Re-thinking care in later life: the social and the clinical

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Phillipson
Keyword(s):  
Geriatric Medicine ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Joint Work ◽  
Social Gerontology ◽  
Social Perspectives ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Key Points ◽  
The Social ◽  
Fiscal Austerity

Key points• Geriatric medicine developed strong links with social perspectives on ageing during its initial phase of development.• Geriatric medicine and social gerontology developed along separate paths from the 1970s with the emergence of competing paradigms about the ageing process.• Fiscal austerity, changes to the welfare state, and the increase of age-related conditions such as dementia create possibilities for collaboration between geriatric medicine and social gerontology.• Areas for joint work between the disciplines includeo supporting the development of age-friendly communitieso rebuilding community serviceso challenging health inequalities.

Rising above It: Status Ambivalence in Older Adults

Gerontology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (6) ◽  
pp. 576-588
Author(s):  
Deirdre A. Robertson ◽  
David Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Protective Mechanism ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Social ◽  
Implicit And Explicit

Background: Social status is the standing of a person or group in the social hierarchy, and is perceived to change across the life span from low social status in early life, to peak in midlife, and to a decline thereafter. As threats to subjective social status are known to be detrimental to individuals’ health, it is important to better understand how older adults perceive themselves and others in terms of age-related social status. Objective: We examined status ambivalence – the potential discrepancy between how older adults’ perceive social status for themselves compared to older adults in general. Method: Study 1 used qualitative data from 37 semi-structured interviews with older adults to assess perceptions of social status. Study 2 used quantitative survey data from 114 older adults who completed explicit and implicit measures of social status. Results: Study 1 (n = 37, meanage = 71.72, SDage = 5.69; 81.1% women) provided preliminary evidence for status ambivalence such that older adults reported unequivocal low social status for other older adults but a more ambivalent perception of their own social status. Study 2 (n = 114, meanage = 64.32, SDage = 8.98, 57.9% women) compared implicit and explicit measures of social status revealing that older adults consistently perceive older adults to have low social status but again show a more ambivalent perception of their own social status. Conclusion: We discuss status ambivalence as a potential protective mechanism in the context of negative societal perceptions of age-related social status that may be important for well-being in later life.

scholarly journals Theorizing and Social Gerontology

2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vern Bengtsson
Keyword(s):  
Later Life ◽  
Tipping Point ◽  
Social Gerontology ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future ◽  
Psychological Dimensions

Theory is increasingly important in social gerontology. Thus it is gratifying to see the debut of a new journal that encourages theorizing about age and aging. The papers in Volume 1, number 1 of the International Journal of Ageing and Later Life reflect a concern for developing theory that is laudable. I hope that in the future researchers who submit manuscripts to IJAL and the reviewers who evaluate them will share this concern for building theory. This is because we are at a tipping point, a watershed, in the development of knowledge about the social and psychological dimensions of aging.

scholarly journals The ideology of ageism versus the social imaginary of the fourth age: two differing approaches to the negative contexts of old age

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (8) ◽  
pp. 1617-1630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Higgs ◽  
Chris Gilleard
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Social Imaginary ◽  
Contemporary Society ◽  
Social Gerontology ◽  
The Social ◽  
Key Aspects

AbstractThe development of social gerontology has led to the emergence of its own terminology and conceptual armoury. ‘Ageism’ has been a key concept in articulating the mission of gerontology and was deliberately intended to act as an equivalent to the concepts of racism and sexism. As a term, it has established itself as a lodestone for thinking about the de-valued and residualised social status of older people in contemporary society. Given this background, ageism has often been used to describe an overarching ideology that operates in society to the detriment of older people and which in large part explains their economic, social and cultural marginality. This paper critiques this approach and suggests an alternative based upon the idea of the social imaginary of the fourth age. It argues that not only is the idea of ageism too totalising and contradictory but that it fails to address key aspects of the corporeality of old age. Adopting the idea of a social imaginary offers a more nuanced theoretical approach to the tensions that are present in later life without reducing them to a single external cause or explanation. In so doing, this leaves the term free to serve, in a purely descriptive manner, as a marker of prejudice.

scholarly journals Reduced Achilles Tendon Stiffness Disrupts Calf Muscle Neuromechanics in Elderly Gait

Gerontology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Rebecca L. Krupenevich ◽  
Owen N. Beck ◽  
Gregory S. Sawicki ◽  
Jason R. Franz
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Achilles Tendon ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
Calf Muscle ◽  
Metabolic Energy ◽  
Joint Work ◽  
Tendon Stiffness ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Ankle Muscle ◽  
Metabolic Energy Expenditure

Older adults walk slower and with a higher metabolic energy expenditure than younger adults. In this review, we explore the hypothesis that age-related declines in Achilles tendon stiffness increase the metabolic cost of walking due to less economical calf muscle contractions and increased proximal joint work. This viewpoint may motivate interventions to restore ankle muscle-tendon stiffness, improve walking mechanics, and reduce metabolic cost in older adults.

scholarly journals A Biomarker-based Biological Age in UK Biobank: Composition and Prediction of Mortality and Hospital Admissions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei Sum Chan ◽  
Matthew Arnold ◽  
Alison Offer ◽  
Imen Hammami ◽  
Marion Mafham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Principal Components ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Uk Biobank ◽  
Hand Grip ◽  
Cox Proportional Hazard ◽  
Prediction Of Mortality ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Cox Proportional Hazard Models

Abstract Background Chronological age is the strongest risk factor for most chronic diseases. Developing a biomarker-based age and understanding its most important contributing biomarkers may shed light on the effects of age on later-life health and inform opportunities for disease prevention. Methods A subpopulation of 141 254 individuals healthy at baseline were studied, from among 480 019 UK Biobank participants aged 40–70 recruited in 2006–2010, and followed up for 6–12 years via linked death and secondary care records. Principal components of 72 biomarkers measured at baseline were characterized and used to construct sex-specific composite biomarker ages using the Klemera Doubal method, which derived a weighted sum of biomarker principal components based on their linear associations with chronological age. Biomarker importance in the biomarker ages was assessed by the proportion of the variation in the biomarker ages that each explained. The proportions of the overall biomarker and chronological age effects on mortality and age-related hospital admissions explained by the biomarker ages were compared using likelihoods in Cox proportional hazard models. Results Reduced lung function, kidney function, reaction time, insulin-like growth factor 1, hand grip strength, and higher blood pressure were key contributors to the derived biomarker age in both men and women. The biomarker ages accounted for >65% and >84% of the apparent effect of age on mortality and hospital admissions for the healthy and whole populations, respectively, and significantly improved prediction of mortality (p < .001) and hospital admissions (p < 1 × 10−10) over chronological age alone. Conclusions This study suggests that a broader, multisystem approach to research and prevention of diseases of aging warrants consideration.

scholarly journals Sexuality in Later Life and Mental Health Among Older Black Gay Men

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 313-314
Author(s):  
Darlingtina Esiaka ◽  
Alice Cheng ◽  
Candidus Nwakasi
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Later Life ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Sexual Identities ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Black Gay Men

Abstract Self-acknowledgement and integration of racial and sexual identities are significant to one’s overall sense of identity because of their implications for mental health and wellbeing. These issues are important as one ages because older people experience a wide range of factors that add layers to their ability to (re)integrate subsets of their identity into their overall self-identity such as age and age-related disabilities. This study examined the intersection of race and sexual identities on overall health status in older Black gay men, a demographic group that has historically received less attention. Data from the Social Justice Sexuality (SJS) survey of LGBTQ+ people of color which occurred over a 12-month period in the United States were analyzed. Participants (N=160), 50 years and over, responded to questions about their sexuality, social identity, family dynamics, community connection and engagement, and mental and physical health. Results show an association of mental wellbeing with racial and sexual identities. Further, results show that a strong sense of connection to other sexual minorities is positively associated with mental health in older Black gay men. We discuss the implication of findings for mental health interventions targeting this gendered population.

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