Aging and Quality of Life

Abstract

Ageing is unavoidable part of the human experience. Ageing has multidimensional elements of physiological, psychological and sociological change. The intent of this paper is to highlight the importance of the sociological dimensions of ageing and how it relates to the realities and perceptions to quality of life of the elderly.

Defining Ageing

The ageing process can be defined from primarily two different perspectives physiological and psychological or sociological.  The physiological refers to how our bodies age physically.  There are varying systems within the human body that change as we get older.  The most recognizable is the human skin.  Because of the decreasing blood flow to the skin and the lost nerve endings, the skin loses some of its effectiveness as a protector against bacteria therefore causing wrinkling and loss of elasticity as well as propensity to heal.  Other apparent changes as we age take place in the skeletal and muscular systems.  The primary signs regarding these systems that are seen as we age are loss of bone and muscle matter.  Osteoporosis, which is the disease of losing bone mass, is a major problem with elderly women, but can affect men as well.  As stated above muscle mass is lost also and since these cells do not replace themselves the loss is permanent.  Therefore, the result is a loss of strength and agility, as well as a notable change in appearance in size such as height.  Other systems that are affected are the neurosensory, cardiopulmonary, cerebrovascular, urinary, endocrine, and immune systems (Bourhenne 2007).  Among the issues regarding these systems are loss of color differentiation, some loss of taste, communicating, cognitive functions, as well as more serious issues such as urinary infections, thyroid problems, heart disease, hardening of the arteries, and the ability to overcome infections that the human body normally can in its youth.

        How the human body ages physically is inevitable.  Although people may age a little more gracefully due to genetic factors, all people’s bodies deteriorate in primarily the same fashion.  The medical care of the elderly is an important facet of long term care.  In fact it is the primary function in most circumstances, however until somewhat recently the sociological and/or psychological has become just as important.  The sociological element can be seen as a person’s “will to move forward” through the pains of ageing so to speak.  This aspect can often be determine by the life experiences of the individual.  Old age is a period of self-reflection and these life experiences can contribute on how the elderly feel whether it is a feeling of hopelessness or feeling of a satisfying life.  A simple definition of ageing is the process of maturing or becoming older, however it can be much more involved than that especially with adding the element of quality of life to the equation.  When dealing in long-term care we often consider the chronological process of ageing, but the psychological process has to be considered due to the fact that these experiences whether negative or positive makes a person ponder the justification or the validity of their existence.  So the quality of life is not just how an individual feels physically, but how one feels about one’s self.

Defining Quality of Life

        Quality of life can also be stated as “successful ageing” as this has been the most popular term to describe the positive aspects of ageing.  The most prominent view regarding successful ageing is the freedom from disease and disability as one ages (McCarthy 2011).  “Successful healthy ageing is impacted by a healthy lifestyle and is positively related to a reduced mortality risk and a delay in health deterioration” (Gilbert 2012). This view would correspond with the physiological part of the ageing process discussed in the previous section.  The United States health care system concentrates its efforts on the biomedical procedures to help curb the negative physical effects of ageing and rightfully so, but as the human body continues to deteriorate and as the elderly’s transition into different life circumstances such as long-term care, quality of life takes on more in depth meaning than just the physical condition.  Modern medicine has given the people of the world the ability to live longer, however along with that comes the complexity of age-related diseases and conditions such as dementia, depression, loneliness and social isolation (Melin-Johansson 2013).  So quality of life has to encompass dealing with issues such as being independent, physically active, and socially interactive as well as the ability of the elderly to adapt to the physical and functional changes of ageing (McCarthy 2011).  The medical definition of the quality of life is often stated has an individual’s ability to enjoy normal life activities.  Obviously there are issues that eventually come along with the ageing process that can prevent in varying degrees a person from performing these normal activities.  It is important for care givers and care giving institutions to help the elderly maintain this ability and help them adapt when issues prevent them from doing so.  This is becoming the essence of “Quality of Life”.