Health, Aging, and Disabilities Flashcards
How does the World Health Organization (WHO) view health?
A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely (not only) the absence of disease of infirmity
Life expectancy
The average lifespan of a newborn, and is an indicator of the overall health of a country
Higher life expectancy= healthier population
What are some factors that cause life expectancy to fall?
Famine, war, disease, poor health
What are some factors that cause life expectancy to rise?
When health and welfare programs are initiated
What is the life expectancy for men vs women?
Better for women 83 years, vs 78 for men
4.7 year gap
Social determinants of health
The conditions in which people are born, grow and live
What are the different % of well being in Saskatoon from a 2012 survey?
61% very good or excellent health
69% very good or excellent mental health
18% with life stress
What influences the health of a person?
Gender, sex, age, ethnicity, religion, and other social factors
What are the 5 universal principles of health care in Canada?
1) Universal
2) Accessible
3) Comprehensive
4) Portable
5) Publicly Administered
Health care Issues:
Access
- Unequal access to health care
- Many do not have a family doctor
Health care Issues:
Costs
- 10% of Canada’s GDP is spent on health care
- Largest expenses in provincial budget
- # ’s will rise as the population ages
Health care Issues:
Alternative Health Care
Not included in health care
- Chrio, massage, acupuncture
Rites of passage
Rituals signifying the transition from one life stage to another
- duration of each stage varies
- meaning of each stage also varies
Age cohort
A category of people born in the same range of years as you
- younger people having sex is ok, older=gross
Age roles
Patterns of behaviors that we expect of people in different age cohorts
- Ashton + Demin= shes a cougar
What are two things affecting a seniors roles?
1) Role loses as they age- can lead to an erosion of social identity & self-esteem
2) Roles changes during the life span
Generation
A specific type of age cohort
- Distinct age group (baby boomers)
- a group that has unique and formative experiences during youth
What is the proportion of seniors ( 65+) in Canada?
1946? 2011? 2056?
1946=7%
2011= 15%
2056= 27%
T or F
By 2056 there will be more ppl from 0-14 years then seniors (65+)
False
In 2056 there will be more seniors (65+) then ppl from 0-14
Labour market
The ratio of seniors to worker
- Elderly dependency ratio is rising
- will be more seniors then worker available
Caregiving
- provided by those between 45 and 64
Sandwich generation
Those sandwiched between caring for elderly parents and children
Issues facing seniors:
Transition to retirement
- Issue of retirement, but most enjoy life once they are retired
- Who we are is partially defined by what we do
Issues facing seniors:
Financial Pressures
- Legislative debates
- Among mid-income families, income falls after the age of 60
Elderly dependency ration
Financial pressures
The proportion of seniors(65+) to workers (20-64)
- number of workers supporting seniors is falling due to the increase in # of seniors
Healthy aging
Financial pressures
Perspective that reinforces the inherent value of older people to society
Issues facing seniors:
Age Discrimination
- Subjected to negative stereotypes regarding their physical and mental abilities
- Ageism
- Media (not many elder stars, not represented much in the media)
Ageism
Age discrimination
System of inequality based on age that privileges the young at the expense of the old
Issues facing seniors:
Vulnerability to crime
- less likely than younger people to be victims of violent crime
- more likely to be targets for telemarketing scams
- Financial abuse (used)
Issues facing seniors:
Long-term care and chronic pain
92% of seniors are living in private dwellings
- 9% are living in collective dwellings–>
- 7.1% are in special care facilities–»
- 4.5% in nursing homes
Issues facing seniors:
Preparing to Die
- Pondering their own death
- Make a will
Assisted suicide
Helping someone end their life
- EX with drugs
Euthanasia
Deliberate ending of the life of a person who has an incurable or painful disease
Voluntary Euthanasia
Someone requests to be allowed to die
Involuntary Euthanasia
When a person’s wish to live is disregarded or not elicited
Passive Euthanasia
Withholding or ceasing treatment of someone not likely to recover from a disease or injury
Active Euthanasia
Intervening to hasten someone’s death from terminal illness
- lethal dose of sedatives
People first philosophy
An approach that focuses on the individual and his or her abilities rather than limitations
Disability
A mental or physical condition that limits people’s everyday activities and restricts what they can do
- Increasing rate
Why is the number of people with disabilities increasing?
1) advances in medical technology= more survivors when born with a disability/ from accidents
2) Older population = more chronic diseases
What are the type of health issues of Canadians?
Obesity, Smoking, Eating disorders, Sexually transmitted infections, Mental illness
Mental illness:
Who has a higher rate of mental disorders? Genders? Social class?
- Women= higher anxiety and mood disorders
- Men= 2X likely to have substance dependency
- Low-income groups= increase #
Downward Drift Hypothesis
Mental illness
The assertion that those with mental illnesses, which are unable to finish their education or secure a job, tend to drift into low income groups
What did Holmes suggest?
While obesity was once considered an individual’s lifestyle choice, obesity today is seen as an epidemic requiring an international response
Discrimination
When a person or group either denies or grants advantages to members of a particular group
Ableism
Discrimination against those who have a mental or physical disability on the basis of preconceived, stereotypical notions about their limitations
__% of people with disabilities have experienced discrimination
52%
What is the Functionalist view on health care?
View health care as an important mechanism through which society administers the care and treatment of its citizens
- by treating the ill, we have a more stable and harmonious society
What is the Conflict Theorist view on health care?
Connection between health and social inequality
Issues: access to care, profit and politics
Medicalization
Conflict Theorist
The increasing influence of the medical profession in defining what is normal/healthy and abnormal/ill
Iatrogenisis
Conflict Theorist
Term used to describe the sickness and injury caused by the health care system
What is the Symbolic Interactionist view on health care?
- Use of symbols and meanings in health
- How people define a medical situation can affect how they feel
- Impression management
What are the two perspective of Symbolic Interactionist view on health care?
1) Influence of labeling: labeled as health & illness
2) Influence of the self fulfilling prophecy: if you think the medical treatment will work, there is a greater chance that it actually will vs if it you think it won’t
What is the Feminist view on health care?
- Medical research is androcentric (center on men)
- Attributes that define women’s reality are often dismissed by medical establishments
- Ex. Medicalization of childbirth
What is the Post-structuralist Theorist view on health care?
That an underlying, unified truth can be found through objectivity, causality, and the pursuit of impartial observation
- Biopower
- People see themselves as a work in progress, as a comparison shop
Biopower
Foucalt’s term to explain people taking ownership of their bodies and their health
What is the Functionalist view on aging?
They stress harmony between society’s institutions and the need for smooth transitions from one generation to the next
- Transition to retirement is a welcome one
- Disengagement theory
- Older people want to be released from roles that require hard work & responsibility
Disengagement Theory
Successful aging requires the gradual withdrawal from social activity
What is the Conflict Theorist view on aging?
- Highlights the roots of institutional ageism
- Pressure either to exclude or to embrace elderly is a consequence of labour market conditions
What is the Symbolic Interactionist view on aging?
- Stress that one’s identity is constructed by performing many interacting roles
- Changes associated with old age, in and of themselves, have no inherent meaning
- Attitudes toward the elderly are rooted in society
- Activity Theory (opp of functionalist)
Activity Theory
The belief that people should remain engaged and active for as long as possible
- has positive and important benefits that leads to happier lives
What is the Social stratification theory view on aging?
Concerns itself with the ways in which age serves as an organizing principle for social life
What is the Feminist view on aging?
- aging is a gendered process
- explores how women respond to an aging body
- as women age, they lose social power
What is the Post-modernism view on aging?
- aging is embedded in power discourses
- traditional models of aging can no longer give universal and totalizing views of aging
- old age as a mask
What is the Functionalist perspective on disabilities?
Assert that the sick role reinforces society’s desire to give people time to recover while accentuating the need to seek professional help and to return to the roles they possessed before they became ill
- critic: not adequate for ppl with disabilities, cant apply to life long conditions
Sick role
A patterned social role that defines the behaviour that is appropriate for and expected of those who are sick
What is the Conflict Theorist perspective on disabilities?
Stresses that economic inequality affects people with disabilities differently
- not being able to buy the equipment they need, wheelchair
What is the Symbolic Interactionist perspective on disabilities?
Labeling those with disabilities affect the way they view themselves
What is the Feminist perspective on disabilities?
Our perceptions of what constitutes a disability are socially constructed in the same way gender is
What is the Post-Structuralist perspective on disabilities?
By reinforcing what is considered normal, society develops a more narrow definition of what is acceptable… then people with disabilities are seen as even further from the ideal
