The structural lag concept came through the observation that during the late 20th century, researchers noticed a discrepancy in increasing population of a healthy aging population and the important positions accessible to them. In other words, this is a disparity between population and age types, and the existing arrangements in social structures they must fit into. The situation arises due to the inability of changes in social structures to synchronize with changes in individuals’ lives. Structural lag will always occur when social structures fail to adjust to new cohorts with dissimilar features from the initial ones.
There have been concerns about the increasing aging population over the years. Different studies have continued to report an increase in population mainly among the older persons due to the increased quality health care. This increase is noted in the industrialized nations such as the US. Evidence has continued to show that the countries that are developed will continue to have these high numbers even in the coming years. This has been seen to be affected by different demographic changes with respect to older persons. For instance, in the United States of America alone, the population of older adults living in the US is approximated to be 46 million older adults who are 65 years and above (Rural Health Information Hub, 2019). Researchers have continued to point out facts that the number is anticipated to grow even higher in the coming years like for instance they have approximated the number to reach over 90 million older adults by the year 2050. With these facts, it is important critically addresses the demographic change that has contributed to this drastic change in both short and long terms.
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Key Issues
Having this high growth of the aging population in a country is a significant concern not only to the government but to businesses as well. The demographic change affecting this sector needs to be noted on a quick note to address the issue effectively. The primary concern comes from the rural areas where most of the residents residing in these areas tend to age on average compared to those in urban areas. It has also been clear that most of the older adults tend to live in rural areas than in urban areas (Rural Health Information Hub, 2019). This kind of change calls for increased healthcare practices which are expected to support the aging population. The healthcare practices are expected to be mostly long-term care as well as a home for the elderly to offer support to them as they age. This means that the demographic change that will affect the elderly is the national healthcare services if not addressed as soon as possible. The policy that will effectively address this issue is the federal health policy which is expected to cover services such as social services and economic support (Jin et al., 2015). The financial support includes things such as housing, nutrition, and institutional care as well as other health-related activities for the elderly. Other health-related activities include elements such as home for the elderly, preventive and rehabilitative services will significantly address the factors affecting the elderly.
Problems Associated With an Aging Population
Studies have proven that those older people require special treatment and healthcare services compared to those other ages. In comparison to children, they tend to pose more and different healthcare needs because of the multiple chronic health problems that they face at this age. These chronic health problems include diseases such as heart diseases, depression, diabetes, arthritis and in some cases hypertension. Bearing this in mind, an approximate number of 90% older people above the age of 65 years are known to suffer from one or two of the chronic diseases. This kind of condition is known to require special treatments as well as medical care that are specialized and unique in its way. This character sets them separate from the other population (National Research Council (US) Panel on a Research Agenda and New Data for an Aging World, 2001). They require special attention to meet all their needs. With this population increase in that pace, the health sector is the area that needs a lot of concern and investment to sustain this aging population. This policy mainly needs to be more directed to the rural areas since that is where the aging people decide to spend the remaining life alone in quiet places away from the noises in the urban areas. That is where they believe in getting independent lifestyles as they age. This means that the government needs to invest more in rural areas than urban because in rural areas is where the old decide to live.
The Effectiveness of National Health Policy Enactment
The government needs to focus more on the national health status at a national level and address the barriers that tend to affect the overall health as well. Positive health status is a clear indication that a country is doing well covering a wide range of issues from social expenditures on health as well as social services for the elderly. Health status can only be achieved through health promotional programs, prevention programs and finally medical services that are not only reliable but also effective (Rural Health Information Hub, 2019). Health for the elderly is a journey that is not only dependent on primary care from the physicians but also to the long-term care services which are backed up with support. This means that for the health status of an older adult to be achieved the entire necessary criterion needs to be fully met; starting with the physicians, nurses, long-term care providers, social workers to the family caregivers (Beard, Officer, & Cassels, 2016). All of them must work simultaneously together to ensure that the health status of an elderly person is achieved.
Additionally, these teams are the ones that ensure a healthy life of an elderly which in turn helps them maintain their independent lifestyles in their homes and communities. Since most of them decide to reside in rural areas, the team also needs to ensure that those places have all the facilities required to maintain their health. These facilities include facilities such as home for the elderly and other special accommodations which are specifically designed for old people.
To maintain their health status, it does not mean that they must get into contact with them. Health services can be passed on to the elderly with the help of various means; for instance, they can be provided with health education programs that are related to their health issues. Another mechanism is the provision of nutritional needs that is not only good for them but also the one that impacts positively on their health issues. They can also be provided with safe transportation means that it is safe and reliable for them and finally be assured of adequate housing facilities. By doing so, their health issues will have been indirectly addressed which will significantly improve their health status. To effectively solve all the above problems, the involved teams need to conduct a population survey to gather enough information in additionally to the one from clinical sources. These surveys will in a big way address the cost that is accompanied by the basic public health programs particularly the costly one that involves elderly persons (Chari et al., 2015). The health providers also need to educate the public on reducing the intake of toxic substances as they tend to affect them negatively as they are aging. Another effective way that can address the issues facing the elderly is the increase of regular exercise together with structured leisure activities. These activities will reduce common illnesses that are known to develop due to lack of exercise and other related activities. Therefore, the national health policy needs to be addressed and enforced tightly to meet all the needs that are associated with the elderly.
Barriers Affecting the Enactment of National Health Policy
However, just like any other policy, some barriers hinder the enactment of this national health policy about the elderly. The number one challenge is the cost of maintaining the health services that are required by the older population. Due to their unique features and particular attention and facilities, the services tend to be costly than usual. This means that the government will need to set aside a massive budget to cater to the needs of the elderly. Various studies have shown that maintaining a single elderly is more costly compared to the other population (Rural Health Information Hub, 2019). The cost has been the main barrier to the full enactment of this policy. On a political view, it has been viewed as a challenge to development where the money that could have been used to fund other sectors is being used to maintain the elderly. This policy has always faced negativity from the political side with claims that money for economic growth is being used to fund programs for the elderly. This is another challenge that tends to face the enactment of the policy. The other challenged associated with an aging population is huge debts which are incurred from money borrowed to cater to the increased aging population. This has left money countries to spend more than they can offer. However, despite the high cost and the increased debts, the government needs to find ways to maintain this to a controllable level and ensure that the elderly are well taken care of.
Recommendations
Proper solutions to the challenges of an aging population call for the federal and state governments, and the concerned authorities to come up with long term measures. First, it is recommendable that the seniors to be engaged in either monetary or non-monetary activities. This is a significant solution since engaging them in work will positively contribute not only to their material well-being but also to their psychological well-being. This state will be achieved through social interactions as well as professional and personal growth. Physical activities such as community work, volunteering, and artistic work will contribute to their psychological wellbeing as well. Having those benefits in mind, they need to be encouraged through rewarding them for paid or unpaid work to maintain them in those activities. Another recommendation that will help address the challenge is phased-in retirement programs where older workers are motivated to stay longer in the labor force. They can effectively achieve this by choosing to render their services for a few hours hence stay longer in the laborforce even after their retirement period (Bloom, Canning, & Lubet, 2015). This will not only help them with their overall health status, but it will also improve the economy in a significant way. This will reduce the cost used to maintain the elderly since their health issue will be less and more controllable than when they are just idle in their homes. As an added advantage, the elderly workers will be valuable to the business industry due to their knowledge and their experience.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the health status of the elderly can be achieved through different ways as discussed. It is also clear that maintaining the elderly is a national issue that needs to be addressed at a national level. Everybody, starting with the government and the health providers needs to be at the frontline to contribute to the wellbeing of every elderly that are associated with them. Everyone needs to take it as their responsibility to care for them and address their needs as well as their challenges. Health for the elderly is a policy that needs to be enforced and addressed with much concern since they are full of knowledge and wisdom that is good for the growing generation.
References
Rural Health Information Hub. (2019 ). Demographic Changes and Aging Population . Retrieved on 12 May 2019, from https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/toolkits/aging/1/demographics
National Research Council (US) Panel on a Research Agenda and New Data for an Aging World. (2001). Preparing for an Aging World: The Case for Cross-National Research . Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US).
Jin, K., Simpkins, J. W., Ji, X., Leis, M., & Stambler, I. (2015). The critical need to promote research of aging and aging-related diseases to improve health and longevity of the elderly population. Aging and disease , 6 (1), 1.
Beard, J. R., Officer, A. M., & Cassels, A. K. (2016). The world report on ageing and health. Gerontologist, 56 (2), S163-6. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnw037
Bloom, D. E., Canning, D., & Lubet, A. (2015). Global population aging: Facts, challenges, solutions & perspectives. Daedalus , 144 (2), 80-92.
Chari, A. V., Engberg, J., Ray, K. N., & Mehrotra, A. (2015). The opportunity costs of informal elder‐care in the United States: new estimates from the American time use survey. Health services research , 50 (3), 871-882.
