...Suicide Among the Elderly: Symptoms that are ignored University of California, Irvine Professor Webster P117D November 27, 2007 Suicide among the elderly: Symptoms that are ignored More than 30,000 Americans every year commit suicide. A suicide happens every eighteen minutes. The highest rate of suicide of any age group occurs among the elderly. The elderly make up 12.6% of the population, yet they account for almost 18% of all the suicides. An elderly suicide occurs every 100 minutes. Suicide ranks as the eighth leading cause of death among those aged 65 and older (Noffsinger, Knoll). Firearms consist of the main method in which the elderly take their lives. The next two in line are overdosing and suffocation. White men over the age of 85 are at the greatest risk of all groups. In 1999, the suicide rate for these individuals was 59.6 per 100,000. 84% of all elderly suicides are men. The rate of suicide for women declines after age 60. Although older adults may attempt suicide less often, they have a higher completion rate. Contrary to popular belief, only about 2-4% of suicide victims were diagnosed with terminal illness at the time of their demise. 80% of all elderly victims of suicide have seen a primary care physician within six months of their suicide. Why is it that the suicide rates for older adults are much higher than every other age group? Depression is a key factor for the rates of suicide in the elderly. Depression is...
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...Judith Andre HCS-548 Foundations of Gerontology Professor: Jeanette Adams 01/08/2015 Gerontology is the study of aging and has made tremendous progress over the years. In the past, researchers have looked for a single theory that explained aging. There are two main groups of aging theories. The first group states that aging is natural and programmed into the body, while the second group of aging theories say that aging is a result of damage which is accumulated over time. In the end, aging is a complex interaction of genetics, chemistry, physiology and behavior. By understanding and describing how we age, researchers have developed several different theories of aging. The two major theories that will be explain in this paper will be the activity and disengagement theory in which they both will show how important their roles play in the process of aging in older adults. Disengagement and Activity Theory Disengagement theory is the most influential theories in gerontology, because it views aging as a process of mutual withdrawal in which older adults voluntarily slow down by retiring, as expected by society. Proponents of disengagement theory hold that mutual social withdrawal benefits both individuals and society. Activity theory sees a positive correlation between keeping active and aging well. (According to the Henry,2011) proponents of activity theory hold that mutual social withdrawal runs counter to traditional American ideals of activity, energy, and industry...
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...Paper II Section 1 – Introduction 1. Name, Age, Race, Ethnicity, 2. Physical Description 3. Place of Birth, Current place of residence Section 2 – Childhood Memories 1. Family make up 2. Mother and Father occupation 3. Marital status of parents 4. Socioeconomic status 5. Perception of her development 6. Normal development 7. Developmental delays 8. Parents discipline style i. Authoritarian a. Cold/harsh, physical force, no explanation of rules ii. Authoritative b. Warm and nurturing c. Positive reinforcement d. Set firm limits, rationale rules and decisions iii. Permissive e. Warm and friendly towards children f. No direction given Section 3 – Adolescence 1. Recollection about adolescence 2. Any important events of early adulthood Section 4 – Middle/Late Adulthood 1. Important events of later adulthood Theories for Paper Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development a. Sensorimotor Stage (birth to 2 years) a. Infant is egocentric b. Gradually learns to coordination sensory and motor activities c. Develops a beginning sense of objects existing apart from the self b. Preoperational Stage (ages 2 - 7) d. Primarily egocentric e. Discovers rules (regularities) applied to incoming information f. Overgeneralize rules, many cognitive errors c. Concrete Operations Stage (ages 7 – 11) g. Solve concrete...
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...Analysis of the Literature (This assignment is submitted through the Canvas assignment dropbox.) This term paper (3,000 words, double-spaced, 12-point font) is a critical analysis of a topic area within the field of gerontology. The paper is to be based on a review of gerontological literature. Statements made in the paper should be supported by references to published peer-reviewed academic journal articles, book chapters, and books. Your paper must go beyond the material found in your course readings—you are expected to refer to at least 10 to 12 additional academic sources directly related to your topic. All references should follow the American Psychological Association style. Please visit APA (Links to an external site.) for the citation style to be followed for the reference list. Failure to reference properly will be penalized. The following is a list of suggested topics. The purpose of this list is to give you some direction and make you aware of related possibilities. If you wish to write on a topic not included in this list, you must check with the tutor-marker about your proposed topic by the end of week 5. Writing on another topic requires that you demonstrate to the tutor-marker and course supervisor that you have a clear understanding of what you propose to do and that you have verified that sufficient research is available on the topic to enable you to write a paper meeting the course requirements. Sample Topics 1. Describe the impact of exercise on longevity and...
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...Kevin T. Ellis English 155/Ms. Quinn 26 March 2013 Essay Should Colleges Accept Senior Citizen Student Imagine sitting next to someone’s father or grandmother in a classroom, at first it may feel awkward having a senior age classmate. Later you find they are just well on their subjects both in the classroom and online, and might be someone to consider as a study buddy on a class project. Keep in mind to those older Americans returning to school, the world of the classrooms, can seem both foreign and intimidating. For some senior citizens, taken online courses also eliminate the fear of feeling out of place, where being in a class full of decades-younger students may make them feel, shamed at not having completed their education. Being an online student, they do not have to share their ages or educational background. The flexibility of online courses is also beneficial for seniors with ambulation problems, allows them to still work on class assignments from home. When thinking of education and senior citizens that are returning to school with hopes in getting the degree they missed in the past has their families feeling very proud just to think that they're actually taking advantage of the opportunity that the government has given them to go back to school. Younger students are true believers of the fact that no one is ever too old to learn. The older generations, with the disruption of the wars and the increasing financial insecurities, had to take a back seat to the...
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...Demographic Paper Pedreed Anjahal HCA 490 September 19, 2011 Michael Veal Demographic Paper DEMOGRAPHICS It is a proven fact. With all the advances in modern health care, people are living longer. As someone starts to get older, they start feeling the consequences of aging and strive to find a healthier life style. Still, there comes a point when many people require the professional need of long term health care services. As healthy as today’s population is, illness is usually comes as something unexpected. Upon such an eventuality, a person may require some type of specialized health care needs. POPULATION CONTROL With the Baby Boomer generation decides to retire or stops aging at a phenomenal rate, people requiring long term health care needs are on the rise still. People are living longer and their health care needs may be beyond that, which can be managed by family members. Fortunately, within the current health care field there is a wide variety of systems available for helping to take care of an elderly family member. It is even possible for the family to take the elderly person into his or her home. Alternatively, the family may have to decide to place the elderly member in a nursing home for long-term care. Whichever choice is deemed best, it is always critically important that the elderly person feels comfortable in the environment in which he or she is placed (Feder, Komisar & Niefeld, 2000). According to United States society census...
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...Fall is a serious problem in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) due to the nature of the disease that impairs gait, motor, and cognition (Canning, et al., 2015; Gao, et al., 2014; Mirelman, et al., 2011). Sixty percent of people with PD fall annually and two-third of them fall repeatedly (Canning et al., 2015). Falls may lead to injury, pain, functional decline, fear of falling, and reduction in quality of life (Canning, et al., 2015; Gao, et al., 2014). Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of exercise interventions that could prevent or reduce fall incidence in people with PD. Computerized literature searches were conducted using CINAHL and PubMed. For CINAHL, “fall prevention” AND “Parkinson’s disease” were used...
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...of the elderly are their own family members. Elder abuse has a negative impact on the victimized elders worldwide. It is defined as intentional actions that cause harm or create a serious risk of harm (whether or not harm is intended) to a vulnerable elder by a caregiver or other person who stands in a trust relationship to the elder. This includes failure by a caregiver to satisfy the elder’s basic needs or to protect the elder from harm (Bonnie, R, & Wallace, R Eds., 2003). Although there is a lack of statistical information of elder abuse, there are sources that provide proof that elder abuse is a bigger issue than people perceive it to be. It can occur in many forms such as physical, emotional, financial and sexual abuse. In this paper, the question being investigated is “How knowledgeable are Barbadians on the effects of elder abuse?” The following literature reviews attempts to answer this question. Review of Findings: Each literature piece that has been reviewed pointed out that elder abuse is a major issue and is a topic that is given little recognition or response. According to Penny Bain and Charmaine Spencer, 2014, about 80% of abuse or neglect of older adults is hidden or goes undetected in Canada. Only about one in five cases of abuse come to the attention of community agencies or authorities. The article goes on to describe that it is such because in most cases the elders have grown accustom to the abuse resulting in the impression that it is a custom or it...
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...INTERNAL CRITICISM Adequacy: The Flood’s Theory of Successful Aging (Flood, 2005) was developed to addresses a nursing theory for care of the older adult regarding to the lack of nursing theory that offers clearly delineated guidelines for care of aging. Flood’s(2002) unique definition of successful aging among other explanations includes mental, physical, and spiritual elements of the aging person and emphasizing the individual's self appraisal. She used existing knowledge derived deductively from the Roy adaptation model, one of the most widely accepted nursing theory model, and integrated these ideas with Tornstam's sociological theory of gerotranscendence and literature related to the concept of successful aging to comprise the foundation of the theory (Flood, 2005). The author adequately explains the specific nursing actions that constitute these attributes. Clarity: The attributes of the theory and the model (Flood, 2005) clearly defines the major concepts relevant to successful aging. Flood provides examples of person with cancer that would exemplify the attribute although the physical health is not stated in the assumptions. In addition, there are no ambiguous statements, nor abstract or complex language employed. Nurses can readily understand the language used in the theory. Moreover, guidelines for interventions to help not only for nurses but caregivers to care for elders are provided for a completely understanding. Consistency: Flood’s views of aging and definitions...
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...sheer number of people who make up this population (Steinhorn, 2006). Today, based predominantly on that very same reason, the baby boomer population is now making a very different, yet equally as profound impact on American society. More specifically, this impact is being made on the healthcare system of the US, and the discriminatory practice of “ageism” that older patients currently face. The purpose of this paper is to explore, analyze, and evaluate both the practice of age discrimination in healthcare and the federal policy issues and efforts that are involved with it. The work begins by providing background information on the current demographics of the aging American population and forecasts for the impact this will likely have on the healthcare industry in the near future. It then transitions into a discussion on what ageism is, where its historical roots come from, and where it fits into the federal Fair Labor Act. A review of the literature is then presented, documenting the discrimination that elderly people are subjected to with regards to healthcare. The paper then explores the medical profession itself within this context, with a focus on examining the lack of geriatric training medical professionals receive and the limited number of existing programs designed to train these professionals in geriatrics. Attention is then turned to this issue from a public policy...
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...dropbox. Please check the deadlines listed in the course schedule located on the home page for due dates.) This term paper (3,000 words, double-spaced, 12-point font) is a critical analysis of a topic area within the field of gerontology. The paper is to be based on a review of gerontological literature. Statements made in the paper should be supported by references to published peer-reviewed academic journal articles, book chapters, and books. Your paper must go beyond the material found in your course readings—you are expected to refer to at least 10 to 12 additional academic sources directly related to your topic. All references should follow the American Psychological Association style. Please visitAPA for the citation style to be followed for the reference list. Failure to reference properly will be penalized. The following is a list of suggested topics. The purpose of this list is to give you some direction and make you aware of related possibilities. If you wish to write on a topic not included in this list, you must check with the tutor-marker about your proposed topic by the end of week 5. Writing on another topic requires that you demonstrate to the tutor-marker and course supervisor that you have a clear understanding of what you propose to do and that you have verified that sufficient research is available on the topic to enable you to write a paper meeting the course requirements. Sample Topics 1. Describe the impact of exercise on longevity and quality of life...
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...Effects of Driving and Testing for the Elderly Over Seventy and Driving Moraine Valley Community College Abstract This paper will explore five class concepts in relation to older drivers. Fluid intelligence, working memory, cognitive flexibility, vision and hearing, and stereotype threat. It will also show statistics of the dangers of older drivers, the affect they have on other drivers and how driving can hurt or even kill them. This paper will also discuss the stronger laws we need for driving test throughout the United States. What kind of testing should be done and at what age. Effects of Driving and Testing for the Elderly On June 13, 2012, 89 year old Margaret Tomascik was speeding when she failed to stop at a stop sign. She went on to hit a passing car, jump a curb, and crash into a construction site. Margaret hit two people, Thomas Cooney and Joseph Rubino, who were working on the construction site at the time. Margaret severely injured Thomas Cooney and nearly killed Joesph Rubino (Lewis, 2012). Obviously in Margaret's situation her cognitive flexibility was very much declined. She could not react quick enough to avoid this horrible accident. Though there were no deaths in this situation, the next time, there could be. As we have learned in our text, when the aging process begins, functions that are related to one's driving skills and driving ability start to decline. Projections indicate...
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...Ageism and the Elderly Decrepit, senile, over the hill, old fart or slow driver are often the words you hear when referring to “the elderly”. In 1969, Robert Butler, the first director of the National Institute on Aging was the first to use the term “ageism” to describe the stereotyping of people because of their age. The term ageism contains a negative bias or attitude toward the aging. This it a form of discrimination. While there is other ‘isms used in American society; sexism, or racism, ageism enables the younger generation to see older people differently, they may be seen as just old people who are no longer able to actively contribute to society. When is a person considered to be old or elderly? There was a time when you were required to retire at the age of 65. But with the economy and life span increasing people work until they cannot. There is no set age but society usually deems a person old when they are able to collect benefits like pensions, social security, medical care or discounted meals. The United States Census Bureau has estimated that the population of those over 65 will increase from 11.4 percent in 2000 to 20.7 percent in 2050. The baby boom generation, those born in the 1950’s will make up sixteen percent of the population in at least ten states by 2020. Some say that by the end of the twenty-first century life expectancy will exceed 100 years of age. Most people want to live a long life, but only if they are mentally and physically able to...
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...Aging in the United States raises challenges in terms of belonging, especially for older people. The interrelationship between aging and a sense of belonging is complicated because the aging process itself is influenced by many factors, including biological, sociological, psychological, economical, and attitudinal factors. Each of these factors has a unique impact on aging. Exacerbating these factors are society’s negative stereotypes and myths, discrimination, biases, prejudices, and negative attitudes toward the older people, which are cumulatively identified as ageism for the purposes of this paper. Thinking about the dimensions of aging for older people gives rise to a number of questions. For example, what are our cultural attitudes and traditions towards aging? How do these attitudes and traditions inform our private thoughts and public policies towards aging? This paper will focus on the mysteries that control human lifespan which are yet to be unraveled. Running head: WEEK 5 FINAL ASSIGNMENT: PSYCHOLOGY OF AGING 3 Part I-Intro to the Psychology of Aging Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior, and is unique in that it is both a service oriented health care profession and a field of scientific research. Hence, the roles of the psychologist are many—researcher, educator, licensed health care provider, and policy advocate. Psychologists are highly trained professionals—their education involves a median of seven years of education and...
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...Stringent laws 24 Basic Rights for Elders 25 Traditions 25 Other preventive measures 26 Conclusion 27 Reference 28 Introduction The history of elderly abuse is not a very new phenomenon. It can be traced back from a very early age if we flip through the sociological status of yesteryear. However with the passage of time and further defining a goal to reform child abuse and domestic violence, the objective of elderly abuse has also been considered in the agenda. Unlike other form violence, the elderly violence has come into limelight with the progress of public health and criminal justice. The issue of these two forms has paved a way to view, analyse and curb the issue on violence towards senior citizens of a society. This paper will focus upon the issues concerning upon the violence that affects the elderly people either in house or in an institution. Moreover it will also cite the specific crime that usually occurs with elderly people which can be considered as a global issue to the problem concerned. The term “Elder Abuse” was first coined by the British in a scientific journal issued in the year 1975, under...
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