Healthcare is a broad, expansive service that seeks to maintain the well-being of all citizens. Healthcare cannot exist without epidemiology, which is the study of the causes of health outcomes and diseases in populations (cdc-def). The correlational between the two leads to the main issue: the epidemiology among the elderly. History has consistently displayed that children outnumbered the elderly, however, in recent years, there has been a shift. The elderly now significantly outnumber the children to the point that the healthcare system has to adapt and find sufficient ways to deal with the challenges associated with the increasing numbers. Specific challenges facing the healthcare system include changing health profiles, increased demand
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According to who (year), the number of people aged 65 or older is projected to grow from an estimated 524 million in 2010 to nearly 1.5 million in 2050. Majority of this projected increase is predicted to happen in developed countries because while the life expectancy in developing countries has been increasing since 1950, the amount of increase varies (cdc). The increased life expectancy at birth in developed countries concluded that universally females are expected to outlive males, however, the average life span is expected to extend another 10 years by 2050 worldwide, regardless of gender (cdc). Life expectancy is increasing because fertility and death rates are decreasing. Fertility rates declined in developing and developed countries at different times; developing countries fertility rates have been decreasing for the past 30 years, while the fertility rates in developed countries have been decreasing throughout the 20th century (cdc). Developing countries are quickly having to adapt to having an increased amount of the elderly since their increase just recently started, which could cause them to grow old before they grow rich (who). In 1950, women in developing countries had an average of 6 children, in 2005, women then had an average of 2 or 3 children, and most dramatically, in 2006, women were at or below the 2 child replacement rate (who). Contrastingly, developed countries have had time to adjust to having increased elderly people, as the fertility rates decreased from 3 children per women around 1950 to below the 2 child replacement rate around 1970 (who). Because of decreased death rates, the amount of elderly aged 80 and older is rising quickly, amazingly enough, even to the point that more people are living past 100 years old (who). Additionally, declining infant and childhood mortality, effective public health measures, and improvements in adult
According to who (year), the number of people aged 65 or older is projected to grow from an estimated 524 million in 2010 to nearly 1.5 million in 2050. Majority of this projected increase is predicted to happen in developed countries because while the life expectancy in developing countries has been increasing since 1950, the amount of increase varies (cdc). The increased life expectancy at birth in developed countries concluded that universally females are expected to outlive males, however, the average life span is expected to extend another 10 years by 2050 worldwide, regardless of gender (cdc). Life expectancy is increasing because fertility and death rates are decreasing. Fertility rates declined in developing and developed countries at different times; developing countries fertility rates have been decreasing for the past 30 years, while the fertility rates in developed countries have been decreasing throughout the 20th century (cdc). Developing countries are quickly having to adapt to having an increased amount of the elderly since their increase just recently started, which could cause them to grow old before they grow rich (who). In 1950, women in developing countries had an average of 6 children, in 2005, women then had an average of 2 or 3 children, and most dramatically, in 2006, women were at or below the 2 child replacement rate (who). Contrastingly, developed countries have had time to adjust to having increased elderly people, as the fertility rates decreased from 3 children per women around 1950 to below the 2 child replacement rate around 1970 (who). Because of decreased death rates, the amount of elderly aged 80 and older is rising quickly, amazingly enough, even to the point that more people are living past 100 years old (who). Additionally, declining infant and childhood mortality, effective public health measures, and improvements in adult