Geriatric Care Articles Big 10 Basic Principles of Geriatrics Summary

Geriatric Care Articles
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Geriatric Care Articles
Big 10 Basic Principles of Geriatrics Summary
The article presents the following principles as follows: firstly, aging is not an ailment. Aging happens when various organ systems start getting weak. It occurs at different times to different people. Aging makes people vulnerable to homeostenosis. While others remain healthy, many others present signs of illness. Secondly, it infers that therapeutic conditions in geriatric patients are generally multi-factorial, versatile, and chronic. This complicates the management of older people's health because they suffer multiple chronic conditions. The situation is even more intricate by the fact that the therapeutic management of one acute illness affects the treatment of other underlying infirmities.
The third principle suggests that Reversible and treatable maladies should always be appropriately diagnosed and treated. The problem of under-diagnosis and under-treatment often occurs among geriatric patients because health professionals, caregivers, and even the older generation wrongly connect symptoms to old age. Geriatric care managers should, therefore, carry out systematic screening for general geriatric ailments to avoid the under-diagnosis of treatable conditions. Under-diagnosis leads to mismanagement of the conditions. Fourthly, the most critical issues in geriatric care are quality of life and functional ability. Functional capacity determines the geriatric population's living standards and the overall condition of life. Any slight change in functional inclination makes critical differences in older patients' quality of life.
The next principle suggests that patient preferences, social support, and social history are critical tools in geriatric patients' management. The caregiver must understand the patient's preferences and life history. Equally, the living standards should be favorable with available resources such as caregivers.
The article suggests other factors crucial in Geriatric management. These include; Geriatric management care is multidisciplinary and requires communication, collaboration, and Interdisciplinary respect. Other disciplines, for example, social workers, pharmacists, dieticians, and rehabilitation therapists, are also crucial in geriatric care. Another principle indicates that prevalent affective and Cognitive disorders need a proper and timely diagnosis.
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