The increase in life expectancy and the reduction of mortality have produced an increasing of the ageing of the population.
Due to this, it is necessary to pay more attention to the healthcare quality of this population group, which has made possible the
development of Geriatrics (branch of medicine that studies the acute and
chronic diseases in elderly patients in its clinical, therapeutic, preventive
and social aspects).
It is important to differentiate this concept from Gerontology:
science that studies the aging process in general, as well as biological,
psychological and social changes that occur in old age.
The main objectives of the Geriatrics are:
The main objectives of the Geriatrics are:
- Preventing the elderly from becoming a social burden
- Improve the quality of life, instead of prolonging it.
This will be achieved through a series of functions and specific nursing care, like preventing complications, management of problems (incontinence, dysphagia...) and health education, both to the patient and his family, mainly.
Different situations of elderly will be established for this purpose:
- Healthy older person: does not have any degree of functional, social or mental problems.
- Sick elder: elder healthy with acute illness.
- Fragile or high-risk elderly: one or several diseases which keep them independent but with a high risk of becoming dependent.
- Geriatric patients: present at least 3 of this criteria (more than 75 years, relevant pluripathology, main disease with debilitating character, social problems and mental pathology in relation to their State of health).
In my opinion, it is very important to know how to detect the groups of risk, in order to respond to their needs in an efficient way. That will allow us to prevent or extend, as much as possible, the evolution of these high-risk patients, improving their quality of life.
Bibliography
- Instituto Nacional de Estadística (National Statistics Institute) [sede web]. Madrid: Ministerio de Sanidad y Política Social; 2012. Disponible en: http://www.ine.es
- Egurza M, Notivol P. La enfermería en la asistencia sanitaria al anciano. Anales. Universidad de Navarra. Disponible en: http://www.cfnavarra.es/salud/anales/textos/vol22/suple1/suple10.html
