Gerontology: the art of aging
The WHO defines gerontology as the study of the social, psychological and biological aspects of aging. This discipline considers how a person’s intrinsic capacity and their environment together result in the functional ability of older adults.
Assessing older adults
It measures, on an individual basis, the needs, risk factors and health conditions of older adults, and how these interact with their environment and affect the course of their functioning.
Why assessing healthy aging matters
- It provides the information needed to prioritize and design interventions that can be used in multidimensional programs with interdisciplinary care.
- These programs are effective in primary healthcare settings for improving intrinsic capacity, maintaining an independent life and avoiding dependence on others for care and assistance.
Assessing healthy aging is effective for people who are:
- Living with multiple conditions: it makes clinical care from different providers easier and brings everyone together around a single goal.
- Hospitalized: it helps reduce and prevent the harm associated with hospitalization and makes the discharge process easier.
- Discharged from hospital into long-term care programs: it ensures the necessary follow-up and builds links between healthcare and social services.
Person-centered care includes:
- Attention to the institutional environment, prevention and community management, and meeting basic health needs.
- Recognizing the wishes of the older adult.
- The right to make decisions.
- Deciding about their own life.
Gerontology has clearly shown that healthy aging and life expectancy with independence largely depend on preserving appropriate responses to environmental conditions.
