Home >> Socio News

The Demography of Aging

The demography of aging is a subfield within demography that came to the forefront during the second half of the 20th century.This was the period when  low fertilityand mortality rates were creating dramatic shifts in the age structure of the developed countries. The researchers  focused on defining old age and aging, documenting changes in the age structure,identifying mortality trends, describing the health status of older adults, explaining the geographical distribution and mobility of the older adults and understanding the life course and family support and retirement trends. In recent years demographers are concerned with population aging as it relates to the economy,family structure and overall quality of life for different age groups for example children,working aged adults ,older adults etc.

The demographers are focused on understanding demographic trends related to fertility ,mortality and migration and the causes and consequences of demographic trends by using quantitative methods to under stand the broader area of population aging. They also document worldwide trends in population aging and changes at national level in mortality,morbidity ,disability and geographical distribution.They also examine a range of issues related to population aging including the potential demand on health care system,the impact of changing family structure on care,economic implications of an aging population and the motivations for residential mobility. The main focus of the researchers in the demography of aging is to study the older adults and identify the social causes of aging and consequences of shifting population dynamics on the society as a whole.

Source : The Concise Encyclopedia of Sociology