EFFECTS OF AGEING ON HEALTH & WELL-BEING

Effects of Ageing on Health & Well-Being



Effects of Ageing on Health & Well-Being

Introduction

Retirement is the compulsory ending of occupational life due to age defined by legislation and may be viewed as an event, as a process or as a separate and entirely new role of the life cycle. According to early studies retirement was considered to be a potentially stressful life event, due to the presumed loss of social identity, income and work role.

The relations among health, work, and retirement are examples of the more common alliance between role performance and individual capacity. Economic and occupational roles, with leisure consumption, need healthy competent people. People favor tasks that keep emotional and physical health. Health, thus, figures considerably in the allotment procedures that function to change groups of older workers into retirees. The two main practical questions in this part are, first, how retirement affects health and, second, how health affects the choice to retire or work. Results on these subjects may not constantly be reliable since the meaning of the two major constructs (retirement and health) could differ significantly across research plans.

This paper discusses how ageing affects health and well-being particularly effects of retirement on women in relation to pension.



Discussion

The American population is aging dramatically. In fact, within the past 15 years, the percentage of Americans aged 65 and older has skyrocketed from approximately 4% (3 million) to nearly 13% or 35 million. Added to this will be the Baby Boom generation that will certainly swell the ranks of the elderly in the years to come. The United States Census Bureau projects that 54 million Americans will be age 65 by the year 2020, with the figures anticipated to approach 90 million by the year 2060. As age increases, the complexity and critical challenges for both the individual and society at large also increase. "Ageism", a term first coined by Butler (1969), describes the stereotypes and attitudes, as well as the discrimination and prejudices associated with older persons. Research indicates that ageism is quite prevalent in our youth-oriented society despite the modernistic view we think we hold. Additionally, the way in which an individual perceives aging can affect other aspects of overall health such as functional abilities, perceived health status, quality of life, and health promoting lifestyle. (Weiss 2005 65-70)

The individual's meanings and attitudes influence behaviors and thus will impact health. If we are going to live longer, health promotion activities will be imperative to decrease morbidity and facilitate better quality of life. The literature identifies various determinants that may influence health promoting behaviors such as one's perceptions of aging and definitions of wellness, perceived function and well-being, barriers to health promoting behaviors, and personal influences to name a few. There is a gap in the literature, however, regarding attitudes on aging in women in midlife (age 50 and over) and how such attitudes may impact health promoting behaviors. (Ursel 2002 37-40)

It is well recorded that the ...