Global Health Aging

Year: 2014

  • Boosting Public Transport Supply to Meet Needs of India’s Aging Population

    India’s elderly population is expected to rise by 360% between 2000 and 2050 and contributes to 20% of the total population. Due to population growth, infrastructure in India has to keep up with the demographic change by providing accessible and affordable public transportation, which is vitally important. India boasts of…

  • A Call to End Elder Abuse and Neglect in 2015

    Elder abuse continues to be a worldwide problem. This year, former minister of social welfare, Paurina Mpariwa, accused the Zimbabwean government of neglecting the elderly. Since the Older Persons Act was signed into law, the government has failed to implement the provisions including protection from all forms of abuse such…

  • Dementia Village: A Unique Place

    Dementia can affect anybody and there is no cure for it. It is estimated that in 2050, more than 16 million Americans will have Alzheimer’s, which is the most common form of dementia. Dementia is a disease that affects the mental ability to perform everyday life activities. A person who…

  • Ebola and the Elderly: Focusing on a Vulnerable Population

    Certain diseases like pertussis and dementia are associated with distinct populations. Pertussis is generally linked to children and dementia is generally linked to older adults. While both diseases can affect atypical populations, health professionals cannot have the same mindset when rare diseases like Ebola are concerned. The Ebola outbreak continues…

  • The Need to Address Chronic Conditions in Timor-Leste

    Timor-Leste or East Timor is a small low income country in Southeast Asia with a population of 1,114,000. It has years of conflict, violence and brutality, and a tumultuous past with Portuguese and Indonesian forces. The conflict and political upheaval have left its marks on all aspects of development in…

  • The Healing Power of Optimism – A Positive Outlook Can Improve Quality of Life and Health

    The Benefits of Staying Positive There are many benefits associated with staying positive. This is supported by the fact that a continually growing body of research points to the benefits of viewing things in a positive light rather than negatively. Researchers believe that positive thinkers have no lasting negative effects since…

  • Italy: How Location Affects Mental Health

    Depression among the elderly is very common and can cause suicidal thoughts. People think that having depression is part of growing old and a disease that needs to be lived with. However, depression can be treated. There are many factors that can cause depression such as losing a lifelong partner…

  • Promoting Advance Directives, Reducing Medicare Spending

    *This article was extracted from a longer, in-depth, paper written during my internship with a policy forum in Washington, D.C.  More and more people are living to the age of 100. As our longevity increases, it is crucial to have an advance directive to make health care decisions, which may…

  • Why Growing Old in the U.S. Sucks…and There is Nothing (Something) We Can Do About It

    I am close to thirty years old. According to the latest data from the World Bank, I can expect to live another 45 to 50 years (Current U.S. life expectancy 78.7 years). However, the quality of those years is up for debate. Our current baby boomer population, on average, is…