Marzena Dubiel
Zdrowie Publiczne i Zarządzanie, Tom 9, Numer 1, 2011, s. 101 - 109
https://doi.org/10.4467/20842627OZ.11.007.0344Principles of health care in elderly and geriatric education. Why is geriatrics so important and why are we still lacking geriatricians?
While population is aging we are facing raising number of geriatric problems. It is obvious nowadays that if we do not start creating certain plans considering medical and social care of elderly people, the situation may get out of control.
The natural course of diseases in elderly is different to middle aged and young people. These individuals show different symptoms and social background, different prognosis and complications of the disease and of diagnostic and therapeutic medical procedures themselves. The major feature that distinguishes geriatric medicine from others is comprehensive geriatric assessment which is holistic and considers not only medical condition but also social, psychological background together with identifying aspects of functional status, nutrition, transportation and others.
It seems that the need for professionals with experience in geriatrics is growing. The most important in this area are general practitioners and geriatricians. There is also a constant need for educational effort to create society whose members are responsible for their own health.