Elder adults interview

Interview and Paper/ 6 hours For this assignment, you will conduct a brief interview with an elder and write a 3-4 page, double spaced, APA format, typed paper to describe this elder’s perspectives of aging.

Use the points below to help you prepare your paper. Interview a cognitively intact elderly person. This person must be 65 or older and may be a client, friend, neighbor, parent, grandparent, or other elder family member.

Obtain permission for the interview, which should last no more than 30-45 minutes.

Ask the elder to describe different factors and experiences which they feel shaped their life, lifestyle, and attitudes towards aging and health.

While you are free to develop your own questions and/or direction of the interview, keep the following points in mind throughout the interview, and address each point in your paper. Enjoy your time with your elderly interviewee!

1. Describe any important points in history that made an impact on your life, lifestyle, and/or health.

How did they impact you? Which was probably the most important to you? (NOTE: these could be historical, religious, cultural political, personal, financial, spiritual, etc.)

2. How do you define health? Has this definition changed over the years? If so, how?

3. Describe your current health beliefs/practices. Are they the same as those of your parents, elders, or culture? If different, describe how they are different and what may have influenced the change(s).

4. How do you define “elderly?” Has this definition changed over the years? If so, how? Is there a certain age at which one becomes elderly, or is it a state of health, mind, attitude, etc.?

5. When you were younger, you probably had some expectations about growing older. Please describe them. Have these expectations been met, or has your experience been different? If different, describe.

* Note to Student (NOT AN INTERVIEW QUESTION): also include in your paper the thoughts, feelings, comfort level, etc. that you experienced while spending time with this elder. Have any of YOUR opinions, attitudes, etc., about the elderly changed??