Comparison of Two Cohorts of Older Australians - Coursework Example

Comparison of Two Cohorts of Older Australians Submitted by: [Client’s Name] Submitted to: [Professor’s Name] [Subject] Ageing is generally viewed from two perspectives – ageing of individuals and ageing of populations. How a population age is viewed from a demographic perspective whereas individual ageing is viewed from a social perspective. Different societies view ageing differently. Some societies are more fatalistic when it comes to age and ageing, accepting aged people graciously and happily as they constitute the pillars of their societies; whereas other societies see old age and aged people as an inevitable economic loss that is a burden to their generation mainly because old people no longer have economic values and are very expensive to maintain. As majority of today’s old people are from the baby boomer generation of the 1940s to mid 1960s (ABS, 1996), present societies are facing the big problem of preparing for all the issues associated with ageing. Australians ages 65 years old and older is going to be the fastest growing cohort and this fact presents a lot of significant problems in the long run (Roe n.d.). Australia generally classifies people from 55 years old and above as old whereas the retirement age of 65 is considered as the benchmark age for old people (ABS 1996). People from 65 years old up to 75 years old belong to the baby boomer generation. This age bracket is also considered as young-old Australians. On the other hand, elderly people from 75 years old and beyond are considered old-old Australians. This paper will identify, compare, and contrast the demographic characteristics of these two cohorts of older Australians, evaluate how the general Australian society accepts these two cohorts, and determine the issues faced by these two cohort generations. In 2005, the population of Australians more than 65 years old is estimated to be about 2.6 million or 19%of the population with an expected growth rate of 26% in 2051 (ABS 2005). Both male and female Australians ages 65 and older rank third in terms of highest life expectancy among OECD countries (ABS 2004). Fifty percent (52%) of the older people in 2006 belong to the young-old population (OAG n.d.). Both young-old and old-old Australians experience poorer health status, high rates of disability, and long-term health issues although about 32% of people ages 65 and beyond reported that they feel good about their health and 36% reported excellent health conditions. The leading causes of death for persons older than 65 years old are diseases of the circulatory system and malignant neoplasm (ABS 2005). Young-old Australians are more commonly known as the baby boomers. This generation is made up of individuals that were born after the Second World War and are responsible for the development of the modern Australian economy and society. This generation is economically well-off compared to their parents who were born earlier (McCallum 2000)It can be argued that present Australian societies look up with respect to this generation but are more concerned with the pressing social problems this generation may potentially bring to Australians in the long run. Most young-old Australians are living an independent life away from their immediate families. A large percentage of young-old Australians live alone in households and in cared accommodation. It is further noted that the number of Australians living alone increases as the age bracket moves up. Only about 6.5% of the young-old Australians are housed in accommodations for the elderly, the rest of the young-old Australians are living on houses separate from their immediate families or in dwellings apart from the accommodations for the elderly (ABS 2005; McCallum 2000). This trend can be explained by the fact that the children of these young-old Australians are now settled with their families and some of them are already widows and widowers. About 23% of the people aged 65-74 were hospitalized in the past 12 months. Forty-five percent (45%) of this bracket had a reported disability and 22% reported to have severe core activity limitations. About 25% of Australians ages 65-74 are obese (Chapman 2008). Despite the health concerns of the young-old Australians, many of them are still reluctant to retire from work and they reinvent the meaning of retirement (Warren, 2008). Young-old Australians live active lifestyles and actually love the dynamic life. The economic conditions of this generation are able to support the lifestyles they live. Most of those from this generation were able to create big companies, establish good businesses, and make good fortunes when they were on their youths. This trend is even more apparent when the global economy hit low in early 2008. Young-old Australians were able to support themselves quite well compared to those from generation X and Y. Although a significant percentage of the young-old Australians participate in various economic activities, their economic outputs are significantly less compared to the economic outputs of the younger generation (Roe, 2009). The old-old Australians, or those who belong to the age bracket 75 years and beyond, on the other hand do not live the wealthy lives average young-old Australians live. This is partly because this generation is characterized by the poverty and the economic suffering present during the Second World War. Unlike their children who were able to make things happen socially and financially, not a huge number of this age bracket was able to succeed in their financial endeavors. Objectively speaking, Australia as a society perceives this age group as an economic loss (Roe, 2009). The participation rate of people ages 75 and beyond is nil if not zero. People from this age bracket are no longer capable to become productive and self sustaining. While individuals from this age bracket no longer contribute to the economic growth of the country, the government and the present society spends time, money, and effort to protect and ensure the welfare of these individuals. In other words, this age bracket is generally considered as an economic expense for the Australian society. Independent living is more common in old-old Australians compared to the young-old. More than 50% of old-old Australians live in separate houses, some 19.5% live in unspecified private accommodations for the elderly while 10.2% stays in nursing homes. Only about 3.2% of the old-old Australians live in non-private accommodation homes for the elderly (McCallum, 2000). Most of the people from this age bracket no longer have someone to survive them or have been isolated themselves for long enough that they no longer desire to get back to their families. Another reason why most of the Australians from this age bracket prefer to be alone is that they do not want to become a burden to their immediate family and would prefer to suffer alone (Roe 2009). Old-old Australians are more susceptible to diseases. A published report from Sydney Old Persons Study shows that people age 75 or higher experience multiple physical diseases and impairments (AAG nd). According to this report, 70% of old-old Australians suffer from arthritis, 45% from heart disease, 20% from lung disease, 16% from stroke, and 14% from obesity. Loss of balance, gait and posture also constitute of what old-old Australians health concerns are. Old-old Australians depend largely on the government and their existing families for health care and financial supports. Compared to the young-old Australians and the old-old Australians, the late baby boomers or those who were born from the 1950s to the 1960s less likely are economic and social burdens. Majority of the late baby boomers are parts of the current workforce, producing and earning enough to sustain themselves and their families in the near future. Unlike the old-old Australians, the late baby boomers do not require the help of the civil government for their health and medical conditions. Taking the social demographics of old Australians is taking the age bracket of gap of more than 40 years. This is the reason why understanding the specific needs, social capabilities, economic productivity, and health care concerns of Australians in old age are very important. If taken from a generic, subjective view, one can easily argue that there is no difference between a 65 year-old person and an 85 year-old person but a closer examination reveals a lot of differences. As was discussed, their needs, their perspectives, and their perception vary widely. For one thing, older people require more from the society in terms of time, money, and effort but they do not produce anything so the burden is transferred to the younger generations. Younger generations are complaining about the fact that they will be responsible for the lives of the old people. Understanding the demographic differences between young-old and old-old Australians allow various stakeholders to create and design the appropriate steps that would allow them to plan for the future of the country, the economy, and the future of these individuals. Looking at this age bracket as a single form may not be the most appropriate thing to be done considering the wide difference in their needs, contributions, social and health care issues and concerns, and a lot of factors. By defining, analyzing, and evaluating the disparity of the needs of the old people of Australia, the Australian government can prepare itself for the worst things that are to confront it in the future. References Australian Association of Gerontology. (n.d.). Ageing Well, Ageing Productively. NH&MRC/ARC Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2006), Population by Age and Sex, Australia, June 2005, cat. no. 3235.0.55.001, ABS, Canberra. Australian Bureau of Statistics 2005, Population Projections, Australia, 2004-2101, cat. no. 3222.0, ABS, Canberra. Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2004). Disability, Ageing and Carers: Summary of Findings, Australia, 2003, cat. no. 4430.0, ABS, Canberra. Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2002). Demography – South Australia. , Catalogue No. 3311.4.55.001, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra. Australian Bureau of Statistics (1996). 1995 – 2051, Projections of the Population of Australia, States and Territories, Catalogue No. 3222.0, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra. Chapman, I. (2008). Obesity in Old Age. Korbonits M(ed): Obesity and Metabolism. Front Horm Res. Basel, Karger, 2008, vol 36, pp 97–106 McCallum, A. (2000). What Will We do with the Baby Boomers. Presented in 10th Biennial Conference of the Australian Population Association. Older Australia at a Glance (OAG). (n.d). Demographic Profile. Retrieved online http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/age/oag04/oag04-c01.pdf on August 23, 2009 Roe, R. (2009). The Economic Impact of Australia’s Ageing Population. CEDA. Retrieved online http://ceda.com.au/public/research/ageing/ageing_parker.html on August 24, 2009 Warren, L. (2008). Retired and Ready to Go: Baby Boomers Create Active Retirement Lifestyle Trends. Utah Business. Retrieved online http://www.allbusiness.com/society-social-assistance-lifestyle/work-leisure-lifestyle/11731204-1.html on August 24, 2009 Read More