Planners for British Columbia's aging population are beginning to contemplate the difficult problem of ensuring the future adequacy of supportive programs for the elderly in the key areas of health, income, and housing. It now appears that these programs may well be squeezed between increased demand resulting from a rapid rise projected in the number and proportion of older people early in the next century, and lower rates of provincial and national growth foreseen by most economists. This descriptive study draws on available relevant information (much of it included in tables, figures, and appendices) to explore the problem from its origins in previous policy development to the situation at the present time. From this perspective the implications of current demographic, economic, and political/bureaucratic trends for programs for the elderly are assessed in both the national and international contexts. After a consideration of the roles of philosophy and ideology in social theory, a wide range of social gerontological theories are examined using a sociological scheme which classifies them according to four major paradigms in order to determine their abilities to describe accurately the information presented, and to prescribe useful policy alternatives. It is concluded that a theoretical approach which advocates radical change from a structural perspective is both most valid and most productive as a paradigm for planning for the aging population. A description of the relationship of planning to social change, and a systems analysis of the process of public policy making together introduce a discussion of strategies based upon the selected planning paradigm. Once the approaches used in planning for the elderly in the past are critically reviewed, the outline of a radical structural plan for the aging population is described, and then a strategy for its implementation over the next two or three decades is presented. The report concludes with a brief summary, and a number of specific recommendations for action by the appropriate public authorities, including several suggestions for enhancing the capacity for policy and program research in this field. One important recommendation is for the early establishment in British Columbia of an inter-departmental agency on aging to co-ordinate information and planning for the province's elderly. / Medicine, Faculty of / Population and Public Health (SPPH), School of / Graduate

Reminiscence is a complex phenomenon which is theorized in contemporary gerontological literature to serve adaptive functions in successful aging. This study explores the relationship between reminiscence (as measured using the Reminiscence Survey) and one criterion of adaptation: global self-esteem (as measured by the Total P score of the Tennessee Self Concept Scale) in a sample of 40 older volunteers who range in age from 55 years to 95 years and who still live independently in the community. Significant positive correlations were found between the Reminiscence Survey measures and the Total P scores of the TSCS. As well, life-reviewers reported significantly more uses, triggers, and outcomes of reminiscence and had significantly higher self-concept scores than did non-life-reviewers. These findings serve to demonstrate the positive relationship between the pervasiveness of reminiscence and the positivity of self-conception. Implications for the constructive use of reminiscence as a therapeutic intervention strategy in counselling older adults are discussed. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Background: Opioid-related deaths remain a significant public health problem in the United States. Opioids cause approximately 75% of all drug-related deaths. Since 1999, nearly half a million Americans have died from opioid overdoses. In 2018, 9,290 people > 55 years old died from opioid overdoses in the United States. In Florida, more than 1,000 older adults died from opioids (as a cause of death) from 2014-2018. However, there is a dearth of research about the manner of deaths of older adults who used, misused, or abused opioids. Methods: This secondary analysis utilized data from the Florida Drug and Law Enforcement (FDLE) agency between 2014 - 2018. A generalized linear model with a normal probability distribution was used to examine which social determinants or factors such as race, income, education level, percentage of people in poverty, and population density predicted opioid death rate in Florida. Chi-square statistics were used to determine the association between gender, race, and opioid-related deaths (ORD), and the relationship of the manner of death to the opioid drugs involved. The trend of opioid death rate was also analyzed by Florida county and through the data years 2014 to 2018. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (PhD)--Florida Atlantic University, 2021. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

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