Sample Research Paper: Population Growth And Aging

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Population Growth and Aging
The world is on the edge of witnessing a demographic milestone. Since long ago children always outnumbered their elders but the trend is changing, and soon we may have the elderly outnumbering children. The age structure of most nations in the world has been altering as persons have fewer offspring and live longer. The trend is driven by the decline in fertility rates, remarkable increase in life expectancy, and improvement in healthcare provision. According to a report by the World Health Organization, the number people above 65 years of age is projected to grow from an approximate 524 million in the year 2010 to about 1.5 billion in 2050 (2). The increase in population aging …show more content…

This means that there will be a change as well in the organization and delivery of healthcare. For one, there is a notable shift from acute to chronic illnesses. The demographic transition is altering population epidemiology from acute infectious diseases to chronic diseases (He et al. 67). The aging population is highly affected by chronic illnesses including heart and kidney diseases, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and osteoporosis. The trend has seen a change in the style of medication and treatment from one-time interventions to continuous or ongoing interventions to help patients cope with the illnesses and not curing them. The report by the World Health Organization (2011) noted that chronic diseases are increasing the burden of disease on our health system (2). Chronic diseases also often come with disabilities which require the patients to be put in long-term care services like health homes, nursing homes, or personal …show more content…

15). The increase in aging population leads to an increase in public expenditure as the government strives to provide Medicare and Social Security to cater for the increased number of beneficiaries. Older people have higher chances of falling ill which adds to the already high health care costs. The demographic shift also affects the size of the economy. The Social Security Actuaries are projected to grow in future with a financial burden of public programs for older people. Population aging also causes a reduction in labor supply which leads to an increase in wages (Bloom et al. 27). According to Burtless (2013), the elderly who still work demand premium wages despite being less productive which also hurts the

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