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- Title
The Compression of Morbidity: Implications for Social Work.
- Authors
Gorin, Stephen H.; Lewis, Beth
- Abstract
The article discusses the compression of morbidity among older adults and its implications on the social work profession. Cutler identified several factors in the decline in disability among older adults, including changes in health behavior and socioeconomic status (SES), particularly higher education levels (often a proxy for SES). Education also seems to contribute to declining disability. Cutler noted that more educated persons have up to a 50 percent lower disability rate than do the less educated. Increased access to education and expansion of white-collar jobs have thus contributed to the reduction in disability. This works in several ways. First, education brings a greater ability and willingness to pursue favorable lifestyles and health behavior. Second, education brings a sense of understanding of and control over one's environment, reducing feelings of powerlessness that can lead to morbidity and mortality. Third, and perhaps most important, higher education levels offer access to desirable jobs, which in turn offer sense of security and control that can protect individuals from the vicissitudes of life. The health status of younger people also suggests that the compression of morbidity could be reversed. Health status in early life has a powerful effect on health in later life, leading some authors to stress the importance of investing in children's health as a way of positively affecting the health and productivity of the next generation
- Subjects
OLDER people; DISEASES; DISABILITIES; LIFESTYLES; EDUCATION; SOCIAL work with older people; SOCIAL services
- Publication
Health & Social Work, 2004, Vol 29, Issue 3, p249
- ISSN
0360-7283
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/hsw/29.3.249