Geriatrics: Providing Care for Older Adults
Introduction
As the global population continues to age, geriatrics is becoming an increasingly important field of healthcare. The aging process brings about a range of physical, mental and emotional changes, which demand specific and personalized care for older adults. With the number of people over 65 in the United States expected to rise significantly in the next decade, it is important to understand the unique healthcare needs of older adults and the role of geriatrics in providing comprehensive care.
Understanding Geriatrics
Geriatrics is the branch of medicine concerned with diagnosing, treating, and managing health conditions common in older adults. The aging process results in a decline in organ function, even in the absence of illness or injury, and a decrease in immunity that makes older adults more susceptible to certain conditions. Some common health conditions in older adults include diabetes, heart conditions, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, and high blood pressure. Geriatrics is focused on providing care and support to help older adults lead a healthy, comfortable, and quality life.
What Entails Geriatric Care?
Geriatric care is focused on providing support to older adults in their daily lives, from helping with cleaning and feeding to prescribing and administering medication. The main goal of geriatric care is to provide quality care and support, prevent and detect chronic illness at an early stage, improve and manage health conditions, prevent deterioration, and maximize the level of functionality. Geriatric care is provided by a team of healthcare professionals, including physicians, doctors, pharmacists, social workers, nurses, and mental health professionals. Family and caregivers also play a significant role in caring for older adults.
Care Settings
Geriatric care can be offered in various settings, including hospitals and in-home care services. Older adults with chronic conditions requiring immediate and complex care may need to be hospitalized for closer monitoring, but most prefer in-home care services where they are comfortable and close to their families. Geriatric care ensures that aging and the conditions that come with it do not prevent older adults from leading a happy and quality life.
As the global population continues to age, geriatrics is becoming increasingly important. With the number of people over 65 in the United States expected to rise significantly in the next decade, it is crucial to understand the unique healthcare needs of older adults and the role of geriatrics in providing comprehensive care. Geriatric care focuses on providing support to older adults in their daily lives, and is provided by a team of healthcare professionals, including physicians, doctors, pharmacists, social workers, nurses, and mental health professionals. Geriatric care is offered in various settings, including hospitals and in-home care services, and is focused on ensuring that older adults lead a healthy, comfortable, and quality life.
References
Kanne, G. E., McConnell, E. S., Disco, M. E., Black, M. C., Upchurch, G., Matters, L. M., … & Heflin, M. T. (2023). The interagency care team: A new model to integrate social and medical care for older adults in primary care. Geriatric Nursing, 50, 72-79.
Lucke, J. A., Mooijaart, S. P., Heeren, P., Singler, K., McNamara, R., Gilbert, T., … & Conroy, S. (2022). Providing care for older adults in the Emergency Department: expert clinical recommendations from the European Task Force on Geriatric Emergency Medicine. European geriatric medicine, 1-9.
Ribeiro, Patricia Cruz Pontifice Sousa Valente, Rita Margarida Dourado Marques, and Marta Pontifice Ribeiro. “Geriatric care: ways and means of providing comfort.” Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem 70.4 (2017): 830-837.
Patel, Dipesh, and Richard J. Ackermann. “Issues in Geriatric Care: Falls.” FP essentials 468 (2018): 18-25.
Tinetti, Mary, Allen Huang, and Frank Molnar. “The geriatrics 5M’s: a new way of communicating what we do.” Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 65.9 (2017): 2115-2115.
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