Spiritual_Wellness_Holistic_Health_and_the_Practic

Health Educators and the Future 57
we work. Technology will be central to health education of the future but the
emphasis will be technology for people, not in spite of people. User - friendly,
people - focused technology is the future.
5. Finally, we are undergoing a massive change in culture in our society. We are
literally looking different as a nation and the conventional majority values and
norms are being challenged as we become a more diverse, more ethnic, more
interesting culture. Health educators have long prided themselves with working
across cultures and being sensitive to individual differences. The cultural
changes that are in the works, however, are of a greater magnitude than any of us
have experienced previously.
I want to look a bit closer at all these themes of change — the forces propelling
us into the twenty - first century. We can begin with the last, the demographic changes
we are undergoing which will transform us into a new culture. Let me provide a few
statistics as a backdrop for discussing the trends I see occurring.
MINORITIES, AGING, NEW TYPES OF FAMILIES, AND ACTIVISM
Two numbers almost tell it all:
1. By the year 2000, 35 percent of school age children will be what we conventionally
have termed minority: African American, Latino, and Asian;
2. By the year 2000, one - fifth of the population will be over the age of 65.
These statistics deserve elaboration (see Gerber et al., 1989; Naisbitt & Aburdine,
1991; Miller, 1991). In 1985, 14.9 percent of all school children in America were
Black — by 2000 this figure will be 16 percent. In 1985, 9.6 percent of school age children
were Latino, by 2000 the number will be 16 percent. Fertility and immigration
patterns indicate that Latinos and Asian Americans are the fastest growing minority
groups in the country. By the year 2000, over 10 million people in the United States
will be of Asian descent, and in California they will be the number - two minority group,
exceeded only by Latinos.
The White non - Latino population is growing more slowly and is expected to have
decreased from 73 percent in 1985 to 66 percent by the year 2000. In some areas the
change is particularly vivid. In New York City, by 2005, 35 percent of the population
will be Latino. Whites and Blacks will represent 25 percent each. By 2025 over 40
percent of New York City residents will be Latino, and figures for California will be
similar. From these data it is clear that we are rapidly becoming a society where minorities
are the majority.
In the late 1980s, 30 million Americans were over 65, and that is 12 percent of
the population; by the year 2000 this group will be 20 percent. By 2025, people over
65 will outnumber teenagers two to one, and by 2030 one in every four people will be
65 years or older. By 2000, just around the corner, there will be five million Americans