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Demographic Paper

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Demographic Paper
Wanda Strickland
HCS 490
11-28-11
Dr. Cindy Perkins

Demographic Paper
American men and women do to medical science and technologies are living much longer. This paper will discuss the demographics of senior citizens’ living longer than they ever had in the United States. This paper will gather data about the senior citizens’ population demographics. It will gather information and try to discuss what type of impact the senior citizens’ have on the healthcare market. This paper will also discuss the issues with the elderly immigrants and what type of effects they have on our healthcare market. This paper will also discuss challenges to this population, such as increases in health care costs, increases in prescription drug costs. This paper will also discuss How can the individual patient, the community, and society as a whole address these challenges and how a chronic disease wellness program may affect the costs for this demographic.
The Effect That the Elderly Have on Healthcare
According to this committee (National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare, 2009) reports has triggered analysis on claims that an aging population is the major cause of spending growth on Medicare and other social insurance programs. They also goes to say that those that would like to undermine the current Social Security and Medicare programs can be expected to use the Trustee's reports' data on solvency as a rationale for privatizing, or otherwise dismantling, these successful programs. The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, as a steward of programs critical to the retirement security of all Americans, is attempting to set the record straight about the future challenges faced by our Nation's premier health care system for seniors. Medicare costs are for the most part is aggravated by the same factors that have caused the steadily upward bound health care costs for workers and their employers, and which the nation has yet to deal with, and has to date, been powerless to resolve.
This interrelationship means that things will not change without addressing the problems of our nation's healthcare system as a whole simply will not work and attempting to limit future cost increases in Medicare is not the way to solve the problem. Most of our seniors are mostly lower income in fact a lot of them live below poverty and have to decide whether to buy the medicine that they need or to buy food that they also need. These people have paid their way all their life and now they have to choose whether they eat or get the medicine that they need to remain healthy. This seems to be totally unfair and the fact that we do have elderly immigrants here these programs cover, whether they are legal or illegal.
Why and How the Changes in the Elderly Population Affect Healthcare
Well according to (National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare, 2009) the vital statistic the American men and women are living longer. So knowing that we have the baby boomer hitting their retirement age this do have an adverse affect on Medicare. Even when all the baby boomers are retired, again once the baby boomers are retired and society has absorbed this. The Medicare cost is projected to continue to rapidly grow. To put it likely, as information technology constant development of new technology is expected to cause health care expenditures to continue to grow faster than the economy as a whole. So while long-term projections of Medicare's costs are subject to demographic and economic uncertainties, they are also subject to an additional layer of uncertainty caused by increases in general health care costs.
Two Healthcare Challenges of the Elderly
Within the research for this paper it has been found that the incidence of elderly depression is at 20% of community residence elders experience symptoms of depression, and the occurrence rate for depression in older women is twice that of men. The fact that Americans are living longer as they get even older they will susceptible to illness and even disability, they will also be prone to accidents with advanced age. According to the Administration on Aging, 53 per cent of persons age 65 and older have at least one disability and 33 per cent have a severe disability. This means there are more than 7 million elderly people that require assistance with the daily living activities. According to (Zullo, 11/2) 40 percent of dementia patient suffer from depression, most time depression is mistaken for dementia and the depression remains untreated, it is said dementia and depression are generally coupled together with each other. If an elderly person is suffering from depression, regardless of what else is happening, it should be treated. Even when coupled with dementia, if depression is treated, it could help with some of the confusion and help with the quality of life
According to (Zullo, 11/2) Depression is connected with vision impairment. It has been said that the Sight is probably considered the most valuable of all the five senses. "In a sample of 1,000 elderly people with severe visual impairment, the most depressed subjects with the least socialization and highest mortality rate were those in whom visual impairment had been neglected or not sufficiently corrected". A common reaction to vision loss is depression. Because of lost of Self-sufficiency and self-esteem becomes diminished. The visually impaired person mourns the loss of the sighted self. In some cases, suicide is the result.
The Effect do Chronic Disease & Wellness Programs on the Elderly
. According to the (Legislator Policy Brief, n.d.) The population of America’s elderly 65 and old is expected to double in the next 25 years. This would be due to increased life expectancy and the aging of the baby boomers. The anticipated growth in the aging population will result in an expected 25 percent rise in health care costs by 2030. These figures do not even count the one that has chronic disease. The best way to combat all these things should be handled before the illness if we invest more in wellness programs and make them accessible to them then this may help cut down on some of the chronic disease. If things are the same then as they are now our elderly will not be able to afford to see a doctor.
Demographics tell us about the marketing needs or services needed for this population? According to (Administration on Aging, 2010) This trend seems to lead in the direction of the best way is in the prevention and other the Evidence-Based Disease and Disability Prevention Program are to empower older persons to adopt healthy behaviors, improve health status, and manage chronic conditions better, and enable aging networks to have the capacity to deliver evidence-based programs.
How can the individual patient, the community, and society as a whole address these challenges? I think this will require the patient to speak up on things that are bothering them or on the needs they may have and this will need to tackle by the community as a whole. This means family members, next door neighbors, doctors, and social workers.
Conclusion
This demographic paper on the elderly discussed that our elderly is living longer and what affect the elderly have on the rising cost of health care. It also discussed how the changes in the elderly population affect health care system. It also discussed two healthcare challenges of the elderly and within this paper it discussed depression in the elderly along with dementia and the loss of sight. Is a big issue with the population demographics of the elderly? It also discussed the affect of Chronic Disease & Wellness Programs in this population. This is not a problem of the elderly but a problem of the community as a whole. In the further more planning should go in prevention rather the treatment of chronic diseases. Prevention is more than worth the outcome of the treatment.

References
Administration on Aging. (2010). Health, Prevention, and Wellness Programs. Retrieved from http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/AoA_Programs/HCLTC/Evidence_Based/index.as
Legislator Policy Brief. (n.d.). Keeping the Aging Population Healthy. Retrieved from http://www.healthystates.csg.org/NR/rdonlyres/B810343C-5D88-4210-B999-1A1A42722F62/0/agingLPB.pdf
National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare. (2009). Future of Medicare: Demographics vs the Cost of Healthcare. Retrieved from http://www.ncpssm.org/news/archive/vp_entitlements/
Zullo, N. (11/27/11). Depression in Elderly Care Recipients. Retrieved from http://www.longtermcarelink.net/elderly_care_recipients.html

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