August 25, 2015 – Women and Aging

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Anchor lead: Women face a dizzying constellation of issues as they age, Elizabeth Tracey reports

Aging populations are at the forefront of many government and policy discussions, but women bear the brunt of the majority of both physical disability and economic compromise as they grow older. As such, gender-specific issues should be integrated into policy discussions, research by Patricia Davidson, dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, and colleagues, concludes.

Davidson: There’s a tsunami that many of us don’t realize is approaching. And it’s what has been coined the feminization of aging. Women are living longer with more disability.  The scary thing is in poverty. Women are approaching retirement and old age with significant disability, also inability to negotiate the complex financial process of death and dying. It’s not just all about the disease.  As healthcare professionals we need to help and support them in coping and adjusting.   :33

Davidson says the healthcare system needs to integrate financial savvy into its toolkit in caring for older women.  At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.