Week 5 - CONTEMPORARY ISSUE ONE - GETTING OLDER

This week we will be looking at the first of five ‘wicked problems’ - ageing. I was inspired to think about ageing as a global health issue when I heard an extract on the radio from Carl Honore's book Bolder.  

Ageing and global health interlink in many ways: the health effects of getter older are various, but there are also questions around the provision of treatment and care. For many, getting older also increases health damaging social effects such as loneliness. The readings and the videos for this week will give you a sense of some of these interlinkages.

Task 1: Question 

This week I’m going to start by asking you a really basic question – How old are you? I’m guessing you’re in your late teens or early 20s, right? But is your chronological age really an accurate indicator of how ‘old’ you are? What other indicators might we add to chronology to get a more accurate assessment of your age? 

Task 3: Visualisation 

To get you in the mood for this week, try this activity: Close your eyes and imagine that you are in your 70s. How do you feel? What will you be doing? How do you think people will see you; treat you? Write down your answers.  

Task 4: Reading 

Please read Ch5 of Honore’s book Bolder: Image: Ageing Gets a Makeover 

Task 5: Presentation 

Chronology remains the dominant frame that we use to explain and understand ageing. In my short presentation, I focus on how the old – by virtue of their chronological age and associated physical appearance – are represented in the media. The important point to take away is that these ideational representations can have a physical effect. They can actually make you older!  

NB: in my presentation I mention a 100-year-old lady (Kit Connell) who is a big Nintendo fan and “doesn’t feel a day over 80” . Here is a video of her - https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=68&v=nawe7F8cZ_U 

 Kit’s enthusiasm for technology is quote at odds with the standard technophobic representation of chronologically old people. 

Task 6: Reading 

Please read the 2017 Editorial from The Lancet - Ageing: A 21st Century challenge. It is an editorial that introduces a more substantial analysis of life expectancy and disability in England and Wales up to 2025. If you have an interest in the ageing population in England and Wales, you can read through this study at your leisure. Otherwise, just read the Editorial. 

Task 7: Video 

I’ve chosen a lovely video interview with Hans Rosling for you to watch now. Weirdly, it is sponsored by Mars! Rosling was one of the great educators of global health and his genius lay in his ability to convey data in an accessible way. Watch how he communicates the nuances of a growing global population with teacups! Sadly, he died of cancer just two years after the recording, which makes it even more poignant. 

Task 8: Presentation 

In my presentation, I talk about Rosling’s analysis of a growing population and the importance of understanding this ‘problem’ as a wicked problem.