Our Body, Ourselves Chapter 21 Overview

1. ~ Chapter 21 ~
~ Our Later Years ~
By Chheary Keath
HE 210
Due: 8/3/14

2. A great quote by Ashton Applewhite
“We call people out for racist
and sexist attitudes, but
few blink at the suggestion
that older people are
befuddled or disabled or
dependent or creepy, even
repulsive. After all, that's
how people over 65 tend to
be depicted in
entertainment and
advertising (if they make
an appearance at all).”

3. The New Old Age
●
Our life spans
extend decades
beyond those of
previous
generations
– 1900-2007: Life
expectancy
increased from
48 to 87 years
for women
●
2030: All baby
boomers at least 65
years old; 20%
population will be 65
or older
●
Increase in elder
numbers increases
press for social policies
that improve lives of all
women

4. Aging Has Become Feminized
●
Quality of life
dependent on many
factors:
− Health
− Losses
suffered
− Finances
− Living
arrangements
●
Most of us will
experience loss, illness
and increased
dependency on others
− Need to
incorporate this
into reality and
find ways to
plan for and
cope with these
challenges

5. Our Bodies in Context
●
Some cultures value and honor older
people
− However US society is ageist; Idealizes,
marginalizes and segregates older adults
●
Women are still valued mostly for their
reproductive and sexual capacity
− Vulnerable to age discrimination at an
earlier age than men

6. Continued....
●
Advertisements play on
and exaggerate our
fears and anxieties
about the natural
changes in our bodies
as we age
●
Women are more likely
to be put down for
things that are admired
or ignored in older men
− Pride in our
achievements
− Having wrinkles
on our faces
− Extra weight on
our bones

7. Relationships: Maintaining Connections
As we grow older
− Create new
patterns and
adjust to
changes
− Assess
relationships:
Whether to stay
and work on it or
leave (divorce)
●
Family relationships
shift and change
− Becoming
grandmother,
grandaunts, or
godmothers
− Extending
family to
include
childrens'
spouses
families

8. Relationships cont....
●
Social connections
have a positive
effect on our health
●
Bonding and
renewing bonds
even with pets
− Improve well-
being and
longevity

9. Dealing with Loss
●
Many women live
longer than their male
spouse or partners
− Often by a
decade or more
●
Widowed women
− 25% between
65-74 years of
age
− 52.5%
between 75-
84 years of
age
− 76% 85 years
and older

10. Aging and Health:
Preventative Measures
Taking Care of Ourselves by making changes that are
within our powers
◆
Start or continue exercising: Improves chronic
conditions, Lower BP, improves sleep/bowel function
and mental ability
◆
Engage your mind: Stimulate brain activity
◆
Get to bed: Require same amount of sleep as younger
adults
◆
Schedule a checkup: Preventative screening tests

11. Sexuality
With good communication, deeper under-
standing of needs and creativity
- We can continue to give and receive pleasure
- Many women enjoy sex more in middle/later years

12. Sexuality cont....
Sexual feelings depend more on how we feel about
our bodies and our relationships than our age
Inhibitions often lessen with age; more freedom to
experiment in relationships or to be more open
about them
- Not everyone wants to be sexual
• Example: 73 year old widow who has not
felt a desire like the one for her husband
so has no need for it

13. Factors that Affect Sexuality
Physical changes
- Decreased blood flow to
genitas
- Lower levels of estrogen
and testosterone
- Thinning of vaginal lining
- Loss of vaginal elasticity
and muscle tone
Desire – Decreased
libido, Fewer sexual
thoughts and fantasies
Arousal – Slower,
Reduced vaginal
lubrication, Less
expansion of vagina,
Less blood congestion in
clitoris/lower vagina,
Diminished clitoral
sensitivity

14. Other Factors that Affect
Sexuality
Orgasm
- Delayed or absent
- Less intense
- Fewer and sometimes
painful uterine
contractions
Resolution
- Body returns more rapidly
to a nonaroused state

15. Benefits of Sexual Intercourse
If one moves and expands energy during sex
– Heart and joints get a workout
– Active sex burns calories and releases endorphins
which help reduce stress
– May help people sleep better
– Movement of vaginal walls strengthens muscles
and may delay or minimize incontinence
– Research has shown orgasms can decrease pain
for hours

16. Medical care
- Providers without adequate
training may interpret
emotional or mental
confusion as normal aging
when it may actually indicate
poor nutrition, chronic
dehydration, lack of
stimulation, treatable physical
problems, grief, or a reaction
to medicine
Navigating Health Care
Uncomfortable asking
questions
- Ask an advocate to accompany to
visits and surgeries

17. Planning Ahead
Housing
- Intentional communities
forming where residents
stay in their homes as they
age, supported by local
programs and services
- Eligible for subsidized
housing if income drops
below certain level
Retirement and Social
Security (SS)
- Collect early: Law limits how much
you can earn from working in
retirement
- Keep working: Earnings will not result
in reduction in SS benefits
- Benefits dependent on own and
spouses (current or ex's) earnings
- Same sex marriages and those in
long, unmarried relationships are
not yet entitles to benefits from
partner's SS

18. Planning Ahead cont....
Long-term Care (LTC)
- Currently fragmented and expensive
- Out of pocket expenses for LTC can be the greatest
financial risk for older adults
Medicaid
- Primary source of funding for home care and nursing
home care
- Eligibility: Very low income or have to spend down
most of assets

19. Health and Legal Decisions
Healthcare Proxy (HCP):
Authority to make medical testing and
treatment decisions for you if you
are unable to make them for
yourself
Choose a HCP in advance and talk
about values and wishes
Durable Power of Attorney:
Someone you trust the authority to
act on your behalf in financial and
other legal matters if you are
unable to take action yourself

20. Health and Legal Decisions cont...
Medical Advance Directive or Living Will
- Describes the medical treatment you wish to
receive/refuse and under what conditions
- Makes wish clear to HCP and can be written as a
letter to them or to your lawyer
- Living wills are not legal documents in some
states; However it is still best o put wishes in
writing

21. End of Life Care
Palliative Care: Relieve,
reduce or soothe
symptoms of disease
or disorders while
keeping dignity
May refuse inappropriate,
aggressive treatment
Compassionate end-of-life
care addresses
emotional, spiritual and
practical needs is
essential

22. Caregiving
Women have been primary caregivers for
generations
Estimated value of caregivers’ unpaid contributions
at $375 billion
Research shows caregivers have higher rates of
depression, chronic disease, infection and
exhaustion than peers of the same age who do not
look after others
~~ Be kind to caregivers!!!!

23. Respite and Resources
National Family Caregiver
Support program: 1st
universal federal
program created in
2001, provides
information, counseling,
respite care and other
services to all family
caregivers
www.eldercare.gov or call
Eldercare locator at 1-
800-677-1116

24. Other Resources
Family Caregiver Alliance
and National Alliance
for Caregiving:
www.caregiver.org
Rosalynn Carter Institute
for Caregiving:
www.rosalynncarter.org
Share the Care:
www.sharethecare.org

25. Long Term Care
Need a continuous care system where
everyone receives care appropriate to their
condition, provided promptly and efficiently
in a setting of their choice and adjusted as
needs change
Better care for older people requires better
pay for all the providers who care for the
chronically ill (social workers, case
managers and sitters)

26. Ending
Discussion
Questions/Thoughts??
Do you think that in 50 years, society will
have a different view point of aging?
Will ageism continue or will society embrace
the natural process of aging?