| This research examines how Parkinson's Disease (PD) reflects and reproduces the embodiment of aging as decline among older adults living with PD in Iowa. It intertwines the disciplines of medical anthropology, critical gerontology, and public health in order to unravel the complex relationships among PD, aging, and the aged. Data derive from sufferers' illness narratives, interviews with PD caregivers, participant observation conducted in support groups and study subjects' homes, and questionnaires designed to collect self-reported health status, healthcare utilization, and demographic characteristics of patient and caregiver respondents. The project is a case study in how the medicalization of aging and societal views which define aging as a process of inevitable decline shape the experience of aging. A progressive and incurable neurological condition, PD produces tremor, stiffness and slowed movement in its largely elderly patients. Embarrassing symptoms, the use of and dependence upon medications, and reliance upon assistive devices contribute to an acceleration of aging. The symptoms of PD that overlap with stereotypical markers of older age point to PD's mediating effect on the embodiment of aging. The function of PD as an obscurer of aging demonstrates how sufferers' embodiment can be indicative of the ongoing medicalization of aging. An embodiment perspective provides new information on the experience of aging in the US and can inform public health efforts to improve the quality of life for older adults. |
