AGEING IN AMERICA
In the year 2013 (the latest year for which data is available), there were 44.7 million aged individuals in the United States (above the age of 65 years). The aged population consisted of 14.1% of the total population of US. In other words, approximately one in every seven citizens of America was aged (Administration for Community Living, 2016). For the purpose of the study about different racial groups in the US undergoing ageing, we will specifically discuss the Asian Americans and African Americans.
(The Older Asian Population in America, 2016)
As compared to the other ethnic groups of the US, the Asian Americans have higher life expectancy. in the year 2014, 4% of the total aged population consisted of the Asian Americans. This figure is estimated to reach 9% by the year 2060. Talking about exact numerical figures, there were 3039 Asians in America who crossed the age milestone of 100 years. 76% of the aged Asians had attained high school, whereas, 36% were graduates or had higher educational qualifications. 63% of the aged were married and living with their partners, 22% of the people were widows/ widowers, 6% were divorcees, 4% of the aged
were separated from their partners, and 5% never got married (Administration for Community Living, 2016).
The Asian Americans are a group of people belonging to different parts of Asia. They may belong to the Far East, Southeast part of Asia or the Indian Subcontinent. All the Asian Americans share common cultural values, traditional values and they respect interpersonal relationships and bonds a lot. There are wide differences among the cultural and social values among the Native Americans and the Asian Americans. They have different sets of beliefs, values, traditions, foods, languages and so on. The differences are often hard to adjust with. The situation is more difficult for the ageing population. The aged immigrants find it quite hard to accept the ideologies of the western world, the younger generations are still open to the changes but the older ones are too resistant and unwilling to adapt. This creates an unavoidable generation gap and the life becomes more troublesome for the aged people.
Health becomes a major issue for the Asian Americans that they need to face in their daily lives in the US. Being immigrants, they are not eligible for the Medicaid. The soaring cost of the medical facilities burns a hole in their pockets. They often have to survive with the disease as they are unable to afford the treatment. The Asian Americans already find it hard to cope with the high cost of living in the US as compared to their native states. In addition to that, the increasing cost of medical facilities increases their troubles further. Many of the aged Asian Americans live in houses that are substandard, most of them do not have medical insurances, and they lack transportation facilities to the medical centers also (Aahiinfo.org, 2016). Some of the common diseases that Asian Americans suffer from are cancer, heart diseases, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. Many of these aged individuals often develop suicidal tendencies too.
Cancer care for the aged Asian Americans becomes quite difficult. They are multiple factors which make it difficult to avail the care facilities. These factors are poor economic status, lack of medical insurance, lack of education, recent immigrants, and linguistic and cultural differences. The language barrier makes it difficult to explain the facts about treatment procedures, side effects and self- care. They often remain ignorant and the conditions become more and more dangerous with each passing day. Diseases like diabetes, hypertension and heart diseases also go through similar difficulties when it comes to managing them.
The commonest mental disease that aged Asian Americans suffer from is depression. This depression then leads to the development of suicidal thoughts quite often. The Asian Americans are less likely to confess about their depression and suicidal thoughts as compared to the other ethnic groups in America. The language barrier often prevents the aged Asian Americans from visiting the counsellors and seeking help for their mental diseases. Therefore, a majority of these cases remain undiagnosed and untreated. Similar problems are faced by the Alzheimer’s patients. They also find it difficult to communicate with others and seek help, thus, the situation worsens further (American Society on Aging, 2016).
Most of the Asian Americans migrate to the US for a better life for their children and better job opportunities. They take their aged parents along with them. Due to the lack of educational qualifications required to bag a good job in the US, they often have to settle for low paying meagre jobs till they reach the retirement age. In the Asian culture, the aged people are taken care of their children and grandchildren. People usually reside together in a single household along with multiple generations of the same family. But the culture in the US is completely different. Children here are encouraged to step out of the house at an early age and earn for their survival. The high cost of living here leaves no time for the adults to spare time for their aged parents. The aged parents are thus left with no chance than staying alone. This becomes a great trauma for them. Being old, they are very rigid about their culture and traditions. The scenario they have to face there is completely opposite to the one that is practiced in their culture (Hardock, 2013).
Another important ethnic group in America is of the African Americans. In the year 2014, 9% of the aged population of America consisted of the African Americans. By the year 2060, this ratio is expected to rise up to 12%. The numbers of African Americans who have crossed the age bar of 100 are 8582. 74% of the aged people are high school educated and 17% are graduates or more qualified. 37% of them are married, 31% are widows/ widowers, 16% are divorcees, 5% are separated and 11% of them never got married (Administration for Community Living, 2016).
(The older Black Population: Present, Past and Future, 2016)
According to health experts, African Americans are 7.5 years biologically older than they actually appear when compared to their white counterparts. The reason for this can be extreme stress faced by them (Joiner, 2013). African Americans are often subjected to racial discriminations in the US. They have to face a lot of humiliation and insult due to their skin color. This leads to acceleration of the ageing process in them. Studies have shown that the African Americans who have been subjected to racial discrimination have shorter telomeres. These telomeres are the biomarkers of ageing and their shortening corresponds to rapid ageing process (Haiken, 2014).
Like the Asian Americans, the African Americans are also equally family oriented people. Their lives revolve around their family members. The closely knit relationships in these minority groups strengthen the bonds between them. The elderly people in the families are the pillars who provide support to the rest of the family and in turn are taken care of by other members of the household. The cultural integrity lies in every bit of their households and they take great pride in that.
The African American aged people are also equally prone to the diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and so on. Most of the aged people have at least one of the chronic disorders; some may even have more than one at the same time. The chances of having a disease and living with it are almost similar for all the ethnic groups in the world especially when it comes to the elderly population.
In a paper of the Center for Social Services Research, the whole idea of the ageing minority in the US was discussed at a great length. The paper discusses two hypotheses that describe minority ageing. The hypotheses are specifically termed as “Double Jeopardy” which states that the elders belonging to the minority communities living in the US are at a double disadvantage. They are bound to face issues regarding both health and economic matters. The main causes of discrimination against them are the fact they belong to a minority community in the US and also that they fall into the category of the aged people.
The rates of morbidity and mortality are higher among the minority elders as compared to the Natives of the US. The reason for such occurrence can be attributed to the higher rates of smoking, poor educational levels, poor socioeconomic conditions, inadequate housing, and decreased or no accessibility to health care (Scharlach, 2016).
The role of the elderly people in the families has been changing over the years. From the young caregivers, they grow into care seekers. They become dependent on the other family members emotionally, physically and economically. Their need for love and support increase manifold post retirement. Their ailing health and losing economic stability make them more vulnerable and they tend to seek support from the younger generation.
The most important challenge that the world has to face when it comes to the elderly is their health issues. Diseases are bound to occur after a person crosses a particular age milestone. It is important to ensure a proper and healthy adulthood in order to have a relatively healthier old age. Proper care taken at the young age will reduce the health troubles in the aged people. Particularly in the US, the aged people should get medical insurance coverage in order to secure their life and health. Irrespective of their native countries, the elderly individuals should be allowed to avail the Medicaid benefits at a nominal cost. The linguistic differences need to be bridged and more competent and supportive medical staff should be appointed to deal with this weaker age group with great compassion and love. They have supported us when we needed them, now it is our turn to return the favour.
References
Aahiinfo.org,. (2016). Asian American Health Initiative. Retrieved 4 February 2016, from http://www.aahiinfo.org/english/asianAmericans.php
Administration for Community Living,. (2016). A Statistical Profile of Older Asian Americans Aged 65+. Retrieved 4 February 2016, from http://www.aoa.acl.gov/Aging_Statistics/minority_aging/Facts-on-API-Elderly2008-plain_format.aspx
Administration for Community Living,. (2016). A Statistical Profile of Black Older Americans Aged 65+. Retrieved 4 February 2016, from http://www.aoa.acl.gov/Aging_Statistics/minority_aging/Facts-on-Black-Elderly-plain_format.aspx
Administration for Community Living,. (2016). Aging Statistics. Retrieved 4 February 2016, from http://www.aoa.acl.gov/aging_statistics/index.aspx
American Society on Aging,. (2016). Addressing Health Disparities Among Older Asian Americans: Data and Diversity | American Society on Aging. Retrieved 4 February 2016, from http://www.asaging.org/blog/addressing-health-disparities-among-older-asian-americans-data-and-diversity
Haiken, M. (2014). Racism May Speed Aging In African American Men. Forbes Welcome. Retrieved 4 February 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2014/01/07/racism-may-speed-up-aging-in-african-american-men/#5b093d886ade
Hardock, D. (2013). Nowhere to Go; Ageing and Isolation in the Asian-American Community - Asian Fortune. Asian Fortune. Retrieved 4 February 2016, from http://www.asianfortunenews.com/2013/06/nowhere-to-go-ageing-and-isolation-in-the-asian-american-community/
Joiner, L. (2013). Black May Not Crack, but We’re Aging Faster Inside. The Root. Retrieved 4 February 2016, from http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2013/11/black_women_and_health_extreme_stress_causes_accelerated_biological_aging.html
Scharlach, A. (2016). Center for Social Services Research: CSSR Research Units: CASAS: Related Links: Curriculum Module on Aging and Ethnicity. Center for Social Services Research. Retrieved 5 February 2016, from http://cssr.berkeley.edu/research_units/casas/links_details_curricula_ethnicity.html
The Older Asian Population in America. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.aoa.acl.gov/Aging_Statistics/minority_aging/images/pop-asian-2104-2060.gif
The older Black Population: Present, Past and Future. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.aoa.acl.gov/Aging_Statistics/minority_aging/images/pop-black-2104-2060.gif
