Charles: an Elder Interview About the Aging Process and Health Care
After spending an afternoon interviewing my elderly father-in-law, I gained insight into how he perceives the aging process and the impact on the quality of his life. First, and foremost he viewed aging in a very positive and healthy manner. He believes that a positive attitude assists in accepting physical and psychosocial changes and enjoyed the fact that he and his wife are both physically fit and cognitively alert. He felt confident that advances made in health care and the quality of their lives would continue to be empowering. He enjoys the benefits of being a senior citizen including discounted travel, free education, and other incentives marketed towards seniors. He expressed a sense of well-being with respect to the numerous housing options geared towards the graying population, such as Retirement Villages, and assisted living. However, the subjects of Long Term Care, Social security reform and government involvement in health care reform were subjects he regarded with very strong negative emotions. During the interview these issues as related to his experiences with health care were discussed with zeal and frustration.
Charles is my father-in-law of 14 years; he is seventy-seven years young and lives in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts with his wife of 52 years. They live independently in a sprawling 4,500 foot custom built cape style home. Charles was the oldest of three siblings and was raised in a farming town by his father who was a disabled war veteran in poor health and a feisty Italian mother. Charles had the opportunity to complete high school and receive the gift of learning to work with his hands as a master finish carpenter. He worked on many farms as a young boy during the summers of high school to help support his family; he is no stranger to working very hard. When he graduated from high school he was swept under the wing of a master carpenter in his home- town and learned the master art of building homes and finish carpentry. He married
Charles is my father-in-law of 14 years; he is seventy-seven years young and lives in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts with his wife of 52 years. They live independently in a sprawling 4,500 foot custom built cape style home. Charles was the oldest of three siblings and was raised in a farming town by his father who was a disabled war veteran in poor health and a feisty Italian mother. Charles had the opportunity to complete high school and receive the gift of learning to work with his hands as a master finish carpenter. He worked on many farms as a young boy during the summers of high school to help support his family; he is no stranger to working very hard. When he graduated from high school he was swept under the wing of a master carpenter in his home- town and learned the master art of building homes and finish carpentry. He married
References: Chait, Jonathan. (April, 1999). Countdown to Reform: The Great Social Security Debate. Washington Monthly. Retrieved from http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_4_31/ai_54367642/print Marshall, Will and Martin Schram. (1993) , Mandate for Change. New York: Berkley Books. Reynolds, Sean.(2004).Privatization of Social Security. National Parliamentary Debate Workshop. Retrieved from http://www.willamette.edu/cla/rhetoric/workshop/DebateResearch/shaunreed.doc Spitzer-Resnick, Jeffrey.(1987), Your Real Medicare Handbook. Madison, Wisconsin: Center for Public Representation. [ return to top ]