Health Care

This assignment will be using information from the link below:
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health

1. According to WHO, “Every person-in every country in the world-should have the opportunity to live a long and happy life. Yet, the environment in which we live can favor health or be harmful to it”. Does the environment in which you live favor health? Why or why not? How can we work to make our environment more health friendly?

2. According to WHO, “A comprehensive public health response must address the wide range of older people’s experience and needs”. Based on what you learned in this class, what areas/topics should this public health response include”? Use examples. Be specific.

3. There are many negative stereotypes about older adults. They are often seen as frail and dependent. How can ageist attitudes like this lead to discrimination? Be specific. Use examples.

4. Part of WHO’s “Action Plan on Aging and Health” specifies, “A (global) commitment to health aging”. After taking this class, what is your commitment to healthy aging? Please describe.

5. Under the section of the document referenced above, under “Common health conditions associated with ageing”, is a discussion of “Factors Influencing Healthy Ageing”. Which of the behaviors discussed will you adopt now so that you have a healthy older age? Use examples. Why is it often so difficult to modify unhealthy behaviors we learned in childhood?

The question below will be using information from the link below:
https://www.who.int/health-topics/ageing#tab=tab_1

6. According to WHO’s “Ageing” page, “changes in the global population (like a sharp increase in the number of older adults) requires adaptations to the ways societies are structures”. What adaptations will American society have to make to accommodate the growing number of older adults? Be specific. Use examples.

7. What is your responsibility as a citizen of the world to making our society a more age friendly place? Be specific, use examples.

8. Do you think it is society’s obligation to enact laws that protect the rights of older adults and ensure an adequate quality of life? Yes or no and please explain.

9. According to WHO, in 2020 there are 1 billion adults 60 years of age and older. What is the projection for the number of adults in 2050? What do you think will be the global impact of such a huge demographic shift? Be specific and please use examples.

10. What did you learn about your ability to use scientific data and information to solve problems in completing this assignment?

ANSWER

Question Answer the following Questions

Question 1

The environment I live in favors my health in that I live in a supportive environment where everyone within is ready to help the other in doing things. The support received ranges from emotional, physical, social, and familial, including aspect`           s that increase the quality of life such as good education, a balanced diet, and a clean environment. Socially, I have good friends who help me maintain good health through engaging in physical activities, like playing soccer and avoiding substance use. To make our environment more healthy friendly, we should encourage good morals from friends and social circles, conserve and protect the environment, and encourage an age-friendly environment.

Question 2

A comprehensive public health response must address the older people’s needs and environments, such as the physical, mental and social environments; ageist attitudes that may precipitate their discrimination and aspects such as globalization, technological developments, urbanization, and changing gender norms affecting their living (WHO, 2021b). Physically and socially, comprehensive public health should ensure that their environments are safe and healthy, such as guaranteeing nutritious feeding and protection from unhealthy and harmful activities. Physically the elderly are supposed to be engaged in physical activities like jogging to help strengthen their bodies and physical health. Older people should not be exposed to aging attitudes that make them susceptible to discrimination or viewed as a burden to society but taken care of and treated equally as the rest. Policies should be developed to help fight for the rights of the elderly and to ensure that the elderly are given equal opportunities in society. Public health response should take stock of the current trends like technological developments, urbanization, and changing gender norms that influence the lives of the elderly directly and indirectly. Policies on how the elderly can cope with these changes should be developed.

Question 3

Negative stereotypes and attitudes about older adults, such as being seen as frail and dependent, can lead to discrimination. According to Human Rights Watch (2021), close to 80% of the elderly today face discrimination of some form, and in every two people, one person has ageist attitudes about older people (Sleap, 2021). Viewing older people as frail and dependent affects them psychologically. It can lead to depression and stress, for they will feel unwanted by society, and some might isolate themselves, which increases the risk of developing depression. Discrimination of any kind to the elderly can negatively affect their health, which may shorten their lives.

Question 4

My commitment is to ensure that the rights of the elderly are protected and not violated through the commitment to their equal treatment and providence of equal opportunities. More importantly, lawfully, healthful aging requires that a supportive environment free from discrimination of the elderly is maintained and promoted. Finally, educating society on the importance of taking care of the elderly and developing programs that will involve the interaction of people with the elderly, such as physical activities for the elderly, games, and social interactions for them to freely express their problems and ideas.

Question 5

To have a healthy older age, I will maintain a healthy behavior throughout my life by engaging in healthy lifestyles and eating, engaging in physical activities, and refraining from drugs and substance abuse. Primarily, engaging in healthy living, including eating a balanced diet, will provide essential nutrients for the body’s growth. Without proper nutrition, my body will be prone to diseases and poor growth, hence a balanced diet to reduce susceptibility to diseases, more physical strength, and healthy living. Secondly, engaging in physical activities will help strengthen my immune system, reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks and blood pressure, and make my bones and muscles stronger, minimizing the risks of falling associated with aging. Sometimes it is difficult to modify unhealthy behaviors we learned in childhood due to addiction. Unhealthy behaviors like drug abuse in childhood lead to addiction, which is difficult to stop even in adulthood; hence, the earlier we avoid these behaviors, the better.

Question 6

Due to the rapid growth in the population of the elderly, American society will have to come up with strategies and adaptations to accommodate them. The adaptations include building more elderly care facilities to help accommodate more older adults in America, aiming at creating more age-friendly environments for health and social care. This extends to training more personnel to help take care of the elderly to provide effective services and care to the elderly. Secondly, more all-inclusive programs for the elderly should be developed in order to assist in creating aging environments that limit negative stereotypical prejudices and ageist attitudes such as being seen as frail, overly dependent, and unwantedness that may predispose them to depressing feelings (WHO, 2021b).

Question 7

To ensure society is age-friendly, I need first to begin with my home, where I ensure that we interact freely well as a family despite our age differences, as well as engaging them in our activities and not viewing them as frail or unwanted. In addition, I will make sure that the elderly are involved in community programs and events for them not to feel left out or discriminated against. As a good citizen, I will also support local organizations and agencies that encourage age-friendly and help them in their activities in society. It is my responsibility to create a friendly environment for the elderly in the community by ensuring that the social and physical environments are safe and healthy. Finally, I would educate my society on the importance of an age-friendly society and encourage everyone to advocate and promote it.

Question 8

Yes. Local society leaders should come up with laws that protect the rights of the elderly in which anyone who violates them should be lawfully punished and educated. This ensures the long-term and sustainable address of the problem associated with creating a toxic and discriminative environment. The society should ensure that the elderly age well and do everything possible to improve the status of the elderly. It is society’s responsibility to ensure that the elderly have a healthy and quality life by cleaning their houses, helping them with their medications, daily chores, engaging them in activities involving physical abilities, and establishing daycare centers for the elderly. More importantly, society should ensure the elderly retirement benefits, medicare benefits, and allowances are allocated with transparency and consistency to support their existence.

Question 9

WHO (2021) approximates that by 2050, there will be 2 billion adults of 60 years and above, and this will lead to a massive demographic shift in the globe (WHO, 2021a). This growth of the elderly population will lead to a shortage in labor supply, whereby many of the elderly will have already retired from their jobs. The rapid increase in the population of the elderly will lead to a rise in healthcare costs in which countries will have to spend a lot of their gross domestic product in purchasing healthcare products and services. The rapid aging population will lead to a decrease in productivity in which many older people will stop working due to their age, which will lead to deteriorating economic growth, resulting from reduced labor supply.

Question 10

A major takeaway is that scientific data increases the objectivity and better understanding of modern problems and identification of potential solutions. Solving problems using actual numbers and facts helps track the effectiveness and efficacy of solutions in solving a problem, which helps us understand the extent to which change is effected.

References

Sleap, B. (2021, September 20). Discrimination Against Older People Pervasive Worldwide. Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/09/20/discrimination-against-older-people-pervasive-worldwide

WHO. (2021a). Ageing. Ageing. https://www.who.int/westernpacific/health-topics/ageing

WHO. (2021b). Ageing and health. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health