Fazia Sameer

 Perception of aging, the feelings the elderly people have about the process of aging with regard to their surroundings. It includes features such as experience, awareness and evaluation of the aging process. Aging is affected by personal and social aspects. The study of the perception of aging can be helpful in determining the future health, adaptation to life variations and satisfaction of the individual in the old age. The world is witnessing an overall increase in the number of old age people, similar is the case in Iran. The Iranian Ministry of Health 2002 reported that in 1996, 3.97 million aged 60 and over lived in Iran, which constituted 6.6% of its total population (Abedi, & Maggs, 1997). By the end of the following decade it would have risen to 10%, and by the year 2050 it would be 21.5 %.( Iran Ministry of Health, 2002). This rise in the population is accompanied by changes in the family composition, labour structure and health requirements. The government of Iran is anticipating social, economic and health needs of the aging population and trying to prepare a setup to meet their requirements. Many different countries have conducted researches to determine the quality of life of their senior citizens. Iran should also carry out such studies to set precedence for the social and bodily necessities, and the quantity of assistance required by this age group. For successful aging the topmost need is social comfort, and then comes the psychological health and physical security. Being an Islamic country the practice of looking after their elders is a common family obligation in Iran. But, as the society is moving towards modernization, employment of both genders, and decreasing sizes of the families, people look at this issue with a different viewpoint. The number of old age care centers in Iran is very scarce with meager facilities. Due to this reason, the old age proportion in these care centres is very limited. Surveys show that the elder population in Iran has an average quality of life. Quality of life is measured as an of assessment of person’s life and depends on his culture, beliefs and values of the society in which he lives. It depends more on the personal factors rather than external conditions. The prevalent cultural and emotional troubles and unhygienic and low living conditions are leading the elderly population of Iran to dangerous situation. Developed countries of the world are indulged in the process of dealing with the old population for a longer period than the under developed countries. Consequently we can say that they have much better programs to coop with this issue. Under developed countries like Iran with much low per capita income, scarce medical and social welfare facilities has to work very hard to develop programs for their elderly population. References: 1. Adam Smith: The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics | Library of Economics and Liberty. (2017). Econlib.org. Retrieved 1 August 2017,fromhttp://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Smith.html 2. Cheshmberah, A., Hoseini, M., Shojaee Zadeh, D., & Moghimi-Dehkordi, B. (2017). Determinants of Physical Health of Older People in Iran. 3. Bakhshi, E., Seifi, B., Biglarian, A., & Mohammad, K. (2017). Factors associated with obesity in Iranian elderly people: Results from the National Health Survey. 4. Koochek, A., Mirmiran, P., Sundquist, K., Hosseini, F., Azizi, T., & Moeini, A. et al. (2017). Dietary differences between elderly Iranians living in Sweden and Iran a cross-sectional comparative study.