Health Aspects of Aging: The Experience of Growing Old

Aging has become an important issue because of dramatic changes in life expectancy. Advances in medical knowledge, combined with better dietary and sanitary measures, have led to an increase in longevity. As people live longer, they use more health care services due to the increased incidence of disease and disability which has massive implications on health policy. A multidisciplinary approach is essential for the understanding of aging and for effective management of chronic disease. The key issues interspersed within this text include biological changes, environmental features, and the potential introduction of technological interventions. The chapters in this book address these issues from the perspectives of diverse disciplines and professional viewpoints. The importance of scientific research to uncover preventive measures against disease originated the establishment of Centers for the Study of Aging. Such studies are significant to age changes, population shifts, and the provision of services to match population changes. Changes in demography, and in the social construct of the environment in the future, will add yet another dimension to the responsibilities of health and social services. Society and health professionals need to prepare and to plan for an older population that will experience a shift in roles from programmed activity to leisure or voluntary activity, to a new career, to retraining, and to a variety of options with respect to life-styles and living environments. This book will be of interest and great value to biologists, sociologists, psychologists, social workers, and health administrators.