SOC 304 SOC304 Week 5 Final Research Paper International Perspectives on an Aging Population

Focus of the Final Research Paper
International Perspectives on an Aging Population
Throughout the course of the textbook and resource reading and weekly tasks, the over-arching theme of an aging population has been expressed. The final research paper asks you to focus on this important theme and also consider how it impacts advanced societies practically and from a social policy perspective.
How to Begin:
First, read the United Nations, 2015 World Population Aging Report. [Pages 1-8 summarize the contents of the overall report and pages 99-101 provide the conclusions; after reading the full report, refer to these to help guide you in the aspects of population aging that you want to focus upon for your paper.]
Task:
After reading the report, your textbook, and research resources from the Ashford Library, present the following:

• Explain what population aging is and why it is occurring in the industrialized Western world. Be sure to include theories of population aging such as demographic transition and specific reasons why the overall populations in advanced societies like Europe, North America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand are aging. The UN report highlights these as ‘demographic drivers’.

• In the UN report, it highlighted key challenges of an aging population. Explain and support with scholarly resources the three challenges as they pertain to:

o Ageing, poverty and economic growth;
o Ensuringsocialprotectionsofolderpersons; o Promoting health and well -being in old age.

• The UN report concluded that proactive planning was important and that there were key policy actions that countries should take to alleviate the challenges of an aging population.

o Present why it is important for Governments to proactively plan for an aging population through the implementation of social policies.

o Focusing on the United States, present and expand upon the key actions and the types of social policy and specific programs that could support the report’s findings regarding: sustainable pension systems;  adaptable health care systems;  alleviating age discrimination.