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VOA慢速英语2015 Caring for an Aging Population

时间:2015-05-02 14:33:44

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Caring for an Aging Population

Everywhere in the world, people are living longer. Studies show the average age of the human population is rising.

By the year 2050, an estimated two billion people will be aged1 60 or older. And the number of people 80 years or older will have almost quadrupled to 395 million. That is the latest number from the United Nations’ World Health Organization.

The WHO says governments must prepare now to deal with an increasingly aging world. As people age, they may develop long-term health problems. These disorders2 may affect their quality of life and create problems for society and health care systems.

Caring for an aging population takes both time and money. The responsibility of caring for an older person often falls on family members. And this can create difficulties.

Gail Gibson Hunt is Chief Executive3 Officer with the National Alliance4 for Caregiving. Her group helps American families that care for sick or elderly family members.

What is caregiver burnout?

Ms. Hunt says some families experience what she calls “caregiver burnout.” She says the condition can affect a person in many ways. 

“Caregiver burnout specifically would refer to a caregiver having been under such stress – perhaps financial, perhaps physical, certainly emotional stress -- that he or she cannot continue doing the care-giving anymore. They're just exhausted5. They are what we would call 'burned out.'"

Americans say they need several things to reduce the stress of caring for aging or disabled family members, according to Ms. Hunt. These things include money, medical training and sometimes just giving the caregiver a break.

“They typically will say they need a break, which is certainly something that can help with potential burnout. They often talk about needing financial assistance. They are spending, in the U.S., on average about $5,500 a year in out-of-pocket costs."

Which countries have the oldest populations?

In 2050 China will be the country with the largest population aged 80 years or over with 90 million. India will come in second with 37 million. And the U.S. will be third with 32 million.

Other countries with the largest populations of the 80 and older crowd will be Japan, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy, Britain and the Russian Federation6. This is according to the World Health Organization.

Care for elderly in U.S. lags behind other English-speaking countries

Ms. Hunt says studies have found that Sweden and Finland lead the world in supporting caregivers.

She says the U.S. is far behind other English-speaking countries in giving families support for caring for sick and aging family members. 

“Almost all of the other English-speaking countries are considerably7 ahead of the U.S. in terms of the support that they offer family caregivers. In addition to the English-speaking countries, Sweden and Finland are very advanced in terms of their support to caregivers.”

Ms. Hunt says Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland do a better job than the United States in terms of their support to caregivers. She says that all four countries have strong government-supported caregiver programs. Families can get financial help and resources to help them care for elderly family members as well as disabled children.

Cultural differences in care-giving

In some cultures, it is the family’s responsibility to care for aging family members. So, even the word “caregiver” does not exist in many cultures.

“Well, in India, I think this is interesting. There are so many middle-class Indian people -- young people -- who have moved to Australia or the U.K. or the U.S. and the parents are still living back in India. They just send money back. There’s, I think, an ongoing8 discussion in India of what’s really the responsibility of the family. They never even knew what the word 'caregiver' was because it’s just what you did.”

Ms. Hunt says that it similar in China.

“And the same thing, actually, in China -- they passed a law saying that adult children must send money back to support the family. And they’ve started implementing9 this law now.”

Ms. Hunt says that she found the situation in Japan to be far different. She says that Japan offers long-term insurance for families and they also have a tradition of family care-giving. But she says they do not have a group of care-giving organizations that work together.

Japan has a lack of young people to care for its aging population. To answer that problem, Japan has sometimes turned to other countries to train people to work in healthcare.

VOA Learning English did a report back in September 2013 on Japan and Germany training Vietnamese to work as healthcare workers for aging populations in those countries.

Scientists in Japan have also invented caregivers. Recently, scientists and engineers from Riken Brain Science Institute teamed up with a rubber maker10 to invent “Robear.” This robot is designed to move patients from a bed to a wheelchair.

No matter where in the world they live, Ms. Hunt advises caregivers to reach out for help if they feel they are suffering from burn out. She says it is important to reach out to extended family or to community organizations. She also says to take help, guilt-free, when people offer it.

The advice of the WHO health experts is simple: take good care of your health. Health experts say people should treat health problems quickly. People should not smoke or drink too much alcohol. The WHO also advises people to get more exercise, eat healthy food and get enough sleep.

These activities will help to keep you healthy and independent later in life.

Words in this Story

out-of-pocket – adj. paid for with one’s own money instead of money from someone else, the government or another organization

chronic11 – adj. medical continuing or long-term

independent – adj. not requiring or depending on others as for care or livelihood


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1 aged 6zWzdI     
adj.年老的,陈年的
参考例句:
  • He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了,也老点了。
  • He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老,然而记忆力还好。
2 disorders 6e49dcafe3638183c823d3aa5b12b010     
n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 );凌乱;骚乱;(身心、机能)失调
参考例句:
  • Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告,厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 executive Ymlxs     
adj.执行的,行政的;n.执行者,行政官,经理
参考例句:
  • A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
  • He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。
4 alliance MLDyt     
n.同盟,同盟国,结盟,联姻
参考例句:
  • China will not enter into alliance with any big power.中国不同任何大国结盟。
  • The new alliance was very much in evidence.新的联盟上星期很引人注目。
5 exhausted 7taz4r     
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的
参考例句:
  • It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长,到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
  • Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。
6 federation htCzMS     
n.同盟,联邦,联合,联盟,联合会
参考例句:
  • It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
  • Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。
7 considerably 0YWyQ     
adv.极大地;相当大地;在很大程度上
参考例句:
  • The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
  • The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。
8 ongoing 6RvzT     
adj.进行中的,前进的
参考例句:
  • The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
  • The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。
9 implementing be68540dfa000a0fb38be40d32259215     
v.实现( implement的现在分词 );执行;贯彻;使生效
参考例句:
  • -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
  • He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句
10 maker DALxN     
n.制造者,制造商
参考例句:
  • He is a trouble maker,You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼,你不要跟他在一起。
  • A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。
11 chronic BO9zl     
adj.(疾病)长期未愈的,慢性的;极坏的
参考例句:
  • Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
  • Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

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