Older People in Society

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Older People in Society

• Dr Gail Mountain
• Sheffield Hallam University

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Our understanding of old age
The social and cultural meaning of older age is
being constantly shaped and reshaped by the
expectations of society, as well as being located
in our individual experiences of older people as
relatives, friends, neighbours and work
colleagues. Mountain, 2004
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The Word Old
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Older Age
What images come into your mind? Where do you
think these images come from?
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Older Age

• Which of the following match your picture of
  growing older?

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Dustin Hoffman
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Jack Nicklaus
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Mick Jagger
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Prince Philip
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(No Transcript)
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Ronald Reagan
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Or a ordinary old age
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Another image of ordinary old age
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Or dependency
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?So is older age a time of dependency or risk
taking

• Some older people continued to participate in
  risky occupations such as skiing, water sports,
  marathon running and arts and crafts activities
  using potentially dangerous equipment
• (study of risk taking in older age by Wynne
  Hartley, 1991)

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A time for giving up or achievement?

• A list provided by Carlson et al (1998) named
  men and women who have achieved significance
  beyond the age of 65 years, including Heads of
  State, parachutists and musicians

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However

• The extent of negative imagery of older age
  still outweighs positive messages, leading to a
  tendency for people to restrict their
  expectations of this phase of their lives
• (Scrutton, 1992).

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Polarised Views of Older Age

• Negative perceptions
• Physically frail
•  
• Dependent/ needs care
•  
• Drain on resources
•  
• Increasingly disengaged
•  
• Learning ability restricted
•  
• Resistant to change

• Positive perceptions
• Physically fit
•  
• Independent
•  
• Worker/ contributor
•  
• Engaged with society
•  
• Able to learn new skills
•  
• Able to adapt

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Some of the reasons.

• Demographic..
• People who are older include several generations
  from those aged 50 to octogenarians (100 years
  and over)
• A great challenge for health care providers,
  researchers and elders is how to ensure that the
  quality of individual and family life can be
  maintained during the extended lifespan.
• Jackson et al, 2001, pp. 5
•  

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Some of the reasons

• Political..
• The UK government are struggling to reconcile
  retirement age, increased lifespan and cost of
  pensions people need to work longer to sustain
  their retirement

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Some of the reasons

• Historical
• Some of the continuing negative attitudes
  towards older people and the longstanding
  problems that pervade health and social care in
  the UK can be explained by the history of service
  provision, the nature of which has been both
  restrictive and paternalistic.
• Mountain, 2004

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Some of the reasons

• Societal
• Housing
• Transport
• Media

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In the UK and North America, younger older
people are now more demanding

• Once perceived as a deserving subgroup of poor,
  frail and politically powerless individuals, the
  elderly increasingly are being portrayed by the
  mass media, policy makers and others as greedy
  geezers..
• Minkler and Estes, 2000, pp. 65

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In Norway

• What are the factors
• Demographic
• Economic
• Political
• Historical
• Societal
• That shape responses to older people?

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Occupational therapy for older people in the UK

• A significant shift away from institutional
  provision to services provided to older people in
  the community
• Increased demand as a consequence of the
  development of community and preventive services
• Positive recognition when occupational therapy
  skills are applied to full extent

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Negative aspects

• Focus upon assessment only rather than assessment
  and treatment
• Dependency upon other professions for referral
  and for recognition and status
• Poorly developed and implemented evidence base

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A negative cycle..
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A positive approach
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The responsibilities of those working with older
people

• Gaining insight into belief systems about older
  age
• Informed views of the expectations of lifestyle
  post retirement