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The form of elder care provided varies greatly among countries and is changing rapidly. Even within the same country, regional differences exist with respect to the care for the elderly. Traditionally elder care has been the responsibility of family members and was provided within the extended family home. Increasingly in modern societies, elder care is now being provided by state or charitable institutions.
The reasons for this change include decreasing family size, the greater life expectancy of elderly people, the geographical dispersion of families, and the tendency for women to be educated and work outside the home. Although these changes have affected European and North American countries first, it is now increasingly affecting Asian countries also. In most western countries, elder care facilities are freestanding. They may also be part of a continuing-care retirement community, seniors apartment complex, or wing of a nursing home. Ownership and operations of these facilities vary also.
What is the Elder care?
Old age
Old age consists of ages nearing or surpassing the average life span of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle. Euphemisms and terms for older people include seniors — chiefly an American usage or elderly. As occurs with almost any definable group of humanity, some people will hold a prejudice against others; in this case, against older people. This is one form of ageism. Older people have limited regenerative abilities and are more prone to disease, syndromes, and sickness than other adults. For the biology of ageing, see Senescence. The medical study of the aging process is gerontology, and the study of diseases that afflict the elderly is geriatrics.
Cultural elder care
The form of elder care provided varies greatly among countries and is changing rapidly. Even within the same country, regional differences exist with respect to the care for the elderly. Traditionally elder care has been the responsibility of family members and was provided within the extended family home. Increasingly in modern societies, elder care is now being provided by state or charitable institutions. The reasons for this change include decreasing family size, the greater life expectancy of elderly people, the geographical dispersion of families, and the tendency for women to be educated and work outside the home. Although these changes have affected European and North American countries first, it is now increasingly affecting Asian countries also. In most western countries, elder care facilities are freestanding. They may also be part of a continuing-care retirement community, seniors apartment complex, or wing of a nursing home. Ownership and operations of these facilities vary also. In the United States, most of the large multi-facility providers are publicly owned and managed as for-profit businesses. There are exceptions; the largest operator in the US is the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, a not-for-profit organization that manages 6,531 beds in 22 states, according to a 1995 study by the American Health Care Association.
Health program
1. Prevention of chronic disease
Genetic factors
Mostly uncommon chronic diseases are established genetic factors example hemophilia and gout. So, the elder who got the inheritance or causative gene more chance of chronically illness. You should to counseling with a doctor or expert man.
Nutritional factors
Daily foods have profound influence on the occurance of chronic disease. Obesity and malnutrition are in themselves disease, shortening life span caused by heart attack, hypertension, diabetes and osteoarthritis.
One cause of disease is an optimal total calories uptake may be deficiency of nutrient. Example lacking of Iron caused to anemia, or inadequate of some amino acid cause of edema.
The rest-activity ratio
Ratio of rest and activity is unequal are influence of chronic disease example, if you have more physical exercise. You get risk of heart disease.
Habit –forming drugs
The excessive or prolong of a number of habit –forming drugs or alcohol are significant in several chronic disease, lack of nutrient or vitamin deficiency caused to the cirrhosis of liver and brain damage. Furthermore, if you ever use narcotic drugs. Its cause of underlying personality disorder.
-Psychological Factors
Frequently, more people to be sick cause by “anxiety thinking”. Example, Peptic ulcer and hypertension.
2.How to checking to chronic disease?
Annual Health checking
Chest x-ray, Test of visual and auditory acuity, ocular tonometry to detect glaucoma, urinalysis, blood checking (sugar, germ, WBC, RBC, cholesterol), proctosigmoidoscopy, virginal smear ,ect.
-Multiple screening
Short time to test and freely (or low cost)
3.Care of ambulatory chronic ill
Why not take care illness man at home?
Answer some disease of elder have to close up taking care.
Example Cancer ,Tuberculosis patients or another severe disease must to consulting and take care by nurse or physician.
One of the problems involved in providing care for ambulatory patients is that only some prepayment of insurance planning.
4.Home care of elder
Organizing home care
Planning of look after the elder at home is better way for mostly illness man, because of someone dislike the hospitalized atmosphere. Almost or nearby of all elder got chronic disease that along time treatment. So, home care is the better for patients and relatives. Moreover, the physician and hospitalized man do not overwork and decrease some problem of caring the elder and the bed use for admit emerged patients.
5. Institutional for eldercare
Hospital
Nursing home
Personal care home
Supporting service
1.Nursing
Public health nursing is consisted of nursing and allied services to person, family. Nurse who looks after community of patients or planning of take care the elder. Hers roles are the care of sick in their home under physical guidance, health educator, nutritionist, physical therapist, she have to be alert for changing the condition of the patients.
The significant of the nursing are interpretation and consult to the elder. Sometime role as supervisor in health and emotional care.
2. Education
To tell and maintain optimal health, to effect change in behavior that cause improve for the better health. Using the device for changing their bad habit; smoking, drinks, drug. Example: media of mass communicate, newspaper, radio, TV , case study or magazine.
3. Nutrition
Well – rounded help against to chronic disease for good health. The elders have a good health if got sufficient available nutrients. But the most problem is lack of teeth and can’t /inefficient of chewing meals. So, the nutritionist roles are require the special diet and assistance in menu preparation. Co-working with nursing. As consultant in comfortable nutrition to specialized patient; obese, arthritic, diabetic patients are consulted by food faddist, because the expensive or supplementary food are not always good for health.
4. Dentistry
The elder must to checking their oral health. Prevent an oral cancer and systemic disease and chronic dental disease. For the better life ; able to eat, sleep and to do the favorite activity. So, the maintain of adequate mastication help to be a good health. Most elder usually have periodontal and geriodontics disease (loss of calcium from the bone due to osteoporosis).
Environment factors in adult health
1. water and food
Caution
Sodium that soluted in water is more over than limitation caused of more diseases. Example; cardiovascular diseases are made a heart failure, hypertension. Food from the packaging is concern of the chronic disease. Dietary food and supplementary food should not take for elder if it not under physical guidance.
2. Light
The retina of elder easy to damaged by the excessively bright lights and may be visual problem. Avoid it with wearing protective goggles.
3. Housing
Should be design the living place of elders to decrease the accident and illness such as move them live at the first floor because of when they up stair. Its caused of neuromuscular-skeleton disease. Thus use the wheelchair or elevator. The condition and surroundings should be cleansing up always.
4. Air
Without polluted air in home is necessary for everyone. Its concern about their health. So, air conditioning must be hygiene (somebody hate to disuse perfume with air conditioner.
Long-term care funding
National governments have responded to growing long-term care needs at several levels. Most Western European countries have put in place a mechanism to fund formal care and, in a number of Northern and Continental European countries, arrangements exist to at least partially fund informal care as well. Some countries have had publicly organized funding arrangements in place for many years: the Netherlands adopted the Exceptional Medical Expenses Act (ABWZ) in 1967, and in 1988 Norway established a framework for municipal payments to informal caregivers (in certain instances making them municipal employees). Other countries have only recently put in place comprehensive national programs: in 2004, for example, France set up a specific insurance fund for dependent older people. Some countries (Spain and Italy in Southern Europe, Poland and Hungary in Central Europe) have not yet established comprehensive national programs, relying on informal caregivers combined with a fragmented mix of formal services that varies in quality and by location.
Long-term care
It is common for long-term care to provide custodial and non-skilled care, such as assisting with normal daily tasks like dressing, bathing, and using the bathroom. Long-term care may also include medical care that most people do for themselves, such as diabetes monitoring. Long-term care can be provided at home, in the community, in assisted living or in nursing homes. Long-term care may be need by people of any age, even though it is a common need for senior citizens.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) estimate that about nine million men and women over the age of 65 in the US will need long-term care in 2006. By 2020, 12 million older Americans will need long-term care. It is anticipated that most will be cared for at home; family and friends are the sole caregivers for 70 percent of the elderly. A study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that people who reach age 65 will likely have a 40 percent chance of entering a nursing home. About 10 percent of the people who enter a nursing home will stay there five years or more.
A 2006 study conducted by AARP found that most Americans are unaware of the costs associated with long-term care and overestimate the amount that government programs such as Medicare will pay.
