Title: Therapy for Geriatric and Aging Issues, Therapist for Geriatric and Aging Issues
Headings: Aging and Geriatric Issues
Aging and Geriatric Issues
Understanding Aging and Geriatric Issues
Medical Issues of Aging
Cognitive and Mental Health Concerns
Therapy for Geriatric Issues
Promoting the Health of Older Adults
Case Example
References:
Last Update: 11-21-2019

Content: It may also be difficult for some older adults to face mortality, especially when friends, peers, or spouses and partners pass on, and they may come to experience isolation in the wake of many such deaths. Older adults may also find it challenging to attend to basic needs in the presence of Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, which affect approximately one in ten Americans of retirement age. Ageism, or discrimination based on a person's age, may also affect some older adults, and this practice may lead to forced retirement or cause well-intentioned loved ones to ignore an older adult's desires or opinions. According to a United Nations Population Survey, 37% of adults over the age of 60 reported experiencing age discrimination in the last year, and 43% were afraid of personal violence. Only 49% of these adults reported being treated with respect, which indicates that just over half of the adults surveyed had experienced instances of disrespect. Further, more than half of adults over the age of 60 found it difficult to pay for basic services, 66% wished they had an opportunity to work, and 47% worried "always" or "very often" about money . Medical Issues of Aging
One of the challenges older adults may experience is distinguishing the normal effects of advancing age from signs of actual physical or mental illness. Many people over the age of 65 continue to live happy and healthy independent lives. Most older adults will experience some changes in cognition, but this is a normal part of the aging process. Researchers have found that healthy older adults often experience mild decline in the areas of: