Evaluation of Aging Issues - Annotated Bibliography Example

Steven E. Mock and Richard P. Eibach. . Aging Attitudes Moderate the Effect of ive Age on Psychological Well-Being: Evidence from a 10-Year Longitudinal Study. Psychology and aging. University of Waterloo. Vol. 26, No. 4, 979–986 The article explores that older subjective age is regularly linked to lower psychological well-being between middle age and older adults. According to the study conducted in US, it was found that attitudes towards aging moderate this relationship, in particular feeling old predict lower well-being between those with less favorable attitudes towards older age except those with more favorable aging attitudes. Leaving the youthful stage is not easy and the study confirmed that feeling relatively old is associated with numerous negative outcomes. Numerous studies show that feeling older is only a risk factor for bad outcomes when an individual holds less favorable attitudes towards old age. Subjective age vary without depending on the aging attitudes and induced changes in subjective age and aging attitudes can come together to influence an individual well being at old age. I learned from the article that not only old people frequently feel differently than their real age but the consequences of feeling older rely on individual subjective interpretation of aging. The individuals who have comparatively low favorable attitudes towards the older age experience the worst psychological outcome to a point in which they feel older, but individuals who feel more favorable attitudes towards older age do not. I believe that a person is only as old as he/she feels. Richard A. Sit and Arthur D. Fisk. (1999). Age-Related Performance in a Multiple-Task Environment. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Sage: Georgia. Vol. 41, No. 1 The article explains that one of the best exemplars of a mental activity where big and robust age related difference has been found is multitasking. Older people have more difficulties in performing multitask unlike the younger adults, both in relative and absolute cost. There is a general agreement concerning the robustness of the dual-task or divided effects but disagreement come in with mechanism that underlie age related disparity in performance. Factors that influence dual-task performance includes; relative complexity of single and dual tasks, age related difference in speed processing or general slowing factor, and last is that older people have more difficulty than mid aged people in the management and coordination of dual-task. An experiment was carried out to examine the performance of mid aged and older adults in a dual-task environment. The results shows that older adults shows bigger dual-task performance deficit than the mid aged adults, the gap between the age relationship in dual-task performance comes down across the training trials, and the age related performance difference go up when the task emphasis condition was altered. In a study to examine the processing emphases between younger and older adults in dual-task performance, it was found that age related declines in dual-task are caused by the decline in task coordination with the rise in age. I learned from this article that older adult’s exhibit larger dual-task performance deficit than the younger adults. McCamey et al. (2003). A statewide Education Intervention to Improve Older Americans Nutrition and Physical Activity. Family economics and nutritional review. University of Georgia. Vol. 15 No. 1 The articles dwell on the nutrition health of the elderly in Georgia. A community based program called ‘Take Charge of Your Health for Older Adults’ was developed in order to enhance the nutritional status, functional ability, and physical activities for the elderly. Proper nutrition and physical activities are important for healthy living. The issues designed to stop diseases and improve the health and quality of live for elderly Americans are promoted by national public policies like healthy people 2010. The article also talks of other organization such as Older American Nutrition Program and how it helps the elderly people. The article indicates that many of health problems associated with the elderly such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, obesity and others develops as a result of poor nutrition and this can be greatly reduced by intervention related to providing proper nutrition and physical exercise. The aged population is at an increased nutrition risk hence resulting in poor health and they will benefit greatly from nutrition programs. However, there is a great need to develop, implement, and evaluate nutrition and health education programs to boost gains in knowledge and behavior changes. I have learned from this article that proper nutrients and physical activities are essential for proper health in the elderly. Also, health and nutrition programmes such as ‘take charge of your health for older adults’ assist the elderly in health behaviors related to diet and physical activity. The article relates to aging because it explains the effects of nutrition and physical activities at old age. Cynthia M. Williams. (2002). Using Medications Appropriately in Older Adults. American family physician. Bethesda. 66(10):1917-1925. The article discusses how medications can be used well in older adults. The aging population in US consists of 13% of the population and they consume an average of thirty percent of all drugs taken. The medical practitioners are frequently faced with issues surrounding proper prescription to aging population. Polypharmancy, the application of supplements, adherences issues and possibility of adverse drug events poses the challenge of effective prescription. Several studies show that aging patience may be under-prescribing important drugs such as aspirin, beta blockers, and warfarin. Other studies shows that aging patience receive medications that are capable of causing more harm than good. Getting the right balance amid too few or too many drugs will assist in ensuring increased longetivity, better healthcare, and improved quality life for the older adults. The medical practitioners who care for the older adults with several chronic medical conditions should make daily decision on appropriate drug therapy. Proper compliance with drug therapy is important for successful medical management. A study discussed in the article shows that unfavorable drug events in aging patience led to complications of more than 25% of aging patience. I have learned that proper medication in aging population led to proper treatment of diseases, alleviation of pain and suffering and prevention of life threatening complications of several chronic diseases. The article relates to aging since it explore on how to administer proper medications and the adverse effects of improper medication. Jacqueline Akert. (2003). Womens health: Hormone replacement therapy. Modern medicine. 66:40 Due to increased problems that often struck women during old ages as they approach menopause, a research has found out a solution to that problem. Hormone replacement therapy has been widely viewed as the solution. Its advantages among others include regenerating new estrogen in order to halt some of the symptoms of menopause; it also minimizes the risk of endometrial cancer. Estrogen is important to the human body and is able to provide it with calcium in order to maintain the health of bones, Fights against osteoporosis. Replacement hormone therapy steadies healthy cholesterol levels and helps to keep the vagina healthy. And its’ disadvantages are that Replacement hormone therapy has been known to increase the chance of contracting breast cancer all this has greatly been the work of women health initiative. I learned from the article the effects of a decline in ovarian function, its symptoms and treatment. As a woman is aging, there is a natural withdrawal of estrogen triggering a systematic response, this is associated with the elderly women. Laura Fratiglioni, Stephanie Paillard-Borg, and Bengt Winblad. (2004). An active and socially Integrated lifestyle in late life might protect against dementia. Lifestyle and dementia. Vol.3 This article analyses the published longitudinal studies investigating the effect of social network, physical leisure and non physical activity on cognition and dementia. In the article, the 3 lifestyle components social, mental, and physical, are beneficial effect of cognition and protective effects against dementia are discussed. It is believed that maintenance of active life support aging population to preserve their physical and mental health; studies shows that old people when coping up with the diseases can be negatively affected by unfamiliar environment such as hospital. The background studies suggest that social network and leisure activity are implicated in the development of AD and dementia. This article gives enough evidence that active and socially integrated lifestyle in old age appear like they protect against dementia and AD. I learned from the article that active and socially integrated lifestyle in old age protects against dementia and Alzheimer’s disease AD. 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