Everyone ages and one day we will all eventually be considered to be an "older person", it is a part of life. Most developed countries "have accepted the chronological age of 65 years as the defintion of 'elderly' or older person "(WHO, 2011). What is not so well known however, is that in New Zealand the population is ageing. By this I mean that more people are living longer and therefore a greater proportion of the population is comprised of older people. This is due to a huge "baby boom" that took place in the late 1940's and 1960's which means that by 2040 one in every four New Zealanders will be aged 65 or older (Statistics New Zealand, 2006 as cited by St Clair, 2008). As the graph below shows, it is expected that the older population will continue to increase in size as we all begin to live longer due to a decline in fertility rates, medical and technological advances and people living healthier lives.
 |
Chart 13 Age distribution for the working-age population, 1989 compared to 2009 and projection for 2029 |
As there are now more older people in the population there is an increased need for services for the older population. It is common knowledge that as we age our health begins to deteriorate and we begin to rely more on others for support and health professionals are required more often. From studying the older population and their altering needs I have seen how much of an impact this change in demographics will have on my future as a health professional. Beforehand I was unaware that people were actually living longer. I understand that there will be increased need for cost effective interventions that occupational therapists can use with the older population to prevent ill health.
Many organisations like WHO (The World Health Organization) provide great information on many strategies to help older people age well and discusses how these strategies work to optimize "opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age" (WHO, 2011). When first learning about the ageing population I found this website very helpful to give an outline regarding the effect of the ageing population and actions that are currently being taken to improve the well- being of older people. I have provided a link to the WHO website below:
http://www.who.int/en/
References:
Department of labour. (2009). The ageing population. In
Labour force participation in New Zealand: recent trends, future scenarios and the impact on economic growth. Retrieved November 21, 2011, from
http://www.dol.govt.nz/
St Clair, V. W. (2008). Occupational therapy's place in ageing New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Occupational Therapy, 55 (1), 14-17.
WHO. (2011). Definition of an older or elderly person. In
Health statistics and health information systems . Retrieved November 21, 2011, from
http://www.who.int/healthinfo
No comments:
Post a Comment