Promoting Healthy Aging Essay
Promoting Healthy Aging: The Role of the Nurse
Purpose:
This paper allows students to explore a contemporary issue that affects the healthy aging of older Canadian adults. Students will analyze their chosen issue within the context of healthy aging.Promoting Healthy Aging Essay
The dramatic and drastic greying of the older population across countries and states is largely reshaping the meaning of health care and overall wellness. The ageing population is cumulatively contributes to a significant number of people who are approaching their sunset years. Nurses and medical care professionals have often been blamed for ignoring the needs of the elderly, especially when it comes to matters of healthy ageing. It is the right of every older person to be treated with the best care and comfort possible so that they can age gradually and remain in great physical shape. This paper is an essay that explores the issue of healthy ageing in the Canadian context and the role played by nurses in addressing this issue.
ORDER A PLAGIARISM -FREE PAPER NOW
Essay Topic
Promoting Healthy Aging: The Role of the Nurse.
Essay Task
Explore a contemporary issue that affects the healthy aging of older Canadian adults. Analyze the chosen issue within the context of healthy aging. Promoting Healthy Aging Essay
Body
It is indisputable that the ageing population in Canada is on a tremendous rise and it is termed as the largest age group in the country. The needs of this group when it comes to health care have often been neglected and ignored such that the elderly find it difficult to age in a manner that will enhance their physical well-being (Aldiabat and Navenec, 2014). The older adults in Canada are prone to suffer from diseases that are capable of altering their mental, physical and emotional abilities. What?s more, the ageing population is known to suffer from chronic and terminal illnesses that require them to be constantly nursed by either physicians, doctors or even health care workers (Meng and D?Arcy, C.2013).
Demographics indicate that people aged over sixty-five years of age are the ones included within the ageing population and their life expectancy has been shown to be steadily rising. This has consequently warranted the need to factor in an effective health care approach that will address their needs when it comes to medical attention (Stephens et al, 2015). The promotion of healthy ageing is an important topic within the field of nursing because it aims at highlighting the problems faced by the elderly when it comes to their twilight years. Further, this subject matter seeks to shed light into the pivotal role that nurses are required to play when it comes to helping the older population to age in a healthy manner (Turcotte et al, 2015).Promoting Healthy Aging Essay
The Canadian Nurses Association or the CNA outlines a number of regulations that nurses are required to follow and adhere to strictly when it comes to health promotion. This means that it is the fundamental role of any nurse to ensure that they handle the ageing patients with a lot of care, comfort and concern (Kalfoss et al, 2010). Moreover, the quality of care that should be accorded to the elderly should be higher and superior so that their lives become more worthwhile. It is a well-known fact that ageing is actually an inevitable process and it often comes with the onset of various lifestyle diseases.
This ultimately means that as people grow older, their bodies become prone to contracting ailments and illnesses as compared to when they were younger (Bacsu, 2014). Promoting Healthy Aging Essay The promotion of healthy living for the older Canadian adults deserves to adopt an approach that is capable of lowering the risk of becoming seriously sick or even dying at a premature time. What?s more, the emphasis to ageing in a more healthy manner should not revolve around chronic or terminal illnesses, but is should also focus on the well-being of the person in terms of physical, social and mental issues (Kalfoss et al, 2010). Further, Canadian Nurses Association encourages its members to offer a holistic approach when it comes to dealing with the elderly. This means that overseeing their medical needs should be accompanied by a similar strategy that can strive to fulfill their spiritual, cultural, social and psychological needs (Lagacé et al, 2015). For instance, a nurse who is handling an older sick patient should try and consider their preferences when it comes to social interaction and even religion. The showcasing of concern and even care is capable of enabling the elderly patient to heal much faster and even live a more fulfilled life. There are evidence-based interventions that have demonstrated that healthy ageing for the elderly is possible if it is incorporated using the right approach.
Meng and D?Arcy (2013) assert that the older Canadian population is capable of enjoying better health when nurses are able to adopt an individualized approach in medical care. This means that any patient that has come of age desires and craves to be treated in a manner that may be quite different from another person. For instance, some elderly patients wish to have their nurses care for them as they discuss their family members or even their favorite programs. Alternatively, another older patient would expect their nurse to read them a novel or even sing along to a favorite rhythm.
Meng and D?Arcy (2013) were able to arrive at this conclusion through the process of conducting a primary research on a sampled population of older adults. It is for this reason that the authors are sure that the promotion of healthy ageing begins when nurses adopt a personalized approach and combine it with the contemporary medical care methods. Similarly, Turcotte et al (2015) concurs with this observation as their research advocates for the integration of health promotion strategies with the normal practices of nursing. The fact that their study was conducted in Quebec means that they conclusively provide their findings on the best ways of taking care of the elderly population. It becomes clear that this article encourages the Canadian nurses to take care of the medical needs of the elderly while at the same time addressing their emotion and personal requirements.Promoting Healthy Aging Essay
Stephens et al (2015) explains that healthy ageing for the older population can be a tedious task that requires nurses and health care givers to be patient and resilient. This can in turn help them to understand the needs of their patients in a better way and even offer the best care and support that they need to live a longer and happier life. The arguments and claims raised by these authors provide sufficient proof that healthy ageing is possible for the Canadian population and can guarantee them a more fulfilled life in the later days.
ORDER A FREE PAPER NOW
In a recap, the improvement of the physical, mental and emotional well-being of the elderly is one of the most critical aspects to healthy ageing. The latter is often viewed as a preserve for nurses and caregivers who are expected to offer their services to the elderly and ensure that they age in a graceful manner. The older people form a significant proportion of the Canadian population and this makes the topic of healthy ageing a very important and sensitive one. The Canadian Nurses Association expects its nurses to adhere to stipulated rules that offer a holistic approach when it comes to health care. It is through the promotion of healthy nursing that the older population living in Canada can be assured of leading a happier and fulfilled life even as their approach their sunset days.
References
Aldiabat, K. M., & Le Navenec, C. (2014). What do Nursing Students Need to Know About Health Education for Older Adults who Live in Canadian Rural Areas?. Indian Journal Of Gerontology, 28(4), 469-481.Promoting Healthy Aging Essay
Bacsu, J., Jeffery, B., Abonyi, S., Johnson, S., Novik, N., Martz, D., & Oosman, S. (2014). Healthy Aging in Place: Perceptions of Rural Older Adults. Educational Gerontology, 40(5), 327-337.
Kalfoss, M. H., Low, G., & Molzahn, A. E. (2010). Reliability and validity of the attitudes to ageing questionnaire for Canadian and Norwegian older adults M.H. Kalfoss et al. Attitudes to ageing in Canada and Norway. Scandinavian Journal Of Caring Sciences, 2475-85. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6712.2010.00786.x
Lagacé, M., Nahon-Serfaty, I., & Laplante, J. (2015). Canadian government?s framing of ageing at work and older workers: Echoing positive ageing models. Work, 52(3), 597-604. doi:10.3233/WOR-152114
Meng, X., & D?Arcy, C. (2013). Successful Ageing in Canada: Prevalence and Predictors from a Population-Based Sample of Older Adults. Gerontology, 60(1), 65-72. doi:10.1159/000354538
Stephens, C., Breheny, M., & Mansvelt, J. (2015). Healthy ageing from the perspective of older people: A capability approach to resilience. Psychology & Health, 30(6), 715-731. doi:10.1080/08870446.2014.904862
Turcotte, P., Carrier, A., Desrosiers, J., & Levasseur, M. (2015). Are health promotion and prevention interventions integrated into occupational therapy practice with older adults having disabilities? Insights from six community health settings in Québec, Canada. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 62(1), 56-67. doi:10.1111/1440-1630.12174 Promoting Healthy Aging Essay
