The Meaning of Old Age and the Distribution of Health-Care Resources

ABSTRACTDaniel Callahan has maintained that a common understanding of the meaning of old age and the proper role of old people in society is a prerequisite for decisions on the distribution of health-care resources to the elderly. The call for such a common understanding is traced to the writings of Thomas Cole and Harry Moody. A discussion of their ideas is followed by a philosophical analysis of communitarian accounts of meaning and the good life in general. It is concluded that viable interpretations of the meaning of old age should comply with the values of liberal individualism. Meaning should be localised less at the level of global ideas and images and more at the level of local and heterogeneous practices. The practice of distributing health-care resources cannot and should not be regulated by communitarian interpretations of the value of old age. It would seem to be sufficiently infused by liberal individualist interpretations of meaning and justice.

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Old People [Abridged]

Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine ◽

10.1177/003591576806100927 ◽

1968 ◽

Vol 61 (9) ◽

pp. 917-918

Author(s):

R L Meyrick

Keyword(s):

Elderly People ◽

Old Age ◽

Family Doctor ◽

The Elderly ◽

Old People ◽

Vitamin Deficiencies ◽

The Family ◽

Reduced Activity

Dr Roger Meyrick outlines the scope of geriatrics and defines three categories of elderly people characterized by reduced activity, reduced resources and reduced independence. Dr John Agate considers the deprivations which may occur in old age such as: malnutrition, vitamin deficiencies, deprivation of minerals and water, hypothermia and psychological deprivation. The role of the family doctor in the care of the elderly is discussed by both speakers.

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“Greying population”: Economic, social, and ethical appreciation of old age

Annales Etyka w życiu gospodarczym ◽

10.18778/1899-2226.21.5.01 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 21 (5) ◽

pp. 7-18

Author(s):

Mieczysław Gałuszka

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Old Age ◽

Life Experience ◽

The Elderly ◽

Economic Life ◽

The Other ◽

Economic Activities ◽

Old People ◽

Main Motivation ◽

The Social

As the population is growing older, sociologists and economists are becoming more interested in analyzing this phenomenon. There are two paradigms for interpreting old age. The first one points to excluding old people from social and economic life. It is argued that there should be a balance between activities and possibilities of old people. The other paradigm points to the social, political and economic activities of old people until the end of their lives. It emphasizes their life experience and competencies. The article presents new processes and socio-cultural phenomena that refer to seniors. Some of them are negative like ageism, social isolation, deprivation, the uncertainty of fate and existence. Others are positive and described as “the cult of age” like the dynamic expansion of the grey people industry, development of health care and consumer projects for the elderly. The article argues that the sense and dignity of life of the elderly should be defended, as it is the main motivation and reason for living.

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Systematic Review of Preventing Suicide in Old Age: 2005–2010

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/s0924-9338(11)73723-3 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 26 (S2) ◽

pp. 2020-2020

Author(s):

C.A. de Mendonça Lima ◽

R.M. Rodrigues

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Old Age ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

The Elderly ◽

Educational Interventions ◽

List Type ◽

Care Providers ◽

Individual Level ◽

Survivors Of Suicide ◽

Somatic Disorders

Suicide is a typical phenomenon of the elderly and mainly among men. Besides the importance of suicide in terms of public health there is fewer interest to prevent suicide in old age. This can be explained by stigma, poor evaluation of the dimension of the problem and lack of politic will.Suicide prevention and the care of survivors of suicide depend on the mental health network of care. Interventions to reduce suicide can be made at individual level and at level of the development of policies and strategies. The detection of the persons at risk of suicide and the management of the suicide attempt are two main strategies to prevent suicide. Both received recently an important support from WHO with its publication mhGAP Intervention Guide which was conceived to be used in non-specialized health-care settings by health-care providers working at first- and second-level facilities. It includes guidance on evidence-based interventions to make the diagnosis and manage a number of priority conditions, including suicide.Our review of the literature pointed to the necessity to develop additional research to determine:•the role of somatic disorders as precipitant factor;•the role on suicide of the pre-morbid personality, cognitive functioning, social support and recent and chronic stressing events;•the participation of normal and pathological ageing on the expression of the suicide behavior;•the biological markers of suicide in old age;•the potential impact on suicide rates of educational interventions for the general public and for caregivers.

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Extrapolation of mortality in COVID-19: Exploring the role of age, sex, co-morbidities and health-care related occupation

Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease ◽

10.4081/monaldi.2020.1325 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 90 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Shahir Asfahan ◽

Kunal Deokar ◽

Naveen Dutt ◽

Ram Niwas ◽

Priyank Jain ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Logistic Regression ◽

Odds Ratio ◽

Random Number ◽

Synthetic Data ◽

The Elderly ◽

Original Data ◽

Predictor Factors ◽

Related Occupation

We used a publicly available data of 44,672 patients reported by China’s centre for disease control to study the role of age, sex, co-morbidities and health-care related occupation on COVID-19 mortality. The data is in the form of absolute numbers and proportions. Using the percentages, retrospective synthetic data of 100 survivors and 100 deaths were generated using random number libraries so that proportions of ages, genders, co-morbidities, and occupations were constant as in the original data. Logistic regression of the four predictor factors of age, sex, co-morbidities and occupation revealed that only age and comorbidities significantly affected mortality. Sex and occupation when adjusted for other factors in the equation were not significant predictors of mortality. Age and presence of co-morbidities correlated negatively with survival with co-efficient of -1.23 and -2.33 respectively. Odds ratio (OR) for dying from COVID-19 for every 10-year increase in age was 3.4 compared to the previous band of 10 years. OR for dying of COVID-19 was 10.3 for the presence of any of the co-morbidities. Our findings could help in triaging the patients in the emergency room and emphasize the need to protect the elderly and those with comorbidities from getting exposed.

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EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY OF OLDER PEOPLE IN POLAND – SELECTED ISSUES

SOCIETY INTEGRATION EDUCATION Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference ◽

10.17770/sie2016vol4.1538 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. 122

Author(s):

Tomasz Różański

Keyword(s):

Older People ◽

Old Age ◽

The Elderly ◽

Educational Activity ◽

Human Adaptation

This article is devoted to the issues of educational activity of the elderly in Poland. Defining the term “old age” and drawing attention to the issue of human adaptation to old age were the starting points of the discussion. Next, the most important issues concerning the activity of seniors were raised. Further discussed were the conditions and objectives of the educational activity of older people. An attention was also drawn to the role of institutions, promoting education and culture, in supporting the development of seniors. Moreover, the article refers to the results of selected studies of the issues discussed.

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Barbara Gray and Bernard Isaacs, Care of the Elderly Mentally Infirm, Sweet and Maxwell, Spon (Booksellers), Andover, 1980. x + 220 pp. £4.50 paper; Alison J. Norman, Rights and Risk: a discussion document on civil liberty in old age from NCCOP, The National Corporation for the Care of Old People, London, 1980. 96 pp. £2.20 paper; Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Socio-Economic Policies for the Elderly, OECD, Paris 1979, HMSO London, 1979. 168 pp. £4.20 paper.

Journal of Social Policy ◽

10.1017/s0047279400010850 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 281-283

Author(s):

Paul Brearley

Keyword(s):

Old Age ◽

Civil Liberty ◽

The Elderly ◽

Economic Policies ◽

Old People ◽

National Corporation ◽

Discussion Document

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Critical Issues in the Health of the Elderly: The Role of Physical Activity

Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement ◽

10.1017/s0714980800004815 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 199-208 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Roy J. Shephard

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Health Care ◽

Potential Role ◽

Health Care Expenditures ◽

The Elderly ◽

Health Care Needs ◽

Care Needs ◽

Present Evidence ◽

Critical Issues

ABSTRACTThe potential role of physical activity in the primary, secondary, tertiary and quarternary treatment of disease is examined with particular reference to the health care needs of the elderly. Areas requiring further research are stressed. On present evidence, it would appear likely that enhanced physical activity could make a useful contribution to the containment of health care expenditures; however, it still has to be established how far the gains of physical condition and resultant improvements of health status that are seen in younger individuals could be realized by the various categories of geriatric patient.

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Principal Leadership and Reading Specialist Role Understanding In the Era of Test-Based Accountability Policies

International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership ◽

10.22230/ijepl.2017v12n2a686 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dolores Marie Prezyna ◽

Mark J Garrison ◽

Carol P Gold ◽

Hilary A Lockte

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Principal Leadership ◽

New York State ◽

Reading Specialist ◽

Reading Specialists ◽

Building Administrators ◽

Proper Role ◽

Common Understanding ◽

Teacher Compliance

This study investigates how the role of the reading specialist (RS) is defined and communicated by principals, and examines to what degree a common understanding of this role exists among teachers, building administrators and reading specialists. The principal’s responsibility in defining and communicating role, and the effect these efforts have on job satisfaction and specialists’ perceived effectiveness is also studied. Eight elementary schools in the western part of New York State (USA) are studied. Based on interviews with principals and reading specialists and surveys completed by principals, reading specialists, and teachers, the following themes emerge: (a.) Principal leadership was essential in defining the RS role; (b.) A clearly defined RS role was associated with greater RS satisfaction and perceptions of effectiveness as well as greater teacher compliance; (c.) Greater teacher compliance with a school’s literacy program did not affect beliefs about the proper role of RSs; (d.) Lack of a clearly defined role in a school was associated with role conflict and role ambiguity for reading specialists; (e.) Reading specialists, even without coaching responsibilities, served as a resource to teachers, although no time was allocated in their schedule to do so; (f.) Reading specialists faced challenges due to increased accountability and assessment demands affected by policy, demographics, and accountability requirements. It is concluded that principals must assume responsibility for defining and communicating the reading specialist role within their schools to strengthen literacy programming.

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