QUESTION NO 1

What are some signs, visible to the average person, that the U.S population is aging?

ANSWER

Followings are the signs:

 Increasing number of people with grey hairs in restaurants, parks & other public places.
 Huge number of senior centers, retirement villages etc.
 Many people belong to multigenerational family.

QUESTION NO 2

What years of life are defined by each of the following groups- old, young old, middle old, and old
old?

ANSWER

Given is the definition of groups with years of life:

 Old: 65yrs
 Young old: 65-74yrs
 Middle old: 75-84yrs
 Old old: 85yrs and up

QUESTION NO 3

What is meant by the terms aged, aging, elder, gerontology, geriatrician, and geriatrics?

ANSWER

Aged: A person who lived for a long time.

Aging: Plants & animals get change as they get older, the process is called as aging.
Elder: A person who is older than other in a group of some people.
Gerontology: It deals with the study psychological, biological and social processes of aging.
Geriatrician: A doctor who treats the unique health-needs of the old people.
Geriatrics: The branch of medicine that focuses on health care of the people of old age.

QUESTION NO 4

Why is there a myth that old people are sickly?

ANSWER

It is so because people think very commonly that elderly comes with the diseases that makes
them weak and inactive.
QUESTION NO 5
What are the demographers? What do they do?
ANSWER
Demographers: The professionals of demography; the study of population.
They keep the record of the people of a specific area and analyze the changes over the period.

QUESTION NO 6

Why did a pyramid represent the age characteristics of the US population of the 1950’s, but in 2030 it
will be a rectangle?

ANSWER

It is so because the group of people, of 85 and older, is fastest growing segment of the
population and it would be double in 2030.

QUESTION NO 7

What are the three factors that affect the size and age of a population?

ANSWER

Following are the factors that affect the size and age of a population

 Birth rate.
 Death rate.
 Immigration rate.

QUESTION NO 8

How have life expectancy figures changed over the years in the United States? What were the major
reasons for the change in the first half of the twentieth century? The second half?

ANSWER

Life expectancy has changed from 47 years to 78 years over the years.

In the 1st half, this could be attributed to the decrease in early childhood deaths, the increase in
the 2nd half of the 20th century can be attributed to the postponement of death among the young age
and elderly people.
QUESTION NO 9

Why are dependency and labor force ratios so important and how they are calculated?

ANSWER

Importance:

Such ratios are important because societies can refer to these ratios as a controller for
making the best communal policy decisions to allocate resources.

Calculation method:

Dependency ratio: It is calculated by adding the number of youngsters and old, divided
by the number of persons between 20-64 years old, times 100.

Labor-force ratio: It is calculated by adding the Number of people doing jobs, divided
by number of people not doing jobs, and times by 100.

QUESTION NO 10

Are all elders the same with regard to demographic variables?

ANSWER

No, it’s not so. Because not all the elderly people are married, well educated, also not all elders
are equally healthy and live at the same place.

QUESTION NO 11

How do the income need of people change in later years of life?

ANSWER

In old age, the income needs change because expenses such as travelling, buying luxurious stuff,
parties & gatherings are no longer, but health usually increase with age. All in all, income needs
decreases slightly in later years of life.
QUESTION NO 12

What is the difference between a care provider and a care manager?

ANSWER

Care provider: who facilitates identify the health care needs and performs the caregiving
services.

Care manager: who helps identify the health care but does not provide the health care services.

QUESTION NO 13

What are the some major problems caregivers face?

ANSWER

Followings are the major problems that caregivers face now-a-days:

 Managing their time.

 Emotional and physical stress.
 Sleep deprivation.
 Care decisions.
 Loss of time for self-care.

QUESTION NO 14

Why are continuing care retirement communities attractive to elders?

ANSWER

Continuing care retirement communities attractive to elders because they assure a life-long
healthcare while being able to live on their own in a society that has a health clinic on campus along
with a lot of other services.

QUESTION NO 15

What is an assisted-living residence?

ANSWER

Assisted living residence is a long-term care choice that includes residence services and health
care, as needed. Specially for those who require assistance with everyday activities such as meals,
medication, bathing, dressing & travelling.
QUESTION NO 16

What is the difference between activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living?

ANSWER

Activities of daily living:

These are the simple daily life tasks such as eating, toileting, dressing, bathing.

Instrumental activities of daily living:

These activities are bit complex like preparing meals, shopping, doing housework,
traveling.

QUESTION NO 17

What are the most frequently occurring health problems of elders?

ANSWER

Following are the very common diseases among elders:

 Heart Disease.
 Cancer.
 Depression.
 Diabetes.
 Stroke.

QUESTION NO 18

From what financial sources do elders normally pay for health care?

ANSWER

Medicare is the source that old people commonly use to pay for health care, people also use
private insurance known as Medigap to cover the expenses left by Medicare.

QUESTION NO 19

What does the term Medigap mean?

ANSWER

Medigap is the private insurance company which covers the expenditures left by the Medicare.
QUESTION NO 20

How do income and health status affect the transportation needs of elders?

ANSWER

Due to income problems elders cannot afford to have a car or specialized transportation.
Due to health problems some physically cannot drive anymore or cannot travel.

Such factors create issues for elderly people to travel from one place to other.

QUESTION NO 21

What is the ideal solution for the transportation needs of elders?

ANSWER

Following are the solutions for the transportation needs of elders:

 By reducing the fares of the public transports and the taxis.

 By ensuring the presence of the public service vehicles.
 By having separate ‘extra-comfortable’ seats for the elders in public service
vehicles.

QUESTION NO 22

What are State Departments on Aging and Area Agencies on Aging?

ANSWER

The departments and the agencies that facilitates the elderly people by guiding & linking them
to the service providers in order to meet their need efficiently & effectively.

QUESTION NO 23

Why is visitor service so important for home-bound and institutionalized persons?

ANSWER

Visitor service is very important for such person in order to make social contact & having
references in the community because it ease the life of every human being.
QUESTION NO 24

What is the difference between adult day care programs and senior centers?

ANSWER

Adult day care provides care during the day time hours for elders who cannot be left alone.

Senior center is a periodic care program to relieve a full-time informal caregiver. Senior centers
provide full care while the elder is staying there.