SWG 573 Module 6 Interview and Analysis Paper: An Older Adult's Experience of Aging Policy Example

Working Her Whole Life and Still Doing the Math: An Interview on Aging Policy

Student Name

Master of Social Work, Arizona State University

SWG 573: Policies to Promote Healthy Aging

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

Working Her Whole Life and Still Doing the Math: An Interview on Aging Policy

Introduction

I interviewed Mrs. Dorothy Hayes, 74, a retired elementary school teacher who has lived in south Phoenix for 40 years. She is a Black woman and a widow, while I am a white, male student in my twenties. We spoke for an hour at her kitchen table, and she agreed to let me use her story with a pseudonym. I asked about the challenges of aging, her views of public programs, her service needs, cultural influences on her care and what services she knows about.

Key Questions and Responses

Asked about challenges, Mrs. Hayes named money first. Her husband's death cut household income, and although she taught for 31 years, she said she is "still doing the math every month." Her arthritis makes the bus difficult, and she stopped driving last year.

Asked about public programs, she called Social Security and Medicare "what keeps me in this house," but said her Medicare plan's out-of-pocket costs for her knee injections were a surprise. She had never heard of the Medicare Savings Programs, which help people with limited incomes pay Medicare costs.

Asked about service needs, she listed transportation to appointments, help with yard work and someone to check on her during summer heat waves.

Asked about culture, she described her church as her main support and said she trusts information from her pastor more than from government offices. She recalled being treated dismissively by a clinic in the past and said she prefers a Black physician when possible.

Asked about awareness of services, she knew about senior centers but not the local Area Agency on Aging, the hub for Older Americans Act services in her county.

Connecting Her Experiences to Policy

Her money worries fit a national gap: older women's median income trails older men's by about $12,800 a year, according to federal figures for 2022 (Administration for Community Living, 2024). Social Security matters even more for those without large savings or pensions. Her surprise at medical costs points to gaps in Medicare coverage, and her lack of awareness of the Medicare Savings Programs reflects a known problem: many eligible older adults do not enroll in benefits they qualify for. Her need for transportation and heat checks matches services the Older Americans Act funds through Area Agencies on Aging, yet she did not know where to start.

Theory: Cumulative Advantage and Disadvantage

Dannefer (2003) describes cumulative advantage and disadvantage as the tendency for initial differences between people to grow over the life course through social processes, so that inequality in later life reflects decades of unequal opportunity. Mrs. Hayes earned a teacher's salary, but she described a career that began in segregated schools, years of lower pay than white colleagues and a neighborhood where home values grew slowly. Her current financial strain is the end point of those processes, not a personal failure. Her distrust of some health providers also has roots in experiences of discrimination, which makes trusted messengers, like her pastor, central to outreach.

Needed Policy and Program Changes

First, benefit enrollment should be simplified and actively offered; screening older adults for the Medicare Savings Programs at Social Security offices and clinics would reach people like Mrs. Hayes. Second, Area Agencies on Aging should partner with Black churches to share information through trusted leaders. Third, funding for transportation and heat-related wellness checks under the Older Americans Act should expand as Arizona's summers grow hotter.

Reflection

I expected to hear about health problems. Instead, I heard about money, trust and information. As a future social worker, I will ask clients what benefits they already receive and screen them for the rest, and I will remember that the source of information can matter as much as its accuracy. Helping clients reach the resources they are entitled to is a core duty in the NASW Code of Ethics (National Association of Social Workers, 2021).

References

Administration for Community Living. (2024). 2023 profile of older Americans. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Dannefer, D. (2003). Cumulative advantage/disadvantage and the life course: Cross-fertilizing age and social science theory. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 58(6), S327-S337. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/58.6.S327

National Association of Social Workers. (2021). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English