick, K. D., Glass, T. A., Hill, J., … & Wasik, B. A. (2004). A social model for health promotion for an aging population: initial evidence on the Experience Corps model. Journal of Urban Health, 81(1), 64-78.

 

Linda P. Fried and the colleagues are the staffs of the New York Academy of Medicine and are the original authors of this article. In this article, they present a report of the evaluation of the older volunteers program which intends to promote the health of the older population. The report, in general, examines whether this program could lead to short-term improvements in various risk factors of behavior and intermediary risk factors for disability. The study that was done in 2004 involved the older population volunteers with the intention of increasing their cognitive, social, and physical activity. The study confirmed the increase in these three factors among the older population a move that could enhance their health.

The article presents enough evidence of the much struggle by society to try and maintain the large growing aging population. At the age of 60 and above, this population tends to loose physical, social, and cognitive strength thus put under acute care for a while. This supports the ideas presented in other sources on the aging population and the consequential alterations they cause to the society.

Etzioni, D. A., Liu, J. H., Maggard, M. A., & Ko, C. Y. (2003). The aging population and its impact on the surgery workforce. Annals of surgery, 238(2), 170.

 

This article was written by David A. Etzioni and the colleagues working in the Department of Surgery in Healthcare system in Los Angeles. In their article, they present the prediction about how the aging population demand for surgical procedures. Working at the Department of Surgery, the authors have the authority over the information in this article. The article in its introductory observes and admits the expanding and aging population basing on the data from the US Census Bureau that shows that by 2020, the will be a 53.2 percent increase in population above 65 years. Before compiling the report, the historical data on age-specific rates of surgical procedures were obtained which indicated an increase of about 47 percent for the older population. This led to the authors conclude that as more population continue to age, there will be high demand for surgical services. The information in the article supports other sources that claim an increase in population aging and a possible problem in the health care of the aged. It can be used to assist in future planning on the way to reduce health complications for the aged that lead to surgery.

 

Pollack, M. E. (2005). Intelligent technology for an aging population: The use of AI to assist elders with cognitive impairment. AI Magazine, 26(2), 9.

The writer of this article Martha E Pollack is an experienced writer in the areas of social science and has in-depth information about the aging population. Pollack through his article reiterates what other sources have indicated the percentage of the aging population in the world that seems to be increasing. He quotes a 10 percent of the population being of people above 60 years and like many other authors state that this population appears to be going up daily. Pollack, however, notes of the majority of this population remaining health but developing physical and productive impairment. The article examines the possibility of helping the aging population to find it easy to cope up with aging by using artificial intelligence techniques. The article is essential for research in the sense that it helps give a solution to the cognitive problem faced by the aging population. The article joins many other sources that have brought forth the challenges of old age, but in her perspective, Pollack offers a technological solution.

 

Uhlenberg, P. (1992). Population aging and social policy. Annual Review of Sociology, 18(1), 449-474.

The article is written by someone who is an expert in the population has been working in the Department of Sociology and Carolina Population Center. Uhlenberg in his article tries to give another perspective concerning the population aging and what these old-age people can do. From what the writer sits, it is not that old-aged people are unable to offer their productive services, it is this population is defined wrongly. For instance, he claims that when a person gets at 60 years, such a person is assumed aged and can no longer be socially responsible. He, therefore, suggests of social policy that can help address the mismatch between aging population abilities and the role this group plays in the society. This article is a unique one in the way it views the whole idea of aging population. It offers an alternative that will see the aging population becomes productive rather than a burden where the old people only depends on the young working people.

 
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