Problems of the Elderly INTRODUCTION Background of the Stud

Two basic reasons are commonly cited for the "graying" of the American population. According to Schneider and Guralnik (1990), these reasons are: (1) the high birthrates of the late 1800s and the early to mid 1900s (combined with high immigration rates); and (2) the extension in life expectancy that has arisen from advances in medicine and medical technology.

Although most older and elderly people are in relatively good health, both physical and mental health problems become more frequent with age (United States Department of Health and Human Services, 1990). And, while most older people live in the community (99 percent of people ages 65 to 75 and 80 percent of people over 85 years), there is a small percentage who suffer confusion, forgetfulness and personality changes that seriously impairs their ability to function. Regarding this percentage, Papalia and Olds (1995) report that:

The general term for such apparent intellectual deterioration is dementia. The word "senili

. . .
d memory and declining cognitive functioning as revealed by conditions such as aphasia (language disturbance), apraxia (inability to carry out motor activities despite intact comprehension and motor function), agnosia (failure to recognize or identify objects despite intact sensory function), and/or disturbances in planning, organizing and abstracting in thought processes. It is common for people with dementia to forget to finish tasks, or to be unable to recall the names of significant others, and past events. The condition is usually characterized by gradual onset and continuing cognitive decline (Read, 1991). In a comprehensive review of the literature on dementia, Agronin (1994) reported that the condition can range from very mild impairment to severe cognitive disfunction; however, Agronin notes that most prevalence research indicates that about 1.5 million Americans suffer from severe dementia with an additional 1 to 5 million having mild to moderate forms of the disorder. Although dementia is most often encountered in older and elderly populations, only a small fraction of older people actually develop the syndrome (Agronin, 1994; Dawe, Procter & Philpot, 1992). Specifically, about five percent of older people de
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Indeed Skipwith, Katona Orrell, Procter Philpot, Mean Age, Figure Test, LITERATURE Introduction, Papalia Olds, Depression Quality, Section Summary, AD Five, dementia depression, home care, depression scale, cognitive impairment, depression elderly, depression dementia, diagnostic criteria, geriatric depression, geriatric depression scale, research related, mean age =, cognitively intact, related diagnosis assessment, research related diagnosis, papalia olds 1995,
Approximate Word count = 9475
Approximate Pages = 38 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Problems of the Elderly INTRODUCTION Background of the Stud