ISLAND VOICES
We are all aging; don't get over it
By Colette Browne
Professor of gerontology at the University of Hawai'i
The questions all start out the same from middle-agers: My mother is getting older and frailer. She needs more help, but what kind of help? What should I do? Where can I turn?
The questions signal a society's unpreparedness for an aging populace. A neighbor tells me that the personal-care aide she hired for her father, a widower, tried to marry him. She is 28; he is 93. Another friend's mother-in-law, a mentally alert 90-year-old, began to suddenly experience hallucinations one night. Hospital staff told her it was probably Alzheimer's disease, most certainly an incorrect diagnosis given the rapid onset of the symptoms.
Aging is, after all, not a random event — it happens to us all. Many of our fears around aging are a result of negative misconceptions, and good research can correct many of these. We have learned that depression is not normal a consequence of aging, and neither is Alzheimer's. We don't lose our intelligence, and muscle can be built back with exercise. Older adults are contributors to their families and to their communities in numerous ways every day.
These facts, of course, are not meant to obfuscate the challenges that aging brings to individuals and society. Aging can bring frailty. When this occurs, older adults should have access to professionals trained to impact on their quality of life via quality care.
We all need to understand aging. The processes associated with aging are influenced cumulatively by many factors. We know, for example, that we need to eat right and exercise, but only 10 percent of baby boomers are doing this.
To distinguish realities from stereotypes and misconceptions and to learn more about aging, the University of Hawai'i School of Social Work, together with its many cosponsors, is hosting a Summer Institute on Aging, "Diversity and Aging: Linking Research and Practice." There are two major events open to the public. On Wednesday, June 11, a free film series on aging will be held, co-sponsored by the Osher Life Long Learning Institute. On Thursday, June 12, and Friday, June 13, a two-day conference is planned.
This two-day meeting acknowledges that quality care requires good science, imagination and attention to the voices of older adults to get it right. Come join us!
