Writing Homework Help

In the United States we have seen great progress in extending quantity/years to our lives. Longer life may present greater opportunities for such things as increased time with family, more time to pursue hobbies or other activities, such as volunteerism or community activism, than was experienced by previous generations. However, the degree to which aging adults can experience these opportunities is often reduced due to health factors or disabilities. Many of these health and disability factors are the result of lifestyle, and not necessarily due solely to “aging”. Among the health threats are diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, falls, and Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and other mental health issues.

Thus, we have achieved great strides in lengthening our average years of life, but we lag behind in facilitating quality for those extended years. In other words, we have people living “longer”, but not necessarily living “better”. This scenario will have a major impact on our health care and human services systems in the U.S., especially as the Baby Boomers continue to enter their elder years. There are significant concerns that our systems are not equipped to respond to the needs of this population.

In a post of a minimum of 175 words, discuss your thoughts on this scenario.

• What evidence can you point to regarding the health and human services needs of this population and the ability of our health care and human services systems to meet them?
• Identify some of those health and social service needs and the barriers that elder individuals may face as they age.
• End your post with a statement about what you worry about in terms of your own aging.