Marketplace for Aging

The Aging Marketplace has a great variety of hope and hype. In the last decade we have seen a huge base of products being developed to improve the lives of aging consumers. There are now cell phones for elders featuring large buttons and simple calling plans. Most stores now conveniently offer products that focus on independent living for seniors, like shower chairs and walkers, including local chain stores like Fred Meyer and Walgreens. An article in Mechanical Engineering, called “New Wheels for Grandma,” focuses on automotive improvements made to aid in the safety of senior drivers. A Lear Corp’s concept car, includes a pivoting, sliding platform for loading golf clubs into the trunk. Low-light color cameras in a Taurus Safety Car allow drivers to see vehicles or pedestrians in blind spots. Ford adds dimples and bumps to its controls to aid in distinguishing by touch alone. Cadillac uses ultrasound to calculate distance of the car from the object behind it. However, along with the advancements in the aging marketplace, there continues to be room for improvements.

Prescription bottles are one source of problems for elders. Firstly, the labels are often printed too small for elders to read. Additionally, as the Huffington Post points out in their July 6^th, 2012 article titled, “Drugs & Seniors: Post 50s Overlook Key Warning Labels, “inconsistent design lends to misreading warnings or overlooking important instructions all together.” An additional problem with prescription drugs for seniors, are the bottles themselves. For those with arthritis, oftentimes the safety lids can make the bottles difficult to open. Although there are lids that are easier for senior with arthritis to open, not all are made aware of the options to have those easy open lids used for their prescription bottles. As SeniorCareServices.org explains in their “Prescription Medication: Keeping Seniors Safe and Sound” article, “Ask the pharmacist for easy open caps, large print labels, and sometimes oversize bottles may be necessary.” The aging marketplace has advanced in offering tools that can be purchased for seniors as highlighted by Arthritis Today in their article “Opening Medicine Bottles with Ease.” Most notably is the “PurrFect Medicine Opener Magnet” which is shaped like a cat, and opens a variety of bottles in a variety of ways for a reasonable price of $9.95.

However, the cat shaped bottle opener brings up one flaw with the aging marketplace, that many senior focused products are either designed to be childlike (and thus not very dignified) or are so focused on utility that they are embarrassingly unstylish. Take the GPS shoes that are developed to protect elders with dementia from wandering and becoming lost. The shoe incorporates a sneaker design, which is not very appropriate for most daily activities, except running perhaps. For a sophisticated senior lady wearing a nice dress, the GPS shoes would be extremely inappropriate and tacky. There are bed rails to protect seniors from falling from bed during sleep, but one design appears like prison bars, complete with black metal rails. For this monstrosity, one must shell out $117.40. One would imagine that seniors with sweethearts that spend the night, this would not be an appealing item to decorate one’s bedroom with. Alarm watches made for seniors that vibrate or talk for medication reminders, mostly look cheap and crude. On ModernSeniorProducts.com, a senior alarm wrist watches page shows a small offering of just 11 watches to choose from, of which only 2 look tasteful enough that one would be able to wear the watch to a formal event.

Considering that persons ages “65 years or older numbered 39.6 million in 2009”, a population that continues to grow, according to the Administration on Aging, one would think that products available for seniors would be look better and appeal to dignity. As a Huffington Post article describes it, “Baby Boomers Will Transform Aging in America.” In the same article, Dr. Rhonda Randall, the chief medical officer of united Health Care says, “Boomers also have a "fierce" desire to remain independent, which will lead to an expansion of organizations offering home- and community-based care.” Boomers have a desire to live better. As Ken Dychtwald, president and CEO of AgeWave explains, “a new model of life is emerging”…”They are going back to school at 40 and coming back from illness to run a marathon at 80. They are beginning as late bloomers and hitting their stride in later years.” It’s clear that baby boomers will set new standards for the aging marketplace of the future. Hopefully, along with it will come sensible, stylish product lines that contribute to healthy living and promote dignity.

Have you seen design innovations for the silver market that you loved or hated? 

How about any products that you haven't seen that you'd like to see for seniors?

Independence vs. Assistance

The elderly should be mindful of how much help they accept and caretakers should be cautious of offering too much help are the fundamentals of an idea called “wise independence”. Ruddick (1999) describes the idea of wise independence as “the capacity to plan and control one’s life, combined with the willingness to acknowledge one’s limitations and accept help in ways that are gratifying to the helper.” The elderly person and his or her caretaker should “create between them and for each other a workable balance between letting go and holding on, assertion and acceptance, intervention and letting be” (Ruddick, 1999).

A real risk exists when people let go of their independence to become too dependent on caregivers. Ruddick (1999) explains that, “a caring person should know that if she hovers and insists she may encourage in the person she cares for a despairing acquiescence that is as life-ending as the ‘fall’ she would prevent” (p. 58).

Clark (2003) experienced this situation with her mother who moved into a “nursing home for a few weeks rest.” Although her mother, in her late 70’s, had suffered debilitating arthritis for many years that was so bad that “she probably would have been confined to a wheelchair”, her independent life prevented it. Clark (2003) explained how “her [mother’s] need to do for other people was so great that she kept pushing herself, forcing activity on those aching joints willing them to function.” However, shortly after Clark’s mother entered the nursing home, she witnessed a drastic decline in her mother’s energy. Clark (2003) described that “as soon she began to take it easy, everything in her body slowed up…She could no longer take care of others” and she died a few weeks later.

A similar decline is occurring in an elderly relative who recently entered a retirement home. Pedro, who is in his mid 80’s, lived independently as a retiree without any caregiving assistance until two years ago when he suffered his first fall. Pedro. tripped over his rambunctious dog, Nero, and suffered a minor injury. Since then, Pedro began to accept the help of a caregiver. As Pedro began to increasingly rely upon his caregiver he did less for himself. He delegated errands, shopping, house care, yard care, and personal budgeting to his caregiver and thus began to require even more help until he moved into a retirement home in June this year. Since his arrival at the retirement home he has fallen multiple times. The last fall resulted in a broken elbow. He has since been hospitalized.

When Ruddick (1999) explains that “both living and caring well involve a changing process of adjusting, accepting and appreciating the living and caring that remains possible,” (p.58) I see how a lack of “wise independence” negatively affects the elderly. I believe that Pedro’s comfort level with caretakers just minutes away has led him to be less cautious when walking or moving about his apartment. In this sense, Pedro is becoming even more dependent on the caretakers and much less independent. I now fear for Pedro’s health, that it might decline even further now that he has no requirement to care for himself.

Wise independence is not merely just an encouraging idea; it is a vital component in the health and longevity of the elderly. Caregivers and the elderly must be mindful of the independence vs. assistance balance, so they do not create excessive vulnerability and dependence on the caregiver(s).

Reference:
Clark, M. H. (2003). Kitchen Privileges. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Ruddick, S. (1999). Virtues and Age. In M. U. Walker (Ed.), Mother Time. Women, Aging, and Ethics. (pp. 45-60). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

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