Future for Ageing People in Australia - Term Paper Example

FUTURЕ FОR АGЕING РЕОРLЕ IN АUSTRАLIА Name Professor Course Date FUTURЕ FОR АGЕING РЕОРLЕ IN АUSTRАLIА Abstract The changes in size and composition of population are some of the causes of social and economic conditions. These two factors shape the economy of most countries in the world today. Australia is not an exemption of this factor because its population shapes its economic and societal state of the country (Sheen 2000). Distribution, age structure and future growth determine the decision making process of long term policies in Australia. Some of these decisions entail policies on health, service provision and aged care in the country. Economic growth and sustainability of the environment are also inclusive of such policies to be made. This paper aims at analyzing the population of Australia and specifically the old or aging population. It also looks at the factors and policies that the Australian government and other stakeholders have to make regarding the old population. It aims at looking at the future of Australia’s aging population and all factors surrounding it like life expectancy and migration among other factors. Population structure and ageing in Australia The population growth in this country has been increasing from the year 2006 to date. According to statistics, the population of people in this country in the year 2006 was about 21 million people. This number has been on the rise then and it is estimated that the population in the country by the year 2101 will grow by about 33.7 million. In this population, the number of ageing people is also on the rise due to many factors like immigration. This attributes to the many number of old people who migrate to this country, therefore increasing the number of the old. The structure of population in this country constitutes of the old, young and middle aged people. However, experts project that the ageing population in Australia has the most profound change. This means that the proportion of the young people decline because of an increase in the proportion of the older population. This trend indicates changes in the provision for income support, health and aged services and the economic growth in this country. Therefore, the trend of increasing population of the old people is set to continue under the conditions in the country. Some of the factors attributed to this trend and projection include the composition of the population structure currently. The fact that people tend to live to older years also contributes to this projection. It is impossible to limit the extent to which the ageing population is increasing by controlling fertility and migration in this country. Statistics show that in the year 2007, 14.5 million of the entire population were people of ages less than 50 years. This shows that the older population was higher. It is important to note that the 14.5 million people who were young will be the older population by the year 2056. The older population in Australia includes people of age over 65 and over 85 years. Experts projects that this number of people over 85 years will increase by the year 2056 from 344,000 in the year 2007 to about 1.7 million people (Sheen 2000). This trend is posing as a challenge to the economic growth of this country because the older population depends solely on the younger population. This population is also non-productive because of their health status and cannot work. It is for this reason that experts explore the possibility of preventing ageing population. However, experts argue that ageing population is unavoidable because of the fertility rates and migration rates in this country. Increases in the fertility levels in 1960s and 1970s have attributed to the increasing ageing population in this country today. Projections indicate that the ageing of the population will continue in the years to come. Immigration beyond the current levels has a diminishing impact on the fight against slowing down the ageing population in this country. This means that ageing is a gradual process, therefore very little can be done about this issue. People who have migrated into the country when young will contribute to the older population some 30 or 40 years from now. Research shows that by the year 2036 more people will be retiring from the labour market than those who will be joining the same market. The government is, therefore, coming up effective policies on how to plan a framework to guide the migration program in the future of this country. By the year 2050, almost a quarter of the population in this country will be over 65 years in comparison to the current 13%. This implies that only 2.7 people of the working bracket will be in a good position to work for every citizen aged 65 years and above in comparison to the current 5 citizens (Holzmann 2009). This change will result to a slower growth of the Gross Domestic Product in the country. Experts argue that the living standards in the country will also go down. The country’s fiscal position will also go down because of the pressures in the structure of the budget. Issues impacting on the ageing population in Australia There are several factors that impact on the older population in this country. This is because this population are old and require so much attention from both the government and the community. The older population in Australia depend solely on the help of the government and the community for the survival. The ageing population faces many challenges that impact on the community and the country (Smentek 2006). Health challenges play the greatest part of the impacts because most of the old people in the country have chronic diseases. Others have the challenge of disability, therefore, demanding health services and care more than the rest of the population in the country. Shortage in the workforce is another impact of this population in Australia; hence causing a financial strain on the economy. The strain is brought about by the need to provide the support services to the older population. That means that the government will have to spend more than it is currently spending on the older generation because of their demands. Such demands include their health care services and feeding them because they are unable to work to support themselves. This means that the country will increase on spending than on revenues. The older population do not have the ability to work in the labour market. This means that they cannot earn a living by themselves because they do not earn any income to support themselves. The government and the community including family members have the responsibility to support them. The older population includes people of ages above 65 years, meaning that they are all retirees. Therefore, they cannot work because of their age and have to rely on financial support from family, the community and the government for their survival and living. The largest population of the old population have terminal illness because of the old age. That means that they have to get help of both financial to get treatment and support to live their normal lives despite the fact that they are old and sick. This makes them weak so they need nurses to help them in the day to day activities of their lives like washing, feeding and bathing. For instance, most of the people in this bracket have cancer; hence they need treatment and people to take good care of them (Nay & Garratt 2009). These terminal illnesses make the old weak and they lack the strength to carry out some activities like cleaning and washing in the house. The government has to set aside some funds to build and maintain homes that take care of the older population in the country. These homes also require paying for healthy costs for the sick older population. The community, government and well wishers take care of these homes in terms of providing financial support. Research shows that most of the old people in these homes have been neglected by their family members so they have no where to turn to. This means that the government incurs more expenses to take acre of this population more than revenues because they are non-productive. The expenses include paying nurses to take care of the old in the homes for the old. Statistics show that there are an increasing number of the homes for the old in Australia. The future health costs for the old in this country have increased since the year 1996. Experts estimate that this cost will continue increasing by the year 2051 because of the increasing number of the old by the same year (Smentek 2006). Experts advise the government to be prepared for these changes and implement policies that will accommodate the increasing number of the population. The increasing cost of health carte for this generation may lead to an economic drain of the country’s economy. This is because the government will spend more on expenses than it receives on revenues. The challenge of increased health cost may cause a debt by the year 2050. This means that the government may have to look for more citizens in other countries. The citizens from overseas will fill up the empty gaps in the labour market so that the economy of the country does not go down leaving the country in debt (Holzmann 2009). The immigrants will help pay for the increased costs of health care for the old in the country. The old population will demand for more health and aged care services from the government. Reports from the medical practitioners indicate that many people visiting the hospitals for treatment are the old aged population. This is because they are old, therefore, more prone to some of these illnesses like Diabetes, Blood pressure and Cancer among other diseases. Discussion of initiatives to address identified issues The government has the responsibility of addressing the above issues by using various methods with the aim of supporting the old and improving the economy. This is because the above issues might lead to a decline in the economic status of the government in case something is not done. The government in this country addresses these issues by using various methods. Such methods include formulation of relevant policies that favour both the older population in the country and its economy. Other measures that the government may use to address these issues include providing primary health care to the older population. All these policies are discussed in this paper. The government in this country has formulated policies that encourage health ageing among the citizens. The government has launched campaigns in the country to encourage health living to avoid some diseases related to poor feeding habits. Reduction in some of these diseases like Diabetes will mean that fewer people will be affected. Therefore, the old people can work in the labour market for a longer period of time. Reduction in such diseases will also reduce the cost of health care among the old in the country. A reduction in the health costs will reduce government spending, therefore, improving the economy of the country. Healthy ageing in the country saves on related expenses so that the government can invest such funds in another sector. The retirement years in Australia could also be increased so that people work for a longer period of time than before (Sheen 2000). Currently, the retirement age in the country is 65 years. This number can be increased to about 67 years so that they can work longer. This ensures that they are productive for longer years and reduce the dependency rate. This increase will ensure that the old people can be in the labour market for longer years; hence, contribute to more revenues. It will also reduce the number of years that an old person depends on the country for support financially. This is because old age does not necessarily imply unproductiveness among the old. Research shows that people in the age between 60 years and 67 years are fit to be in the labour market because they still have the energy to work. This means that they will work for an extra two years or so, therefore, reducing the dependency years by two years. These years indicate a reduction in the amount of money the government uses to take care of the old. A reduction in the cost implies that the government will save on the expenses; hence, improve on the economic status in the country. This trend will reduce shortage of workers in the country. Another strategy to address the above issues is to encourage migration overseas. This is done in a bid to increase a supply of workers in Australia. Encouraging migration will ensure that there is no deficit in the labour market so that there is a continuous supply of labour. Another policy is that of encouraging families in the country to have more children. Peter Costello is quoted saying that families should have more than tree children. He argues that one for the mum, the other for the dad and the third child for Australia. Peter argues that the increase in the ageing population in the country is partly as a result of small families in the country. The last generation has had a tendency of having small families of about two children. Discuss the role of the nurse as advocate and change agent in promoting health and empowering the older person. The nurse has a huge responsibility in ensuring that the older people in the country get proper health care and empowering them. The nurse acts as the advocate and change agent in achieving health among the older population and empowering this population. This is because of the roles that nurses play in the health care of the older population. Nurses have the role of taking care of the health needs of the old people (Holzmann 2009). They also play the role of empowering these people, encouraging them to live regardless of their age and their health state. Some of the ageing people view old age as a direct ticket to death; therefore, they do not pay much attention to their health conditions. Some argue that after all they will eventually die because they are already old. Therefore, the nurse in this case acts as the agent of empowering them and looking after their health. Nurses stay in the homes of the old, therefore, they spend most of the time with these old people. They understand best the needs of the old and the challenges they face in terms of their health conditions. This means that they arte agencies of the old people by airing their grievances to the public so that they assist the old. Nurses also empower these people by encouraging them to live. Research shows that some of the older population who have health conditions feel like they are a burden to their families and friends, the community and the government. Therefore, some of them get to a depression because they lack the moral support to move on with their lives after retirement and diseases. The nurse acts as agent of the older population because they have the duty to assist these people. For instance, they air their issues and grievances to their families or the government through media. Most families neglect the health responsibilities of the older persons because they view them as a burden. This results in many of the old people to be taken to homes for the old where the nurses have to take care of their health needs. It is in such cases that the nurse tries to reconcile the old with his or her family by empowering them to accept the situation and live positively. Conclusion The future of ageing population in Australia is increasing and projects indicate that in the next few years this population will be very large. However, there are policies that have been put in place to curb this situation and deal with the challenges it brings along. References Johnson, J. A & Stoskopf, C. H. (2010): Comparative health systems: global perspectives: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Holzmann, R. (2009): Aging population, pension funds and financial markets: regional perspectives and global challenges for central, eastern and south Europe: World Bank Publications. Smentek, D. (2006): managing an ageing workforce: the impact of an ageing population on the labour market and how employers can deal with related challenges: GRIN Verlag. Willis, E, Reynolds, L & Leleher, H. (2008): Understanding the Aust health care syst: Elsevier Australia. Sheen, V. 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