In reflecting on this past week for the Life Course Scholars program, with this being an introductory post, I thought about the path that I have taken academically up to this point and how these concepts connect. When starting with the USP minor, I took USP 144, which involves environmental factors in public health, USP 143, which discusses health-care systems, and USP 145, which surrounds aging and related issues. I had also taken USP 133, which centers around poverty and public policy. All of these classes contribute to the connections that can be made in this course, as the conditions that one has grown up in continues to affect individuals into adulthood and as seniors. In addition, social welfare programs such as Medicare and Social Security are significant to the senior population by improving their health outcomes and greatly lifting the demographic out of poverty since the 1940s. These programs being often heavily debated during elections drive higher voter outcomes from older groups. In the past week, the lecture discussed the accommodations that can be made to better serve the elderly population, including Transit-Oriented Development (TODs), which involves the incorporation of public transport into daily living. This would not only benefit seniors, but other underserved populations that may not own cars. I also found the discussion regarding playgrounds for senior citizens to be interesting, as that contradicts how they are depicted in popular media, where they are too “fragile” to move around. Finally, the discussion about how we see ourselves as 80-year-olds was thought-provoking. Due to the rushed nature of life right now, I never thought about life that far in advanced. However, the most appealing idea is being in a stable place, as being rushed right now creates stresses that may be resolved with age.
1 Comment
Abigail Zaratan
3/14/2021 09:26:16 pm
Hi Martin! It's great that many of the USP classes you took helped supplement what we are currently learning. I agree that the issues discussed in those classes are relevant because the health outcomes of older adults are a result of the cumulative effects of policy, personal challenges, etc. that they faced throughout their entire life. I also liked how you brought up the playgrounds for seniors in your blog post. It's important to promote a structural society that promotes activity in people of all ages as physical activity is proven to improve healthspan even if that activity is started in older age.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Martin NguyenMartin is a Biochemistry/Cell Biology major from Garden Grove, CA. A fun fact about Martin is that he played tennis in high school. Archives
April 2021
Categories |