Life History Demographics

Reflection 1: Life History and Demographics Interviews of older adults were conducted on the subject of their life history and demographics. Each interviewer was given conversation prompts on basic life history such as: year and place of birth, family structure, career path, and education in order to gain basic knowledge of the interviewee. The interviewees were also asked questions about the demographic shift in society and how he or she believes the shift will impact older adults. In addition to the interview, an analysis between the interview and studies demonstrating demographic connections was also assigned.
Interview
For the first part of the assignment, I interviewed Lynne, a sixty-eight-year-old female born in 1947, at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Furman University. She was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, and her family structure growing up was middle class. She has one brother. Lynne was educated in nursing through a diploma school located in a hospital. She later achieved a Bachelor of
Science degree in nursing, which she stated as one of the biggest successes in her life. She believes that her family is the most successful achievement of her life. Lynne is divorced, one of the greatest challenges of her life, with two sons and four grandchildren; and she is involved in their lives as much as possible. As well as spending time with her family, Lynne enjoys travelling, reading, genealogy, and taking classes through Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Furman University. To begin our conversation about aging and age-related issues, I asked Lynne how her health has been throughout her lifetime and how she views her health. Lynne said that she has never had any serious health issues, and she believes she is in great health. When discussing issues related to aging, we discussed the challenges of food/housing, and the cost of living. She believes these challenges are a major concern for the elderly and their families, and she expressed her opinion on the importance of minimalizing the negative impacts these issues can create for the families of older adults.
Socioeconomic Status and Education Level in Relation to Health Through studying education levels, income, and social class in men and women aged sixty-five and older, it has been found that socioeconomic status can be a predictor of an older adult’s self-reported health status.
Low socioeconomic levels have been found to relate to disability, chronic disease, and low self-rated health; higher socioeconomic levels have been found to relate to higher self-rated health and lower health issues. This is because people with higher education levels have a better access to and understanding of important information pertaining to health, and people with higher incomes have better access to healthy food, better living environments, and superior health care (Simsek, Doganany, Refik, & Ucku 2014). Lynne viewed her family’s income as middle class, and she has a high education level. The findings of this study prove that a relationship can be found between Lynne’s education level and socioeconomic status and low level of health
concerns.
Caring for Older Adults Many children of older adults take on the role of caregiver for their parents when they can no longer live alone or support themselves financially. In fact, researches have found that twenty-five percent of people in their caregiving study reported caring for a family member age sixty-five or older (Sara Tement & Christian Korunka 2015). With the costs of healthcare increasing and the percent of adults outliving their savings, many older adults have become dependent on their families for support. Numerous older adults also have to rely on their families to assist them in finding a care facility or invite them into their homes when they can no longer live alone.