Society That Has a Much Higher Percentage

¶ … society that has a much higher percentage of older adults than any previous generation. Still, older adults are often marginalized and rarely interact with younger people, many believing "old people" have nothing to offer. The modern environment is faced with a number of problems that directly relate to aging. A number of methods to reduce the effects of time are thought to be new and innovative, when often; it is many tried and true methods that are the most efficacious.

This is as important for medical specialists, geriatric caregivers, and even family caregivers -- those in the trenches who are faced with the daunting and daily tasks of helping to care for our aged. They know that using physical activity to bolster biological reactions is one of these methods that work -- and now science has proven that certain chemicals are released when one is active, amused or happy that indeed, aid in learning, comprehension, and anti-aging.

In any number of Ancient Societies, there was an overriding philosophy that the quality of one's life was central to their own actualization and ability to be happy. Many of these societies held that, at least for the upper classes, quality of life was just as vital as living -- and was an individual decision. Modern medical science has progressed to the point in which certain heroic measures can keep the body functioning, yet the quality of life may remain indeterminate.

In the same manner, there are a number of external activities and support measures that can considerably increase the perception of quality of life in survivors of certain cancers, serious injury or surgery, or even recovery from what might be considered debilitating illness. Quality of life is a unique philosophical issue. It is used within the medical, legal, and sociological community to mean something general, yet individually specific.

In general, the term "quality of life" is an evaluator term that is used to rank the well-being of the individual person or groups of person. It is not an economic standard of living, but rather an indicator of a person's perception of environment, physical and mental health, education, recreation and leisure time enjoyment and ability to interact, social belonging, and a general world view of interaction.

In fact critical relationships with women 55 years and older show that there are differing and require a number of interventions designed to increase particular quality of life issues (physical, mental, and social) (Tannenbaum, et.al, 2006; Costanza, et al., 2008). Analysis -- The authors of the study on older women's perceptions were concerned mainly with age-related differences in the perceptions of quality of life.

They used a model in which they tested relationships between constructs between women 55 and 70; with some data coming from younger and older women to round out the statistical analysis. Their research was broad based, asking the right questions, and understandably only the first step in a larger, more longitudinal series of studies. There is a limited amount of material in the literature review; however, this is understandable because there are only limited amounts of research available on this subject matter.

Methodologically, there was a relatively large sample (2,311 women 55 years and older) who responded to a survey entitled What Women Want. The participants were women living in private households randomly selected by use of Canadian Post. On average, the respondents were slightly healthier and better educated than the average senior Canadian woman, but in all other aspects generally similar in terms of demographics. A second independent verification sample was derived from 473 women over 55 who attended an outpatient clinic in the Greater Montreal area of Quebec.

The model used was robust, including self-perceptions of physical, mental, and social health; while at least detailing particular health conditions and then correlating with lifestyle (e.g. healthy living practices, exercise, meeting with friends, nutritional quotient, etc.). The results were testing using confirmatory factor analysis with weighted averages based on certain health indicators. There was a clear correlation, as might be expected, between quality of life issues and perceptions of life.

The more active women are, the more exercise they get, and above all, the more social they are, contributes to their overall health quotient and they suffer from far fewer maladies than others in dissimilar situations. This confirms, as is expected, that as people age, the more active and social they remain, the fewer health concerns they have. There are, though, themes that can be developed when dealing with quality of life issues.

These themes tend to emphasize what individuals believe they can perform, interact, and enjoy in daily life -- not necessarily what they cannot, or personal shortcomings. These include valuing the simple parts of life, keeping and maintaining a positive attitude, alleviating suffering or pain, significant relationships with friends or family, and the ability to individually manage their own life.

The clear trend, regardless of education, economic status, or ethnicity was the ability for the individual to be cognizant of their own life and affairs and to manage their choices, rather than having others manage them. Simple tasks such as doing one's own shopping and making choices on brands and flavors had higher levels of personal satisfaction than being financially independent.

It appears that within the qualitative template of the research that the ability to find joy in simple things (nature, friends, tastes, interactions) and live without suffering on one's own terms has the highest level and desirability within the quality of life framework. This is confirmed by the study in question (Tannenbaum, 2007), as well as Johansson, et al., (2006). Implications abound for a number of fields: medicine, sociology, public policy, gerontology, and even attitudes towards retirement time as seniors live a longer and more productive life.

When illness is not considered terminal, dance, eating out, book clubs, and a number of action related social events actually seem to have proven medical value for senior women. The data.