At 69, aging is nothing new to Dr Terry Asla, an international PhD graduate of Charles Sturt University (CSU).
With a career devoted to the needs of older people. Dr Asla has now completed a PhD through CSU focused on the role information plays in helping people age successfully.
Dr Asla will travel from the Port of Brownsville in Washington (state) in the USA to attend his graduation ceremony at CSU in Wagga Wagga from 3pm on Wednesday 18 December.
"Information and communication is a central key to successful aging," said Dr Asla.
"I chose to study through an Australian institution because, in my experience, Australia is far ahead of the USA in the area of aging. I chose Charles Sturt University because it is the world's leading authority on the information needs and information-seeking behaviours of older adults, Dr Kirsty Williamson."
"Australia's population, indeed, the global population, is aging at an unprecedented rate," Dr Asla said. "The USA is unprepared to deal with what some authorities believe will be the defining challenge of this century.
"While a great deal of attention has focused on the positive lifestyles of healthy older adults - the 'well-derly' - the needs of the truly old - the 'ill-derly' - have been largely ignored up until now."
Dr Asla's study explored these needs and found:
- The ill-derly become increasingly isolated or 'cloistered'
- The ability to use technology declines in the 'Fourth Age'; a challenge to other views that the internet and smart devices are the keys to meeting the information needs of the ill-derly
- Having meaningful interests is central to a sense of successful aging
- The good news is that these interests (and the attendant need for information) can be maintained longer given the support of understanding individuals and organizations
- Finally, experiences that positive emotions play a large role in successful aging. Research has shown that positive older adults live longer, learn better, retain knowledge longer, and express greater life satisfaction.
Dr Asla's PhD supervisor is Dr Kirsty Williamson from CSU'sSchool of Information Studiesand Monash University's Caulfield School of Information Technology. "Terry's study is both ground-breaking and timely," Dr Williamson said. "It comes as we are just on the cusp of a potentially catastrophic explosion in the numbers of ill-derly both here and abroad.
"The study demonstrates what we as individuals, family members and as a society, can do to help assure people continue to experience life satisfaction to the end of their days."
Dr Asla said, "The key to successful aging is meaningful activities. It's not enough to simply have the strength to get out of bed in the morning; you need a compelling reason to get out of bed in the morning."
Six graduation ceremonies will be held at CSU in Wagga Wagga from Monday 16 December to Wednesday 18 December. Read more in CSU News here.
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