On the Need for Prospective Studies on Aging and Health of the Hispanic Population in the United States

Authors

Roberto Ham-Chande
Silvia Mejia-Arango, The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyFollow

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

2012

Abstract

Designing and planning public policies are tasks which aim to improve future wellbeing, often based on predictions of the future. This approach seems obvious, although actually it is a difficult task that often is not accomplished. It is known that everything that has to do with the future implies uncertainties. After planning for a social and economic future, unforeseen events are likely and produce unexpected outcomes. However, it is also true that the future is not an inevitable fate, at least in some degree. The future has some plasticity and rather than trying to guess precisely what will occur, attempts are made to identify which factors influence the process and how these can be manipulated. This allows some degree of control of the future and may avoid critical circumstances. This possibility relies on the construction of scenarios that assess feasibility and likely consequences. Thus, instead of a forecast, the aims are to identify desirable conditions, avoid potential crises, and design actions to mitigate effects of potential risks. In practice, just achieving some of the above is a high reward.

Comments

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

https://rdcu.be/eUhE8

Recommended Citation

Ham-Chande, R., & Mejía-Arango, S. (2012). On the Need for Prospective Studies on Aging and Health of the Hispanic Population in the United States. In Aging, Health, and Longevity in the Mexican-Origin Population (pp. 111-123). Boston, MA: Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1867-2_9

First Page

111

Last Page

123

Publication Title

Aging, Health, and Longevity in the Mexican-Origin Population

DOI

10.1007/978-1-4614-1867-2_9

Academic Level

faculty

Mentor/PI Department

Neuroscience