Aging in America

I read a couple of interesting news items this week. Since both stories deal with the realities of life in the U.S. today, I thought that all of us, as social workers and concerned citizens, might find them informative.

One story concerns life expectancy. Apparently, in large swaths of the nation, it has stopped increasing. In fact, it's even declined slightly over the decade that ended in 2007, particularly among women. This decline appears largely due to the growing inequality of American society. In less affluent communities, such as those in rural areas of Appalachia and the Deep South, or in the low-income neighborhoods, residents have life expectancies shorter than people in some Third World countries, along with comparable rates of infant and child mortality. Here's a link to the full article.

A second article, also related to age, concerns the caregving role. According to a new study, since 1994 the percentage of Americans who provide care for their aging parents has tripled since 1994. And these caregivers lose an estimated $3 trillion in wages, pension and Social Security benefits when they take time off from work to provide this care. Here's a link to the full article.

Clearly, we're seeing great changes in American society. These changes will affect our role as social workers and as advocates for those we help every day. I'd like to hear what you think about these, and other, trends we're seeing as a nation. Your thoughts?