Medicalization of Aging
Alzheimers disease, for example, can be considered a medicalized interpretation of senility in older adults. Medicilization of common aging ailments does not help to dissipate or vanish these ailments altogether. However it does help a senior citizen lead a normal and active lifestyle by managing these ailments better. Arthritis pain for example has a crippling effect on the body and makes movement difficult a formal diagnosis of the condition helps in procuring medication to treat the condition. There are several arthritis pain reliving drugs available in the market which provide temporary relieve from the severe pain.
Through providing biomedical intervention medicilization seeks to exert control over the course and severity of the disease but doesnt guarantee a cure for it. There is in fact no cure for some ailments like Alzheimers that occur as a result of aging. Patients diagnosed with Alzheimers disease are labeled with the stigma and gravity of the diagnosis but are also offered care-giver support, pharmacological treatment, and long-term care assistance needed to manage this disease
The majority of the population in the Western world is aging. In the U.S the aging of the consumer segment known as the baby boomers or the generation of babies born after the second war has bought about a change in the perception towards managing the task of growing old. A whole industry has developed to ease the transition of the baby boomers into old age. From health care providers, to medical insurance companies and retirement homes the vast generation of aged Americans can choose to manage their descent into old age with a whole range of options available at their disposal. The Medicilization of old age offers the baby boomers the option of managing their ailments and illnesses in a manner that lets them live their life as normally as possible.
Medicilization of aging is an interactional process that occurs between social structures, patients, health care providers, and medical technology. Social structures include family and friends that may help the patient manage old age afflictions. The patient themselves is the most important component of this process as they are the ones who have to manage and administer the required health care and lifestyle changes required for treatment of these ailments. The health care provider might be either private providers or government providers who house the necessary infrastructure to diagnose, treat and manage the ailment. In certain case the medical provider may also be a healthcare facility which provides institutionalization and full time care options for the elderly. Most aging ailments are severe and irreversible in their nature. The medication required to treat these ailments are often strong and heavy dosages. Where ailments are of a severe nature for example Kidney failure common in diabetes medical technology like a dialysis machine has to be used frequently to allow a person to live and function normally.
Medicilization therefore is a social function that necessitates interaction and involvement of various social institutions. It is also an expensive function as medication and medical procedures cost a lot of money. There are complex processes available to fund health care for the countrys aging population Medicare is a popular option in the U.S which is available for senior citizens above the age of 65. Apart from Medicare old people who are still not retired may have access to employer provided health insurance which may cover a large percentage of the health costs. For those who are retired or self employed independent health policies may be a viable option. These policies require regular premium payments and these premiums get heftier with the age of the patient and the severity of any pre-existing conditions. Persons who are very aged or have severe health ailments might not be eligible for independent insurance schemes.
Medicalization of aging has transformed the process of taking care of the elderly from a home-based family matter into a sanitized enterprise. The concept of taking care of their aged family member is not very popular in a society where family structures have broken down and nobody has the time and energy to take care of an old invalid person, Though not all families opt to institutionalize their aging relatives a lot of people are placed into supervised health care settings by their families in the United States. These institutions vary in their scope and function. Some provided managed healthcare as well as assisted living services, others just offer assisted care with medical supervision. With the aging of the baby boom generation these facilities have increased in numbers. Medicicalization impacts the quality of life of those living or working in long term care facilities living in these institutions does affect the psyche of the patients who reside there. However with frequent family visits and constant family supports patients can learn to believe that managed care is the best option to living as a normal life as possible with their ailments. Residents in these facilities often have multiple related ailments which require constant medical monitoring and supervision. The patient themselves maybe too frail to carry out the daily health management procedures and therefore will benefit from assisted medical living However the job of taking care of the aged is not very easy. It requires a lot of commitment care and patience. Most nursing homes find it difficult to secure workers for daily assisted living tasks. Even when they do manage to find recruits the turnover of staff in the nursing homes is very high as most people find it tedious and laborious to look after the elderly and sick. Though this attitude has now changed with the higher monetary rewards being offered by most nursing homes the job of taking care of the old still requires dedicated professionals committed to this task.
Medicalization affects the notion of self identity by giving the patient more control over managing their ailments. By informing a patient about their disease and the measures they can take to control or limit its impact on their lives medicalization is empowering the patient to take active control of their lives. This sense of control helps patient regain notions of self worth as well as the courage to continue leading a normal healthy lifestyle to the best of their ability. Sociologists cite positive aspects of medicalization for individuals, such as validation, a sense of relief, and support. (Broom and Woodward 1996)
Medicilization also affects the economic security of unpaid caregivers. This is usually true when a family member dedicates themselves to taking care of the elderly invalid. The economic security of the unpaid caregiver is at risk while he or she takes physical care of the invalid as well as administer daily health management tasks. A lot of families taking care of sick elderly relatives face serious financial repercussions of sustaining the health and physical requirement of their wards.
Sociologists also emphasize the need to distinguish between over-medicalization, which is typically viewed as negative, and constructive medicalization. (Broom and Woodward 1996) The notion of over-medicalization, concentrates too many resources both physical and biomedical into managing the ailments associated with aging. This is construed as a waste of resources and as an obsession to cure ailments which may not have any cure. Constructive medicilization on the other hand focus on effective management of the disease using biomedical intervention. Their goal is to help the individual continue leading a normal lifestyle while minimizing the impact of the ailment.
The media plays a very active role in promoting awareness of the medicilization of aging. Whether it is an infomercial announcing the symptoms of Alzheimers or a television advertisement selling drugs to relieve arthritis the media has helped to promote the concept of the medicilization of aging. Patients and senior citizens are more informed about the possible ailments that they can suffer from and also what medications to ask their doctors about if they are inflicted. Popular television and print media have been used in the past to portray ailments associated with aging. Alzheimers for example is a condition that has been popularly portrayed in films and books about individuals suffering from the ailment.
Critics argue that medicalization is an expansion of medical authority into domains of everyday existence and was promoted by doctors as a force of social control strategy .They suggest that medical social control ensures cohesion by focusing on containing diseases that could otherwise disrupt life. The role of medical institutions and public health agencies in advocating social control has not been new as these institutions have traditionally focused on social behavior and functioned as agent of social control however it was argued by Sociologists that the increasing role of biomedical technology had extended the scope of this type of social control (Zola 1972)
Critics of medicilization have also argued that it has helped to create human health needs into commodities for a gigantic and highly profitable medical market. Their argument follows the precept that in the age of medicilization all ailments are expected to have instant medical solutions. The impact of medicilization on health practices has increased the tendency of doctors to medicate even for simple that can be cured without medication and for healthcare consumers to expect medication for all their ailments. An example of this practice is prescribing and taking medication for lowering cholesterol rather than engaging in a lifestyle change incorporating more exercise and a lesser consumption of fat. The result of this phenomenon may be the existence of an over-medicated population. The population may have achieved manageable health solutions to their ailments but their may be implications in terms of both financial costs associated with such a strategy but also emotional physical and physiological consequences of expecting medication for every ailment.
Medicilization of certain disorders may cause the patient to experience a lot of social stigma and isolation. Persons suffering from Alzheimers disease in particular suffer a lot of isolation as people cannot understand or manage to live with this condition. However not all forms of senility can be equated with Alzheimers. Once the medicilization of certain natural aging processes is formed into a labeling diagnosis one must e careful to examine all (Bury 1991) discusses the inadequacy of the biomedical model and all other one-dimensional sociological models of illness and disability labels
Medicilization carries the risk of misdiagnosis and wrongly labeling people not suffering from a disease but exhibiting some symptoms of it. Just because an aged person forgets some details and exhibits signs of slow comprehension doesnt imply that they have Alzheimers and should e administered drugs to manage it better. Family members or the patient themselves must consult their doctor to confirm a particular diagnosis before self administering any kind of drugs Gubrium (1986) critically reviews evidence classifying Alzheimers as a disease and states that it is not possible to distinguish the pathology of dementia from senile behavior associated with normal aging phenomenon. Attempts to categorize it as a disease is therefore a bid to create order and restore control over the ailment.
The Medicilization of aging has changed the role of the physician and made it pivotal in providing adequate diagnosis and dispensing advice to promote management of diseases.The physician remains the supreme authority figure that prescribes medicine and administers biomedical intervention.
However, in some countries such as the U.S, consumer advertising actually encourages patients to ask for particular drugs by name. This can be construed as an invasion of a doctors right to prescribe the drugs which are in their experience most suited to treat a particular disease. It is a questionable practice for pharmaceutical companies to be providing solutions to patients health ailments as this is a doctors job. Similarly the doctor has to continuously read and update themselves on the latest drugs and medications available in the market to treat and diagnose various ailments.
The Medicilization of aging has also changed the role of the patient. Traditionally the elderly patient was a meek and passive victim of lifes ravages. But the modern aged patient is equipped with all the knowledge about various ailments that can afflict them in the future. These patients are very much in control of their ailments and now occupy active positions as advocates, consumers, or even agents of change. Many baby boomers take active interest in their health issues they read up on the latest news of current diagnostic and treatment procedures. They investigate medication options and plan their finances to accommodate treatment they take an active role in managing their own treatment and seek to supplement it through maintaining a healthy life style. These patients ask intelligent questions and go to different experts before accepting a diagnosis. If a diagnosis is made they explore the various options available to manage the ailment properly and then decide on an option well suited to their needs and capabilities.
An approach which defers from medicalization but provides to treatment to aging ailments is the process of paramedicalization. This particular concept places a focus on alternative medicine or traditional medicine to remedy the ailments associated with aging. Traditional medicine as compared to conventional medication is not as expensive and doesnt carry the emotional physical and psychological after effects. It also doesnt involve a lot of complex management techniques and follows simple administering procedures. Medicalization and paramedicalization may be conflicting in their style and concept but they do strive towards the same goal of seeking to relieve the impact of ailments associated with aging
The Medicilization of aging has promoted the equation of old age with illness and this in turn has encouraged social thought to perceive aging as an abnormal and undesirable state. This negative interpretation of aging manifests in social attitudes towards old people and consequently notions of self identity that these older adults harbour towards themselves. Sick role expectations (Parsons, 1951) of appropriate behaviour when ill may result in social withdrawal, reduction of activity, increased dependency, and the loss of self-esteem, efficacy, and personal sense of control
Our older generations have been influential in shaping our present lives and deserve a respectful attitude and understanding in their golden years. Societys perception and treatment of ailing older adults will change with a shift in perspective from biomedical model to a model dictated by modifiable social factors. Society must understand that it is not only old age that contributes to disease but also the kind of lifestyle that the person has led A lot of modifiable factors contribute to whether you develop a particular disease as you age. Education, income, adequate shelter and loving family environments all promote healthy life style behaviours that shape and influence health in later years
The dominance of the medical model in aging obscures the extent to which illness and other problems of older adults are influenced by potentially modifiable social factors, such as income education, safe and supportive housing environments that promote healthy behaviours. Viewing the aging process from a Biomedical perspective diverts thought away from the social economic, education and other factors which influence the fundamental causes of ill health during old age. (Estes 2001). It is imperative therefore to explore this perspective and draft solutions based on adopting healthy lifestyle practices during our youth which can be translated into enduring practices that control and prevent disease during old age.
Despite the development of new approaches to understand ill health in society and the development of solution to advocate a better lifestyle public policy decisions regarding medical care for seniors still adheres to a biomedical model. On the broader level the government should recognize the role of other factors in contributing to ailments during old age and shift its focus from creating a medical infrastructure to provide a medical solution for all its citizens health problems. Instead the emphasis should be on expanding research that focuses on the effect of factors such as behaviour, environment, social inequalities, and education on developing illnesses in old age. This research should then be used to alter common misconceptions created by the use of the biomedical model and also suggest non medical solutions to ailments experienced as a result of aging.
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