Introduction
As a matter of fact, in the contemporary world, people are living longer all over the world, and almost every country experiences the growth of the older population. According to the World Health Organization, its proportion will almost double from 12% to 22% globally between 2015 and 2050 (“Ageing and health,” n.d.). From the biological perspective, the process of aging results from cellular and molecular damage accumulated over time, leading to a decrease in mental and physical capacity, a risk of serious chronic diseases, and death Although these changes cannot be regarded as consistent or linear and they are not directly associated with age, senior adults are more vulnerable to them. Along with biological peculiarities, aging is frequently associated with social transitions and emotional challenges, including retirement, relocation, and the death of partners and friends.
That is why older people traditionally face a considerable number of health issues. Common conditions include refractive errors, cataracts, hearing loss, back pain, osteoarthritis, diabetes, chronic heart disease, obstructive pulmonary disease, dementia, and depression. In addition, with age, people often experience several conditions simultaneously. Moreover, age is characterized by the emergence of complex health states that are commonly defined as geriatric syndromes (“Ageing and health,” n.d.). Traditionally, the consequences of other underlying factors include falls, delirium, urinary incontinence, frailty, and pressure ulcers.
At the same time, a longer life should be associated with new opportunities for older people, their families, and society as well. Thus, additional years may provide “the chance to pursue new activities such as further education, a new career or a long-neglected passion” (“Ageing and health,” n.d., para. 7). In addition, older citizens may contribute to the wellbeing of other community members. However, all these opportunities strongly depend on one factor – health. However, a considerable number of senior individuals all over the world cannot access adequate and high-quality health care due to numerous health care issues that currently exist in the health care systems of multiple countries.
The main purpose of this work is to examine modern health care issues in relation to the older population that currently exists in developed countries, including Australia. The significance of this work is determined by the fact that the number of older people is ultimately growing due to healthier lifestyles and medical advances. However, health care systems are less flexible and cannot address all issues related to this population. That is why all challenges should be identified for the elaboration of adequate response and preventative measures. First of all, the paper presents the case from nursing practice. Subsequently, it examines these issues in general, addresses the situation in Canada, and explains how health care issues are represented on the basis of provided examples. Finally, the work briefly investigates the potential solutions that should be considered to reduce the geriatric population’s health care issues.
Example from Nursing Practice
As a matter of fact, the examination of modern issues related to health care for the older population is determined by multiple cases of inappropriate health care delivery for senior citizens. The situation that addressed several problems at once was observed during my practice in a particular medical setting. Mr. Martinez was a 73-year-old man who regularly and continuously was hospitalized to receive treatment for his chronic heart disease and arthritis. In addition, in the springtime, when the patient was in a hospital, he had to take antihistamines due to a grass pollen allergy. Generally, Mr. Martinez could be characterized as a calm and peaceful person who, however, kept silent most of the time as he did not speak English fluently, and there were no Spanish-speaking nurses as well. At the same time, during his last hospitalization, the patient looked disappointed and slightly asocial. His daughter informed the physician that his wife, Mr. Martinez, had recently passed away.
In the hospital, Mr. Martinez started to experience sleep disorders; insomnia was the most serious among them. He could stay awake all night and logically feel drowsiness during the day. However, this problem was poorly considered and Mr. Martinez suggested Temazepam fall and stay asleep. In addition, he and his family members explained that sleep problems are common among the older population due to age-related changes in the body.
General Background
The growing aging population may be defined as a modern issue that already has a considerable impact on health care and will inevitably change it in the future. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) presented the Global Health and Aging report, “the number of people aged 65 or older is projected to grow from an estimated 524 million in 2010 to nearly 1.5 billion in 2050, with most of the increase in developing countries” (Garza, 2016, para. 2). In addition, the number of senior citizens will overpass the number of newborns and infants.
Factors contributing to the growth of the elderly population include increased life expectancy due to improved life quality and changes in major causes of death. In other words, people currently die mostly from chronic non-communicable diseases rather than infections. These diseases typically include cancer, hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, heart disease and congestive heart failure, high cholesterol, and dementia. In high-income countries, cancer, stroke, and heart disease are conditions that have the most substantial impact on the elderly population (Garza, 2016). Moreover, the incidences of falls, obesity and comorbidities connected with alcohol consumption and smoking in the past are also increasing.
There is no commonly accepted opinion concerning the changes in health conditions, especially in relation to senior adults. Thus, according to the report presented by WHO, with the increase of life expectancy and the progress in medicine, the prevalence of disability will substantially decrease (Garza, 2016). However, other experts believe that in this case, the prevalence of disability will increase as well due to the ability of innovations to turn the progression of chronic diseases to disability (Garza, 2016). The third hypothesis states that there will be an increased number of milder chronic diseases. However, severe disability will decrease.
Thus, modern health care issues in relation to the aging population may be formulated as the following:
- Elderly patients require more physical and mental assistance due to multiple factors related to age. Thus, the need for resources essential for this care will increase across all medical settings.
- The incidences of comorbidities and health conditions associated with age, such as obesity, sleep disturbances, or osteoporosis, that require specific care will increase as well.
- In the present day, the shortages of health care professionals are already observed, and they will inevitably impact the quality of health care delivered to elderly citizens.
- Similar to other patients, senior ones also come from different backgrounds and have various cultural, religious, and personal characteristics, values, and beliefs that should be considered.
- In relation to the aging population, health care frequently does not address comorbidities and additional factors of a particular disease associated with age.
- The structure and sustainability of the health care system and federal programs for older patients require substantial improvement.
- In general, senior patients need nurses and family caregivers for a comprehensive and time-sensitive health care delivery. However, the number of caregivers constantly decreases due to family structure changes.
In general, along with limited access to quality health care due to challenges within the system, there are other barriers for older people, and a lack of health care affordability is among them. When seniors have poor income from retirement, low-paying jobs, or no financial support from their families, their chances of receiving adequate treatment are considerably limited. Other barriers may include health care professionals’ little knowledge in relation to seniors’ particular health issues, especially in rural areas, age-inappropriate health care services, poor transportation infrastructure, and age-related stigma or discrimination.
In Canada
It is necessary to mention that same, like in other high-income developed countries, the population in Canada is gradually and inevitably aging. According to a 2018 report by The Conference Board of Canada, the proportion of older adults in the country will rise from almost 17% in 2018 to 21% over the next ten years (The Conference Board of Canada, 2018). Thus, meeting the aging population’s health care needs will inevitably create a financial burden for the Canadian government. To be precise, the growing demands of older patients “will drive the costs of Canada’s publicly funded health care system higher” – an average health care cost for a senior will be approximately $12,000 per year, opposite to $2,700 per year for the rest of the country’s population (The Conference Board of Canada, 2018). Thus, Canada’s aging population will generate more than $90 billion in addition to already existing health care costs (The Conference Board of Canada, 2018). At the same time, multiple territories are already struggling to meet seniors’ care needs.
Particular Issues that Should Be Addressed on the Basis of Mr. Martinez’s Case
Analyzing the situation with Mr. Martinez, it is possible to identify several previously mentioned health care issues that exist in relation to the geriatric population and how they are presented in practice. Thus, it goes without saying that sleep is a highly important component of wellness and health in general across the lifespan. When a person becomes older, sleep architecture changes may be considered normal and not pathologic. However, sleep disturbances are not an obligatory part of the process of aging. Senior adults are vulnerable to sleep problems due to multiple factors, including the combination of comorbidities, primary sleep disorders, psychosocial factors, and the use of particular medications and substances (Miner & Kryger, 2017). Thus, it is possible to say that sleep disturbances are psychiatric and medical health issues that occur as a consequence of aging or complement its processes.
In general, nurses’ significance in addressing sleep problems in older patients is determined by the geriatric population increase. Thus, sleep disturbances may be regarded as a health care issue that requires a comprehensive treatment approach with the consideration of all risk factors (Miner & Kryger, 2017). In other words, a doctor should investigate a patient’s condition in order to understand whether sleep changes are natural or are determined by comorbidities, medication, and other factors. Thus, a physical exam, a blood test, psychological consulting, and monitoring of body activities during sleep, including breathing, heartbeat, brain waves, and eye movements, help understand the causes of a sleep disorder (Mayo Clinic Staff, n.d.). In some cases, a patient is asked to keep a diary recording sleep-wake patterns.
Thus, on the basis of Mr. Martinez’s case, the following health care issues were observed:
- Senior patients require more resources due to their age-related health issues. The problem of Mr. Martinez related to insomnia was not addressed in an appropriate way – no examinations and analyses were made to identify the causes of his disorder that need specific care. In addition, the patient’s family members were not informed concerning his state and were not provided specific recommendations to reduce sleep disorders at home. At the same time, insomnia may significantly worsen the state of the patient who already has serious chronic diseases.
- All factors should be initially addressed to determine treatment. In turn, Mr. Martinez was treated with medications. However, his sleep issues could be caused not only by his age, but by comorbidities, including arthritis and heart disease, antihistamines that promote sleep disorders, and depression related to his wife’s death.
- All patients, including seniors, require culturally competent health care delivery and emotional support. Health care providers should consider their cultural, religious, and individual peculiarities, values, and beliefs in order to improve outcomes. However, in the provided example, a senior patient did not receive any psychological support, and his mental health that impacted his sleep disorders was ignored. Moreover, no one paid attention that Mr. Martinez could not communicate properly due to his absence of language skills and was in need of a Spanish-speaking health care provider.
Potential Solutions
Regardless of the state’s economic and social wellbeing, the aging population leads to changes in its health care system. As previously mentioned, senior-oriented care requires substantial resources, finances, and a workforce, as with age, people tend to suffer from more illnesses, especially chronic ones (Haseltine, 2018). In general, strategies should include the strengthening of public health’s role, an adequately prepared workforce, the development of new approaches to care delivery, the remediation of inequities and disparities, the allocation of resources for patient-centered care, and financing of new projects and long-term services (Fulmer et al., 2021). Thus, the government should recognize already existing issues related to health care provided for the older population in a broad range, including the nation’s social climate, available services, and health care delivery methods, socioeconomic situation, and cities’ structures.
In Canada, particular attention is paid to the financial solution to multiple health care issues of older people. The Canadian Medical Association (2021) reports on “the large discrepancy between the allocated health care funding and the increasing funds required in the years ahead” (p. 1). In addition, the ratio of federal health transfers is not currently calculated, and “health care costs rise faster than the growth of the economy,” causing limited funding of provinces (Canadian Medical Association, 2021, p. 1). Thus, sustained funding, the improvement of national standards, especially in relation to long-term health care, the promotion of healthy aging, and the increase of expenses associated with health care for caregivers and patients may be regarded as highly efficient measures. In addition, it is necessary to promote the participation of senior adults in society’s life, their opportunities for physical and mental health, and access to health care services. Moreover, Canadians should be able to improve their health and reduce the burden of chronic illnesses and disabilities.
Conclusion
As the number of older people is constantly growing due to medical advances, improved life quality, and healthier lifestyles, all countries’ health care systems should consider the geriatric population’s peculiarities to provide adequate and high-quality health care. However, multiple challenges and barriers limit the access of seniors to health care delivery. First of all, resources essential for older patients that require more physical and mental assistance are frequently limited across multiple medical settings. A lack of these resources is particularly obvious with the increase of age-associated comorbidities and health conditions that require specific care, such as obesity, sleep disturbances, or osteoporosis. Thus, in relation to the geriatric population, comorbidities and additional factors of a particular disease associated with age are not addressed.
In the present day, the healthcare system is experiencing shortages of caregivers, nurses, physicians, and other healthcare professionals, and this issue affects senior patients as well. Moreover, similar to other patients, senior ones require culturally competent health care and need their cultural, religious, and personal characteristics, values, and beliefs to be considered. Another issue addresses the inflexibility of the health care system in relation to funding, as there is a gap between allocated and required investments. Other barriers to high-quality health care for seniors include a lack of health care affordability due to low income, health care professionals’ little knowledge in relation to seniors’ particular health issues, age-related stigma or discrimination, poor transportation infrastructure, and age-inappropriate health care services.
The potential solution to these issues may include sustainable funding that aims to improve the quality of health care delivery for the older population and guarantee its accessibility. Moreover, the standards of healthcare delivery for seniors should be revised and improved as well in order to offer practical guidelines for healthcare providers and minimize the risk of errors. At the same time, healthy aging should be promoted among older citizens. This promotion should include specific programs that will address physical activity, healthy nutrition, injury prevention, and the mental health of seniors. These initiatives will enable older people to reduce the burden of chronic diseases or disabilities, maintain their health, and lower care-related costs. In addition, the increase in expenses associated with health care for caregivers and patients may be regarded as a highly effective measure as well.
In general, this work may be regarded as informative research that provides reliable information related to modern health care issues connected with the older population. It may be used as a basis for care-related studies in the future. In particular, it will be beneficial for researchers who will address health care issues in relation to other population groups or address potential solutions in detail.
References
Aging and health. (n.d.). World Health Organization.
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Fulmer, T., Reuben, D. B., Auerbach, J., Fick, D. M., Galambos, C., & Johnson, K. S. (2021). Actualizing better health and health care for older adults.Health Affairs, 40(2).
Garza, A. (2016). The aging population: The increasing effects on health care. Pharmacy Times, 82(1).
Haseltine, W. A. (2018). Aging populations will challenge healthcare systems all over the world.Forbes.
Mayo Clinic Staff (n.d.). Insomnia: Diagnosis & treatment. Mayo Clinic.
Miner, B., & Kryger, M. H. (2017). Sleep in the aging population. Sleep Medicine Clinics, 12(1), 31-38.
The Conference Board of Canada. (2018). Meeting the care needs of Canada’s aging population [Outlook].