What is the

impact of
aging
population
 Facts
 According to the Global
Health and Aging report
presented by the World
Health Organization (WHO),
“The number of people
aged 65 or older is projected
to grow from an estimated
524 million in 2010 to nearly
1.5 billion in 2050, with most
of the increase in developing
countries.”
So what is the impact of this aging
population
Impact of Aging to
the Family
 Psychological effects

 Negative psychological effects of caregiving span a

continuum ranging from the perception that
caregiving is stressful or burdensome, to symptoms of
depression and/or anxiety, to clinical depression
diagnosed by a health professional, to impaired
quality of life (Schulz and Sherwood, 2008; Zarit et al.,
1980).
 psychological distress among caregivers compared
with non-caregiver comparison groups (Capistrant,
2016; Wolff et al., 2016).
 The prevalence of negative
psychological effects among caregivers
indicates that large segments of the
caregiving population experience
adverse effects. For example, 26
percent of all caregivers and 29 percent
of those caring for the most disabled
older adults reported substantial
emotional difficulties in NSOC (Spillman
et al., 2014).
 Depression – Family caregiver depressive symptoms
and anxiety persist when the care recipient moves to
a long-term care facility with similar severity as when
they were providing in-home care, and antianxiety
medication use has been found to increase before
and after placement (Schulz et al., 2004).
 Among cancer caregivers, 25 percent reported
clinically meaningful levels of depressive symptoms 2
years after the care recipient’s diagnosis (Girgis et al.,
2013; Kim et al., 2014).
 Other
studies

 Two studies highlight how person, family, and context-

level characteristics matter in the experience of
caregivers who care for elderly family members.
 Study main findings
The first study examined responses of
caregivers when faced with care-related
stressors. This study showed that caregivers
with low levels of support and high numbers of
non-care related stressors experience daily
care-related stressors more intensely.
Findings
Family members attending to the person
experienced higher levels of: depressive symptoms
(e.g., lacked enthusiasm, cried easily, or felt like
crying) feelings of burden (e.g., lack of time for self,
guilt over not doing more for care recipient)
physical health symptoms (e.g., headache,
dizziness, and tightness in chest)
The second study examined how familism
beliefs influence Hispanic caregivers’ responses
to family conflict/disagreements about the care
situation. This study found that stronger familism
beliefs increase negative responses to daily
care-related family disagreements as seen in
greater depressive and physical symptoms.
Finding
64% of these Hispanic
caregivers reported
that they experienced
at least one family
conflict/disagreement
about care in the 8 survey days.
Physical difficulties

 Exhaustion especially at night

 More things to do than they can handle
 The family member caring for the aged parent
has no valuable time to themselves
 self-care activities e.g. bathing, dressing, eating,
toileting, and getting in and out of bed
 The time demands of caregiving often limit the
opportunity to engage in other activities
 Family members caring for the elderly parents reported
poorer health and a worse primary care individual
experience compared with non-caregiver individuals with
similar demographics, including age, gender, ethnicity, and
level of social deprivation (Persson et al., 2015).
 In NSOC, 20 percent of all caregivers and 39 percent of
caregivers of high-need older adults reported that they
experienced a substantial level of physical difficulty.
 Sleep problems affected more than 40 percent of
caregivers and were highly correlated with reports of
substantial negative effects of caregiving (Spillman et al,
2014).
 In the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), Capistrant and colleagues
(2012) found that being a spousal caregiver independently predicted
incident cardiovascular disease. Longer-term caregivers had twice the
risk of short-term caregivers. However, this effect was observed only
among whites, not among non-whites.
 Ji and colleagues (2012) reported similar results for spousal caregivers
of persons with cancer. After cancer diagnosis in their spouse, the risk of
coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke were higher in both husband
and wife caregivers when compared to husbands and wives without an
affected spouse.
 prevalent physical problems included sleep disturbance, fatigue, pain,
loss of physical strength, loss of appetite, and weight loss (Stenberg et
al., 2010).
 Positive psychological effects

 Most common are caregiving rewards or

benefits include: appreciation of life,
personal growth, enhanced self-efficacy,
competence or mastery, self-esteem, and
closer relationships (Haley et al., 2009; J. H.
Kim et al., 2007; Y. Kim et al., 2007).
 It also instills confidence, provide meaning
and purpose in life, enhance skills, and bring
the caregiver closer to the older adult.
 Impact of Aging
Population on Society
 Aging population and society

 Slows down the gross domestic product of country

 More taxes because it’s expensive to maintain elderly people (ill
health and disability due to disease)
 Demand more care in terms of support system like taking care of
their hygiene activities, food, crossing roads, run daily errands
e.t.c.
 Decreased participation rates (amount of people in the
workforce
 Increased dependency rates (ratio of older people to younger
people)
 Increased fiscal gap (amount of money being spent by
government on various sectors)
 Positive Impacts
 Some elderly are physically and mentally healthy, can make
positive contributions to society by working and continue to pay
taxes
 Can do volunteering services to the community substantially
minimizing government expenditure on welfare
 Can be the center of family cohesiveness
 Aid their families with childcare and find satisfaction in providing
various other charitable services
 Transmitting generational values and beliefs
Impact of Aging population
on Healthcare
 According to the Office of Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion, the first Baby Boomers (those
born between 1946 and 1964) turned 65 in 2011.
 By 2030, it is projected that more than 60% of this
generation will be managing more than 1 chronic
condition.
 Managing these chronic conditions, along with a
patient’s level of disability, will increase the
financial demands on our health care system.
American Hospital Association, 2011
The cost increases with the number of chronic conditions being
treated, taking into account the expected twice as many
hospital admissions and physician visits for Baby Boomers by
2030
 WHO Report
 According to the WHO report, some believe that as life
expectancy increases, the prevalence of disability will
decrease because the progress made in medicine that
has slowed down disease progression from chronic
disease to disability (WHO, 2012).
 As a result, there will be a decrease in severe disability,
but there will be increases in milder chronic diseases.
 Other researchers, however, believe that as life
expectancy increases, the prevalence of disability will
increase (Suzman, 2015)

National Institute on Aging

 Health conditions that are expected to be a
challenge to the health care system with the
increasing aging population include:

Cance
rs
Increas 27 m Demen
e 2030 tia
in falls 115m
350,000 Healthca 2050
Obesit re
y System Diabet
34% es
more 46m
Normal 2030
weight CVD
 Expected challenges to the
healthcare system

 Resource needs will continue to increase

across all health care settings
 The incidence of obesity will continue to
increase
 A shortage of health care professionals is
expected
 The diversity of caregivers lags behind the
growing diversity of patients
 Care has been focused on a single disease
versus addressing comorbidity
 The sustainability and structure of federal
programs in relation to the increasing aging
population are a concern
 Changes in family structure may lead to
fewer family caregivers
 Adapting and adjusting to the Affordable
Care Act pose challenges
Impact of Aging to the
Economy
 Increase in dependency ratio
More pension less workforce
Increased government spending on health
care and pensions
 Aging population & Economy

 Decreases growth in GDP per capita by

5.5%. Two-thirds of the reduction in GDP
growth is driven by a reduction in the
rate of growth of GDP per worker, or
labor productivity, while only one-third is
due to slowing labor force growth
(National Research Council, 2012;
Burtless, 2013)
 Those in work may have to pay higher taxes
 Shortage of workers
 Changing sectors within the economy. An increase in
the numbers of retired people will create a bigger
market for goods and services linked to older people
(e.g. retirement homes)
 Higher savings for pensions may reduce capital
investment. If society is putting a higher % of income
into pension funds, it could reduce the amount of
savings available for more productive investment,
leading to lower rates of economic growth.
Impact of Aging to the
Individual
 Social isolation as adult
Worthlessness children are engaged in
their own lives

 Some elderly people

experience loneliness and
depression in old age,
either as a result of living
alone or due to lack of
close family ties.
 Loneliness from losing a
spouse and friends
 Inability to independently
manage regular activities
of living
 Difficulty coping and accepting physical changes of aging (Vision,
sexual function, hearing loss)
 Frustration with ongoing medical problems and increasing number of
medications
 Feeling inadequate from inability to continue to work
 Boredom from retirement and lack of routine activities
 Financial stresses from the loss of regular income

These factors can have a negative impact on overall health of an

older individual
My aim as a
health promoter
Thank you