Focused Discussion (Asynchronous Session)
Featured Aging is a Major Cause of Suffering in Our Century: Should We Engineer Ourselves Out of It?
Focused Discussion Raiany Romanni
Today, some two thirds of all human funerals owe to the processes of aging. Only 3.7 per cent of cancer patients are under thirty-four, and if a cure for all types of cancers were miraculously found, it would add no more than two years to the average human lifespan. But while the term “pandemic” — from the Greek pán (“all”) and dēmos (“people”) — does not imply infectious disease, our ethics prevent us from applying it to the nearly 100,000 daily deaths caused by aging. In 2021, we all agree that the effects of aging must be treated. The United States alone spends over $300 billion taxpayer dollars each year on the treatment of patients with Alzheimer’s, and the trillions of dollars spent on COVID-19 by this single country, in this single year, make for a painful calculation. But to preventively fund aging research itself goes beyond the reactive purview of both politics and medical systems.
Creative Aging in Libraries: Promoting Seniors’ Quality of Life and Aging-in-Place through Arts and Culture Programming
Focused Discussion A.T. Moffett
The state of Delaware in the Midatlantic region of the United States is home to a growing number of adults 55+. Impacted by population aging and the state’s status as a retirement destination, well-being for seniors is a policy priority. In 2021, the state assembly formed an Aging-in-Place working group to develop policy recommendations for home and community-based services for Delaware seniors. The purpose of this focused discussion is to report findings of a community-engaged research project examining the quality of life (QoL) impacts of a Creative Aging in Libraries pilot program held in public libraries throughout the state. Participants were involved in playwriting, devised theater, pastels, and more. Pre- and post-surveys captured socio-demographic and QoL data. The research was done in collaboration with the state arts agency, librarians, and teaching artists trained in the Life Time Arts methodology. The discussion grounds the initiative within the Arts and Culture in Public Health framework. Psychologist Dr. Gene Cohen’s developmental model for the second half of life will be presented as a rationale for leveraging the expertise and connections of community-based arts organizations in planning for programs, services, and caregiver workforce training to support aging-in-place. Policy recommendations include continued investment in Creative Aging by local, state, and federal arts agencies, public support in the form of grants to community-based arts organizations that provide culturally tailored programming for seniors in under-resourced communities, and funding to incentivize cross-sector research between those working at the intersection of arts, health, and community development.
