-
Life Expectancy: Early 1900s
The average life expectancy in 1900 was around 47 years, nearly 30 years lower than today's life expectancy (Schmerling, 2022). Social work at this time focused on improving poverty, which is a large population that suffers injustices and shorter life expectancies ("Social Work History"). Photo Reference:
NASW History. www.naswfoundation.org/Our-Work/The-NASW-Legacy-Project/NASW-History. -
Growing Life Expectancy in the 20th Century
Due to public health improvements, sanitation improvements, vaccines, and much more, the life expectancy across the world has improved greatly (Dattani et al., 2023). Social workers played a great part in this improvement; they helped bring awareness to mental health, providing help to low-income areas, and working with these older populations. Photo Reference:
Group work – expansion and professionalism 1937 – 1955. infed.org/mobi/group-work-expansion-and-professionalism-1937-1955. -
Life Expectancy in 2005
The life expectancy when I was born and for my race was about 78 years old. At this time in the U.S., this age was considered "record high" for Americans ("U.S. Life Expectancy," 2007). Photo Reference:
Schreckengost, Jaci. “The Ultimate Gen Z Video Marketing Guide.” QuickFrame, 12 June 2024, quickframe.com/blog/gen-z-video-marketing-guide. -
Life Expectancy: Present
Although the average life expectancy has gone down since COVID-19, people are living longer, which creates a need for geriatric care. Today, in 2024, the average life expectancy is about 77 years in the U.S. (Rakshit et al., 2024). Social workers help in geriatric care to help those with financial issues, health issues, and general care. Photo Reference:
Life Expectancy By State 2024. www.datapandas.org/ranking/life-expectancy-by-state.