Health

• STATISTICS:

  • The elderly suffer from increased healthcare costs. Making them have to pay for additional support eg buying scooters
  • The impact of Covid-19 was worse for the elderly. This was due to the higher rates of deaths and the long-lasting impacts such as loneliness, poor diets and a lack of exercise. Leading to an increase in issues such as dementia.
  • EHRC found that many middle-aged couples were struggling to take care off their children as well as their elderly parents. (having to take care of older parents can be a great stress on the rest of the family)
• Greengross suggests that the elderly are disadvantaged when regarding their health because of?


  Institutional ageism (in the NHS) — Found evidence that for illnesses that the elderly commonly suffer from doctors do not view and treat them with the same seriousness as other illnesses. eg older people suffering from cancer vs younger patients (wouldn't act with the same speed and severity)
• Lievesly added to Greengross' suggestion, pointing out what?


  Adds that doctors are more likely to assume that older patients are not physically strong enough to handle major operations which can in turn save them from having to go through with life-saving surgeries. (which are more risky)
• Arber

  Found that elderly men who lived on their own were less likely to go to the doctor and were more likely to delay seeking help. Older divorced or never-married men are more likely to have poor diets and smoke which leads to additional health concerns.
• Grundy & Heneretta

  Argues that middle-aged women often suffer from the “burden of dependency”. This means they become the main carers of elderly relatives and at times give up their careers to perform this role. This then extends to elderly women who are likely to be carers of their husbands as they experience ill health.
• Which sociologists give reasons for why elderly people's health are at a greater disadvantage than other age groups?

  1. Greengross = institutional ageism within the NHS (an elderly person's illness isn't treated as important as a younger person's)
  2. Lievesly = doctors are more likely to assume that older patients are not physically strong enough to handle major operations
  3. Arber = elderly men who lived on their own were less likely to go to the doctor and were more likely to delay seeking help