Graphic by Heng Swee Lim
As a former English teacher, I tend to value the more qualitative approach to processing the human experience. I enjoy memoirs, personal narratives, oral history, novels and films that feature older adults. Nevertheless, I concede there is value in taking a quantitative approach.Thanks to the rigors of my graduate program, I have been compelled to read materials that are outside my comfort zone. For example, I now read a fair number of scholarly articles reporting on randomized controlled trials. I even read the methods and results sections in addition to the abstract, introduction and discussion.
I also read the quantitative research of economists, policy analysts and actuaries, all of whom compile and evaluate statistics. The readings assigned for classes on the economics of aging and the policies on aging have included sizable data sets. Surprisingly, I've developed an interest in these materials.
While you might recoil at reading reports, I invite you read at least some of the Older Americans 2012: Key Indicators of Well Being, generated by the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics. The report (just click the link in the previous sentence) is actually relatively accessible because the authors primarily use images coupled with bullet points of data. Established in 1986, this forum brought together the resources of several federal agencies in order to better focus on the experiences and needs of our nation's older adults. Every two years since 2000, they have published this detailed, yet far-ranging report.
This report contains data and analysis for 37 Indicators of Well Being are listed within on of these main areas:
- Population
- Economics
- Health Statistics
- Health Risks and Behaviors
- Health Care
- Special Features
"Over the past four decades, labor force participation rates have risen for women age 55 and over. This trend continued during the recent recession. Among men age 55 and over, the rise in participation rates that started in the mid-1990s also has continued, although to a smaller extent. As “Baby Boomers” approach older ages, they are remaining in the labor force at higher rates than previous generations (See “Indicator 11: Participation in the Labor Force”)."
I recognize that I am not blogging for policy analysts, politicians, business owners (such as insurance executives and stock brokers), or city planners--who are probably the primary readers of these reports. Nevertheless, as the "Graying of America" takes place over the next 30 years, each of us will be affected by changes on the macro level. We will see significant changes to the economy, to government programs, to the media and even to our places of worship. How will your place of employment be affected by possible changes to the employees or customers/clients? How will your city and neighborhood change? How will your place of worship change?
We will also be affected as our parents, spouses, and our own selves experience age-related changes. What types of changes might happen to your body? to your mind? to your family structure? to your housing? to your finances? to your closest friends and neighbors? Are you prepared to respond to these pending changes? While a report containing the experience of millions cannot predict the future for a single person, it's still wise to consider probable scenarios.
Reading over even some of this report might help prepare you for the shifting ground we will all experience in our society at large and within the walls of our own homes.
Related:
More Seniors than Ever: Population Pyramids
Long-Term Care More Probable as We Age
Don't Retire, Retrain: Decreasing the Dependency Ratio
