So let’s examine Demographic Characteristics and Processes.
How do we organize and characterize our society?
So we’re gonna take a look at some of the easy ones that are pretty straight forward.
Age is an easy one what we are say "I’m organizing. I’m gonna categorize
the population base on age." So the common characteristic that we use.
An age cohort is a group of subjects who have shared a particular event together
during a particular time period.
So you see this categorization or this binning of this population based on that time period.
So an example is the baby boomer. I’m sure you here that before.
This is a group of individuals that where born Post World War II.
And there was a whole bunch of I guess everybody the war was over.
And everybody is back home and happy. And a lot of baby times.
A lot of babies being made. And so there was this nice influx.
So those individuals right now would be roughly 52 – 70 years old.
And this group was associated with privilege. They grew up with quite a bit of stuff.
Life was starting to look good. So they grew up at a time of wide spread government
subsidies in post-war housing, education, increasing affluent areas in the country.
So it was a pretty good time in our civilization at least in that certain countries
of North America.
And so that group of baby boomers now is getting a little bit older.
But again, we categories based on that event of being sort of in being in this time frame in that age.
Now, consider on the elderly those – we consider the elderly those the age of 65.
as it typically retire and not contributing to the workforce.
Now, that’s a moving target ‘cause we understand nowadays people are living longer,
people have a need and want to work longer. So they will necessarily
retire at 65 but we still classify them as elderly if they are over the ages of 65.
So we know that as you get to that point in your life, there seems to be a shifting quality of life.
Because now the body like everything like a machine starts to follow apart.
And so they now have the reliance on the health care system.
And they need social support. They can no longer maybe drive.
They can no longer bathe or dress themselves. And so now they now need to get help.
They might need a drive and use other transportation services. They need to go in the hospital
and see doctors more often.
In the US 10% of those considered elderly actually live below the poverty line.
And a lot of this because they are no longer working and so they are getting a pension if they have one.
And so that typically isn’t the same as their normal pay that they were used again.
And now they are having to get more social services or the need for social services
for health care, medications. And this might all be covered.
And so they kind of spending more.
Making less spending more, makes it very easy, very quickly be below the poverty line.
Now we also have the Silent Generation or we called the GI generation.
This are individuals that are born during the great depression in during World War 2.
And so they are much more elderly than those that are the baby bloomers.
And these individuals are the ones that are older and the point over there really
unable to provide for themselves that are more at risk for being
in this sort of poor below poverty line group.
By the age by the year of 2025 is estimated that over 25% of individuals
and our country or kind of North America that will be over be the ages 65.
So we are getting older, which simply means
this is going to be more and more of a prominent issue.
We are going to have to sort plan for that.
So the dependency ratio examines the proportions of elderly vs. non-elderly.
and therefore the need of social support.
So as I’ve said is forgetting older we’re gonna figure out.
Well how much support you are going to be actually need?
And so they calculus dependency ratio you look at the
number of individuals are under 14 years old. Those that are over 65.
And you add those together. And you divide that by the number that
individuals that are 15 to 64.
So what I’ve done is we take the really really young, who need help, they need our help.
And those that are over 65 that increasingly need our help.
And versus those that we can considered contributing adults.
And that ratio will allow us to understand
How much social support is actually going to be need in terms of the independency ratio?
And also allows you to compare overtime.
It allows you to compare over certain cities, countries, provinces
and say will the independency ratio here is this much
because there are a lot more elderly people or versus this country whether is less.
So we know that as you getting older you start to have a decline in your physical health.
And that can change an impact a lot of different things.
Obviously, one in productivity.
If you have arthritis or if you have low back pain. You are unable to really
do the things you used to do. Especially if your trades, if you are using your hands,
cooking, basic personal hygiene.
These things are becoming increasingly difficult. So you see a decrease in productivity.
You also see an increasing on alliance of other people and the healthcare system
and utilization of the health care system.
You may been in your 40’s, 50’s, rarely going to the doctor other than your annual checkup.
And now you are there the other week for different things like
this new rash, this new pain starting to get this memory loss, hearing issues.
All of the sudden you really tapping in to the health care system.
And also that loss of autonomy, you no longer can just can get up and go and do things.
You might not have your license anymore.
You might need help assistance getting in and out of the car,
getting dressed, getting bathe, feeding yourself.
This are really difficult things to give up.
Alright so imagine yourself a young and abled bodied
in the time you go and slip and break your leg. And all of the sudden
you really can’t do much for yourself. You have crutches, you can’t crutch along.
But you need help getting ready, you need help cooking and cleaning.
Its kind of annoying. And actually you can have huge impact on your actual mode.
And your behavior and your personality. because of that loss of autonomy.
Now, socially speaking there is also some impact.
As we get older it’s easy to say that we’re going to need more individuals that are trained.
That are professionals in specializing agents in these age bracket.
So we know for a fact that treatment strategies and medications,
and biochemical procedures are different in the elderly subpopulation.
Of you look at the product monograph of many medications. So grab
even Tylenol or another prescription medication they can take and read
that little folded brochure that comes inside that’s called product monograph.
That will explain safety adverse events, how to take this medication?
If you read it you look at the area that says dosage. A lot of times you’ll have
its own bullet for those that over the age of 65. That’s because we understand
that physiological speaking your body changes and you no longer able to metabolize
and interact with medications in the same way as if your like say you are 55.
So now that also means you need those you’re well versed in that.
So training pharmacist, training doctors, those who normally understand,
How much you saw the prescription for antidepressant.
Now, you have to change that because you are prescribing it to the elderly.
So there is actually a small sub-specialty those who focus on
the elderly sub-population in terms of treatment.
Age friendly services, even realignment of social values.
Now, if you are going to need help or if you are going to have to go get your license done.
Or forms filled out. You are going to need really large font perhaps
or you going to need somebody to assist you in feeling because of the cognitive decline.
because your eyes don’t work as well.
There is lot of issues, lot of things that you need to put in place.
To be able to service and help the elderly function.
In terms of society, both culturally, socially and economically
we need to adjust what we know and think are reality in actuality
in what we perceived to be the cultural societal economical roles of our elderly kind of parts.
So just because they are old doesn’t mean they are dead.
Alright you hear that all the time.
So just because they are old doesn't mean they can’t work or they can’t contribute.
They are actually very very useful part of our society and they actually bring experience,
they are able to contribute.
There are grand pa’s and grand ma’s they are really really important.
Life course theory of aging is a process mediated by three important factors.
and its not a surprise that we are seeing this same three components because
they basically can price and make up at the BPS model. And basically the model of this course
which is biological, psychological and social factors.
So there is been a shift in age related expectations with increased life expectancy in that.
The life course theory has slightly changed and has been influenced by some of this factors.
So say for example, if you have somebody who is getting older on an age.
are they forced to retire at 65? Or can they keep working?
If they have no physical issues in and cognitive they are still there.
They are good on what they do. Why should they have to stop?
So as we have gotten to live longer on this planet
in our average life expectancy in most countries there is still increasing.
Its change really dramatically over the last 20 years. It’s only going to increase.
I know North America use to be a huge deal when we would hit the age of 100.
And now, I don’t want to say its calm but its much more common to hear as
That somebody is turning a 104 or it’s really, its getting late until the 90’s
seems to be much more common.
But as that happens, as we have this increase life expectancy.
You’re going to have to see also a consequential shift in age related expectations.
If we also most of us live in to 60 -70’s, then yeah, you can see you how --
You’re gonna go age retire at 65.
But now for 11 – 90, a hundred, well maybe, there is things that we used to
not be able to do at 70 that we can easily do at 70.
Because we know we still have quite a little bit of time left, you hope.
So other theories of aging include age stratification.
And this is when we use ages as a means to regulate appropriate behavior.
So in the image we have here, there is certain things that you don’t think
old people should do.
you gonna see an old guy shirtless at the beach, surfing. Or do you expect to see them
sitting in a walker, sitting with other elderly people playing bingo.
Who’s to say they can’t do either or both, right.
We’ve stratified, we’ve set up these norms what we think is appropriate behavior for the elderly.
There is activity theory, where a certain activities and jobs or laws with old age.
And social interactions must be there to replace them.
So if you are force to retire, or you cannot actually no longer
be a construction worker, digging ditches or a tradesman
because it is difficult to see and you have really bad arthritis that’s understandable.
So you can no longer do thses activities or jobs. But what has been stated is that
you need to then replace that with other jobs and rules.
How that social interaction needs to be replaced?
So you might not be really aware of it. But just going to work every day
and engaging with that interaction or others is extremely important.
If all of the sudden you’ve retire and all you gonna do is just get up and sit
and watch tv all day long.
you really have lost the huge portion of your life. And we need to appreciate that.
That needs to be replaced with things like hanging out with other elders
or family members or other friends and do other things.
Take up other hobbies be involved to use your mind.
There is also another phenomenon called the Disengagement Theory.
And this is where we realize there is a greater divide between
both individual and society as you get older.
And so, we have the idea that as you get older sometimes you withdraw.
And you say “Well I’m older now.
So maybe I’m going to not hangout with the rest of the group.” And vice versa.
As a younger individual, you kind of say, “Well we going to go out and play.
I’m going to go for a walk. And I’m not going to bother grand pa
because he is old and he is sitting there."
You don’t have the same discussions. Cos now, there are no longer in the work force.
So they are no longer engaging perhaps and the day to day life that you are.
So you start to see this divide. And so again, consciously you need to make
some awareness of well, no you shouldn’t be doing that segregation.
we shouldn’t be excluding based sowly on age.