|
Meeting the Challenge of Aging in a Rural Community
At the first-ever International Conference on Rural
Aging, delegates from around the world worked to identify new strategies, shape major policy, and promote programmatic enhancements that will better enable society to cope with the challenges it faces as the population of senior citizens
living in rural communities around the globe continues to grow. The conference, held in Charleston and sponsored by West Virginia University in collaboration with the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and
the International Association of Gerontology, advanced an important discussion on how to meet the many challenges that come with a growing rural senior citizen population. I had the opportunity to attend the conference,
and to offer my thoughts on how, in many areas, the needs of West Virginia's rural senior citizens mirror the needs of rural senior citizens throughout the world. For example, around the world, seniors in rural areas may simply lack
access to quality health care close to home. The problem of access is acute even in the most affluent nations. We know first-hand about the need for accessible health care in West Virginia. With 60 percent of the
world's elderly population living in rural and remote areas, there is a pressing need for medical personnel who are willing to leave the comforts and higher salaries of the big cities for rewarding work in smaller towns and
communities. It is simply too difficult and too costly for many elderly people, particularly the frail elderly, to travel long distances for frequent medical appointments. In addition, a rapidly aging population poses a
great challenge to a society which is focused heavily on youth. While most of popular culture today focuses on the wants and aspirations of the young, a fresh appreciation of the not-so-young is beginning to emerge. There is a
growing realization that the youth-centered society, and all of the material things that are paired with it, may benefit greatly from the insight and experience of our more mature population. |
