Life Health and Wellness Services

¶ … life Health and Wellness Services Along with the rapidly changing and developing technology that has become part of our everyday lives, the population of this new world is also changing, almost exponentially. There are now more older people alive than ever before, with human life expectancy being the highest that it has ever been. Partly a result of knowledge about healthier living and eating habits, this phenomenon is also the result of improved medical technologies, which act in both a remedial and preventative capacity.

More people live to a higher age, which has definitive effects upon the world in terms of not only demography, but also politics and the financial sector. As people grow older, they will make increased use of older-age services in both the health and social care sectors. As these needs grow, increased strain is placed upon public- and government-funded systems to help older people retain their human rights and dignity until the end of their lives.

Furthermore, the increase in the older demographic has also necessitated a move towards more diversified services, as the older generation is no longer as uniform as the case was in the past. Hence, it is vitally important to adjust policy and financial structures in order to ensure that the needs of each sector of older people are met, along with the diversified needs in terms of mental, physical, and social health. According to Niles-Yokum and Wagner (2011, p. 5), there has been an exponential increase of people over 65 since 1998.

The sector of older adults has shown a 13% increase since 1998 and accounts for 12.6% of the total U.S. population. This increase means that there is also an increase in the median age of different population groups in terms of race and ethnicity. This is also an important concern when policy and service issues are modified to meet the needs of each specific group. According to the authors (Niles-Yokum and Wagner, 2011, p.

6), the median age for white people during 2003 was 37.3 years, for black people it was 30.6, for American Indian/Alaskan natives it was 28.9, for Asians 33.7, and for Latinos the median age was 26.7 years old. One major concern when currently addressing the needs of older people is the tendency to consider them as a homogeneous group.

In addition to the differences in culture and ethnicity, there is also a basic difference in age group, with the needs of a relatively healthy 65-year-old person being much different from those of a person suffering from Alzheimer's disease who is closer to his or her 100th birthday. Indeed, the population of very old people, over 85 years old, has also increased, even as the general sector of those over 65 has increased.

This means that services and policies should be modified to accommodate and reflect the diversity inherent in this sector of society. Niles-Yokum and Wagner (2011, p. 7) mention two important diversity factors among the older population. The first is that the median age of foreign-born individuals older than 52 is rising, while the second focuses on the diversity of this population. This means that there are widely varied attitudes towards aging and care services for older people. Some cultures, for example, are highly focused upon the family unit and care within this unit.

Hence, they may find it difficult to accept formal care services, even if it becomes clear that this is necessary, particularly for those with chronic conditions that could affect their daily functioning and lives. Furthermore, foreign-born older people may also experience a significant barrier in terms of language, where English is not their first language. This difficulty in understanding care service providers or the programs on offer may make it difficult to implement these effectively. Awareness is therefore of vital importance.

Researchers and professionals in the field of aging need to make a thorough investigation into the demographics of aging in the United States, and the various needs of these sectors in all their capacities. Specifically, elements that may lead to increased vulnerability, such as older age, mental conditions, or language barriers, should be mitigated effectively by means of targeted programs. Indeed, there is an increasing amount of recognition for the varied sectors of the older population, with more research attention and services provided to these sectors.

The Internet also provides increased opportunities to help older people maintain and regain control over the services they choose to utilize. The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (n.d.), for example, provides evidence of research into the older demographic and the way in which chronic conditions might affect their lives. Particularly, mental health is a concern, since the loss of mental faculties could also mean a basic loss of control over everyday functions and tasks.

According to the Assocation, there is an estimated 20% of people over 54 years who expereince some type of mental health concern. Commonly, this demographic tends to experience anxiety, cognitive impairment, and mood disorders. Often, these conditions could lead to a lack of joy or satisfaction in life and finally even to suicide, or at least to severe depression. Otherwise able-bodied, healthy individuals, for example, might be subject to these conditions and suffer an unnecessary loss of basic functions and contributions to society, which in turn causes further depression.

In this way, it becomes a type of cycle from which it is very difficult to break away. An awareness of these statistics, however, will help professionals who work in aging to provide the necessary services that can help these people continue to contribute to the world around them. Such help, in turn, could also lead to an improvement in the ability of older people to continue contributing to the economy, which in turn would lead to less strain on the existing care system.

The Association also emphasizes that depression is not a normal part of growing older. Hence, the condition can and should be treated, which would potentially alleviate associated conditions and suffering. According to the Association, social support forms a vital part of providing services to older people who are at risk of suffering from depression. Hence, the research should focus not only upon identifying the prevalence of the problem and its associated causes and results, but also ways in which various support systems can integrate to prevent or alleviate the problem.

This would lead to more healthy older people who can contribute to society and the economy in a much more effective way. It is therefore not only in.