COMMENTS/AGREE

COMMENT ON THE 2 DISCUSSIONS BELOW:

The U.S. population is growing older and the number of elders in America has increased significantly. There is no question that health behaviors and social factors play important roles in helping elders maintain health later in life. Discuss 2 factors that play a major role in preventing or delaying the onset of chronic diseases in the elderly. Explain why each factor is so important

1 DISCUSSION:

One of the two factors that play a major role in preventing or delaying the onset of chronic disease in the elderly is income. Aging usually means increased expenses for health care and for home maintenance and repairs that aging homeowners can no longer do themselves. Despite these increased costs, the overall need for income seems to decrease slightly for people after retirement. The main sources of income for older adults are Social Security, pensions earnings from jobs, income from assets, and other miscellaneous sources such as public assistance. The second factor that plays a major role in preventing or delaying the onset of chronic disease in the elderly is transportation. Transportation is of prime importance to older adults because it enables them to remain independent. Some older adults who have always driven their own automobiles eventually find that they are no longer able to do so. The ever-increasing costs of purchasing and maintaining an automobile sometimes become prohibitive on a fixed income. Also, with age come physical problems that restrict one’s ability to operate an automobile safely. In addition, those with extreme disabilities may find that they will need a modified automobile to accommodate their disability or specialized transportation such as a vehicle that can accommodate a wheelchair to be transported. The unavailability of transportation services has stimulated a number of private and public organizations that serve older adults such as community services, and local area agencies on aging to provide these services. Some communities even subsidize the cost of public transportation by offering reduced rates for older adults. Although these services have been helpful to older adults, mobility is still more difficult for elders than for other adults. Try to imagine what it would be like if you had to depend constantly on someone else for all of your transportation needs. My grandmother and father in law depend on us to take them to doctor appointments. My father in law is in a wheelchair and needs us to help him get to and from appointments since he didn’t qualify for assistance and my grandmother is in her 80’s and doesn’t speak English we need to take her to her to appointments because she is unable to walk that well and to translate her Italian language.

2 DISCUSSION:

Two factors that play a role in preventing chronic diseases in the elderly is maintaining a healthy life and the advancement of healthcare.

Many facilities offer awareness programs that have delayed the onset of certain chronic diseases; less is known about the changes in physical activity practices following chronic disease diagnoses. Preventative care and routine checkups allow patients to catch any symptoms on time. Preventative care and awareness programs are important because patients can constantly be checked for any diseases. If a person fails to keep on top of their care, they can encounter disease and it may be too late to find a cure for it. Eating healthy and exercising frequently is important for our health. Even in elder adults, strength exercises build muscles their metabolism increases, and this helps to keep weight and blood sugar in check. Strength exercises have been shown to help prevent osteoporosis. Balance and flexibility exercises help prevent falls and other injuries. Having a healthy diet also helps prevent injuries and falls.

Advancement in healthcare has also played an essential role in maintaining a healthy life for the elder and avoiding chronic diseases. These healthcare advancements have detected cases of hypertension and diabetes with accuracy rates between 90 and 97 percent and had similar successes with cases of asthma. These advancements are important as they help detect more diseases and help keep elder adults healthier from chronic diseases. Any disease that is detected on time can help the patient survive. Scientists are also hard at work to recognize mental illness with medical imaging data and other sources.