This difference grew with advancing age. At ages 65 to 69, it was only 6 to 5. However, at age 85 and over, it reached 5 to 2. As more men live to older ages over the next 50 years, these differences may narrow somewhat.
3) Determinant -- Need for Assistance: As people age, there is a greater chance they will need assistance with walking. This is because of illness or recuperation from an operation or a fall, arthritis, frailty with age, or instability. A study by Gooberman-Hill and Ebrahim (2007) concerning the elderly making decisions about the use of walking aids showed that walking difficulty is common old age. However, older people's views on walking aids are likely to affect their uptake. The authors therefore explored older people's views on using these aids. Participants were 69-90 years old at the first interview, 15 were followed up a year later, and 12 were followed up again a year after that. As time passed, participants' initial misgivings about the use of aids subsided, and walking aids were described as improving confidence and facilitating activity and participation. Decisions to start using these aids were influenced by both gradual and sudden changes in ability and by culturally informed views about ageing. Views on ageing initially acted as barriers to the use of aids but then acted as facilitators to use.
Additional Information Needed:
Although the population will be older and there will be a greater need for walking assistance, especially for elderly women,...
The regular medical model. Further marketing studies would have to be conducted to see if the use of this item would be more acceptable to higher income levels, since it would cost somewhat more than buying from a traditional medical equipment store. However, this fashion walker would offer various advantages beyond style: There would be a matching carryall bag, the unit can be easily collapsed and carried, and wheels can be ordered separately.
The babyboomers' degree of fashion consciousness is also unknown. Up to this point, the babyboomers have been very concerned about their appearance. This is backed by studies conducted by the eyecare industry, for example, which shows that "Aging Americans intent on maintaining a youthful appearance are spurring a strong demand for stylish, comfortable nonprescription reading glasses (MMR, 2001).
References
Gooberman-Hill, R, and Ebrahim, S. (2007). Making decisions about simple interventions: older people's use of walking aids. Age and Ageing. 36(5): 569- 573.
MMR. (2001) Stylish help for aging eyes. [electronic form]
U.S. Census Bureau (May 1995). Sixty-Five Plus in the United States. Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved February 2, 2008. http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/statbriefs/agebrief.html
Wolfe, D.B. (2003) Ageless Marketing -…
