Caring For Older People. Explain why there are difficulties defining the term older perso

Authors Avatar

Caring For Older People

P1 – Describe the meaning of the term ‘older people’

M1 – Explain why there are difficulties defining the term ‘older person’.

So what is an older person? Someone in their 60s? 70s? 80s? or even 90s? From researching on the internet I have come to find that it’s not really that easy to find a definition of what an ‘older person’ is.  What I do know is that there are certain physical marks on an individual that makes you think that they are an ‘old person’, for example, toothlessness, balding or grey hair, hunched back, lameness, deafness.  Old people have limited regenerative abilities and are more prone to disease, syndromes, and sickness than other adults.

Most developed world countries have accepted the chronological age of 65 years as a definition of 'elderly' or older person.  While this definition is somewhat arbitrary, it is many times associated with the age at which one can begin to receive pension benefits.  Although there are commonly used definitions of old age, there is no general agreement on the age at which a person becomes old.  

From my own experience there are many types of older people.  My own Grandmother has just turned ninety-four, she is living in a care home and can’t really do anything for herself.  She can’t feed herself, or wash herself and she doesn’t really recognise anybody including her family.  But on the other hand my other grandmother who is seventy-two is still independent in every way, she has her own house, she walks down to the shops every day, she cooks Sunday dinner for the whole family every week, she goes to weight watchers and is even quite trendy!  I think this contrast shows how different ‘old people’ can be.  Because although both of my grandmothers are classified as an ‘old person’, they are both completely different.  

Join now!

I think that it is so hard in defining old people because the term is so vague.  It’s kind of like throwing every old person in the world in the same boat, as if each one was exactly the same.  But as we no, not everyone old person is the same as the other.  Just like every young person, or middle-aged person isn’t the same as the other.  

In today’s world there is an increasing number of ‘elderly population’.  It is the highest is has ever been.  In almost every country, the proportion of people aged over 60 ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Here's what a teacher thought of this essay

Avatar

This essay aimed to discuss the term ?older people?. This is a good basic start, but it would benefit from being a little more detailed. Give details of research. Provide various definitions of the term ?older people? rather than the current vagueness presented. What are the things that impact on people?s perceptions of age? Media, culture & own experiences etc? There were some generalisations made which really should be removed or written with reference to research in support of those statements. The conclusion could be stronger, summarising what the essay has covered and offering final thoughts on the term ?older people?. I would suggest P1 has been achieved but there is room to develop M1. The writing style was good overall. 3/5