Living and Lasting: The Gap between Norms and Dependencies

This comment on an article by Karine Henchoz, Stafano Cavalli, & Myriam Girardin, "Perception de la sante et comparaison social dans le grand age' (Health Perception and Social Comparison in Very Old Age) notes that the health status of the very old has been the subject of many studies focusing on the growing costs of the aging population, reinforcing negative images relating to the care of old sick bodies. These very old people themselves, however, tend not to have such negative images, either of their bodies or of their lives. Their perspectives tend to be positive, even those in hospices who know death is not far away. In France, a third of women live beyond age 90 & a third of men beyond age 85. Nonetheless, social inequality, especially in terms of health care, between this population & even that of the young old persists. It is imperative to understand their perspective, that they are still part of society, & provide them with a better environment of human care. References. Adapted from the source document.