Age as Culture in Health Care Client Diversity in Health Sciences John Heilmann, PhD, CCC-SLP Older adults in America 2005 2030 37 million 70 million 12% of population 20% of population How do we view the elderly?  Different views of elderly across cultures American/Western attitudes towards older adults   Older adults typically separated from children  Often responsible for own care  Often live in retirement communities/long-term care facilities Attitudes may come from “Protestant work ethic”  Work hard, get ahead  When you can’t work any more, lose value to society Other cultures  In other cultures, more “respect” for older adults  Children have responsibility for taking care of parents  Examples  Korea, Celebrate later birthdays (60 & 70 are milestones & celebrated)  Japan, role reversal (children take care of parents)  Latin cultures, multi-generations living together Your experience  Have you given attitudes towards aging much thought?  What are examples where you have seen family members taking care of older adults? Examples of high levels of respect?  What are examples where you have seen older adults not as well taken care of, or on their own? Examples of lower respect? Assignment part 1  Describe how typical American attitudes towards older adults can lead to implicit biases. That is….  Provide an example of a negative attitude towards older adults  Describe how a provider’s implicit bias based on the above attitude could negatively impact the healthcare that an older adult receives Healthcare in older adults Utilization of healthcare  Older adults responsible for 1/3 of all national health care spending (13% of population)  Universal healthcare through medicare, though….. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGqoxJCTTxg Chronic diseases associated with age  examples include Arthritis, diabetes, asthma, heart disease, cancer, and dementia – the leading cause of illness, disability and death.  Persistent and recurring health consequences that exist over a long period and are usually irreversible How aging affect health  Stiffening blood vessels (heart, stroke)  Shrinking bones, weakening muscles  Large intestine restructuring (constipation)  Loosening bladder/prostate changes  Decreased metabolism 5 How aging affects mental health   Changes to thinking and memory  Forget names  Difficult to multi-task Risk for mental health issues due to multiple factors  Decrease in health  Bereavement  Drop in socioeconomic status What is dementia?  Deterioration in memory, thinking, and behavior  Progressive and non-reversible  Also called Alzheimer’s  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITU1OBMp_wQ  Assignment part 2  Identify a health condition that may affect older adults (e.g., dementia, heart disease, stroke).  Using the implicit bias from part 1, think about how the provider’s bias could make the impact of the health condition even worse Promoting healthy aging UWM Center for Aging  https://uwm.edu/catr/ What can be done to promote healthy aging? 6  Maintaining a strong social life & being connected to community  Keeping physically active  Keeping mentally active  Healthy eating  Living with purpose  Preventative healthcare Assignment Part 3: Describe how regular involvement in on of the “healthy aging” activities may improve the outcomes for your patient …