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Friday, December 30, 2011

Misconceptions about Older People

                              
                                
In our society, fear of aging abounds. It is no wonder given the predominant and persistently negative views about growing old. This reality is particularly troublesome given the extended vitality and health currently enjoyed by older adults. 
The older views in society related to older age are not based on reality. In our Society, the term old is often synonymous with frail. In fact, people, no matter how old, are not seen as “old” until they are frail.  Research, however, suggests a different story. Only 8% of older women and 4% of older men, aged 65 or older require help with activities of daily living, which include bathing, dressing, eating, etc. Only 30% of older community-dwelling adults experienced a fall over the course of the year, with only 10-20% experiencing multiple falls, which is one indicator of frailty (James & Besen, 2010).  Manton and his colleagues (2006) reported that only 78% of older people above 75-84 age groups are non-disabled i.e. few are frail.

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