An elderly person is most likely considered to be 65 years of age, or older. According to the World Health Organization, “the number of people today aged 60 and over has doubled since 1980.” Elderly people can often face new challenges as they age, including declines in both physical and mental function. As J.W. Beattie describes, some signs of physical decline include “increasing difficulty in the dark, increasing liability to falls…and increasing reduction of mobility long before any real infirmity may arise,” and signs of mental decline may be found “in accuracy of judgment…in reaction time, in performance time…in the ability to retrain without previous allied experience, and in the ability to learn new material of various kinds.” Other challenges that the elderly face are going into retirement, experiencing feelings of loneliness, and accepting their mortality. In considering the well-being of the elderly, Beattie lists the eight most impactful factors: “health, housing with its important associates heating, lighting …show more content…
However, some of these attitudes are changing. Young people generally have a negative attitude towards the elderly, seeing them as cranky, frustrated with younger generations, and very set in their ways. John L. Prose states that “old age appeared to be risky, a period of inactivity, generally unpleasant, and without significant values.” According to the World Health Organization, ageism is “the stereotyping of, and discrimination against, individuals or groups because of their age.” These stereotypes imply that elderly people are helpless, less efficient than younger generations, mentally slow and physically frail. Many also believe that older people are not deserving of healthcare. The World Health Organization states that “treatable conditions and illnesses in older people are often overlooked or dismissed as being a ‘normal part of