There is much more to aging than one would ever think of. Apart from growing old one must know that there is a process and problems older adults face as they age. Although Gerontology is based on those three reasons, it is critical that the problems they face are much more important. Everyone is going to age at some point in their lives, and a huge part of those adults will face a problems or diseases, whether it is an organ malfunction, sight problems, brittle bones, weakness and the sixth leading cause of death, Dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Gerontology focuses on adults only and the goal as a gerontologist is to be aware of what an older adult will face throughout their lives whether they’re healthy or not or what they should do to prevent problems in the future. It doesn’t just focus on the physical part of it, it also focuses on the social, cultural, psychological, cognitive and biological aspects of their lives. There are a lot of important reasons as to why we should focus on older adults, but focus specifically on the problems adults will come across. Some problems can be treated and unfortunately, some cannot.
Major goals that should be mastered and applied daily in this field is to understand the fundamental suppositions and notions of the aging spectrum. To fuse information for various issues in different aspects of their lives. To coordinate and analyze previous and current research of aging, of course, a lot of which comes from problems that arose throughout their life. It’s also essential to examine the different programs and how they’re beneficial or not to the adults that are currently aging and to also understand if it’s creating a negative or positive impact towards them.
Ultimately, the major goal is to apply what has learned in a specific area of concentration whether it’s a working or learning environment. Aging is a state in life that most individuals will face no matter how you try to avoid it. Some individuals age naturally and others age resembling affliction like Alzheimer’s and Dementia. This disease is currently a great deal today because as a minute goes by an older adult is developing the disease. This disease has been at a growth sprout since it was first identified in the year 1906 by Dr.
Alois Alzheimer’s and according to years of research by many professionals, it will continue to increase over time. This disease is not curable which t’s important to educate others on why it’s crucial to seek individuals interested in helping the elderly who face these problems. It’s a difficult road for the adult who’s suffering from this disease as well as those who provide the care. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, 5 million people are living with this disease today, and by the year of 2050, it will come close to 16 million.
As days continue to pass us by the number will continue to increase and a number of people in this field are extremely small and will substantially need more individuals to care for afflicted adults. Gerontology introduces the importance of becoming educated throughout various of diseases an aging adult can encounter, but it also encourages the importance of having an occupation as a caregiver. Not all, but most individuals who suffer from Alzheimer’s are reasonably cared for by their closest relatives and occasionally that’s not the best option.
Caring for a person who has Alzheimer’s is timeconsuming and exceedingly frustrating if you don’t know how to manage it. The caregiving system is convenient for both the patient and the caregiver in a one-on-one manner and also in the health side of this disease. Caregivers who are properly trained “resulted in a general improvement of the physical and psychological health of AD patients, with significantly beneficial effects on their sleeping habits and increased daytime activity” (Chaudhuri & Das, 2006).
By providing proper care, caregivers are able to prevent weight loss by giving them good nutritional practices and by being cared for through their way of life. As the disease begins to take over and the patient starts to decline, they now rely on their caregivers to help them make decisions that they can no longer make on their own. Aside from physically caring for them on daily basis, caregivers are “able to provide valuable prognostic and therapeutic information to health care professionals regarding the patient’s progress and response to treatment.
Moreover, the caregiver is also able to help with memory aids, behavioral interventions, exercise and nutrition and the overall effectiveness of various palliative measures in AD that would otherwise have to be managed by the formal health care system” (Chaudhuri & Das, 2006). Today, caregivers are important and valuable individuals for the work they provide and will be abundantly significant for the rest of the years to come. Caregivers would not be here if it weren’t for the importance of having the field of Gerontology.
Although being a caregiver is quite specific, with a degree in Gerontology you can be a Health and Social Services Assistant for the retirement community where you’ll be able to provide patients with benefits like health and financial means through the government. As a social assistant, you’ll be able to provide the adults with recreational activities and constant checkups on their medication doses. Others in this field are becoming Social Workers where they can work one-on-one with the patients and their families. They provide by educating the children or relatives of aging adults on how to become proper caregivers towards their loved ones.
Social Workers in this area excel in communications skills as it is important to be able to communicate with diverse populations and situations. Social workers and gerontologist continue to expand every day because of the fast-growing elderly population. Health Care Professionals also play a huge role in the Gerontology world. These professionals are doctors, physical/occupational therapist, and nurses that provide care for the ill, disabled and injured patients. Because the growth of elderly is increasing, professionals are working for their degrees in Gerontology so they can be aware of the aging aspect of someone’s life.
Gerontology has brought a lot of awareness over the years especially on the health side of aging adults. Doctors, nurses, and physicians are not only focusing their studies on the new generation, they’re also focusing their studies on aging adults. Just like it’s important to keep the young population healthy, they believe it’s important to help maintain a healthy lifestyle for older adults. As for someone who is majoring in Gerontology, they are being prepared to work with aging adults with their strengths and problems involving their gender, race, and ethnicity as well as providing services they may need.
The biology aspects of Gerontology offers knowledge of changes that may occur in the adults’ body as they age, things like organs. Gerontology also trains you to become aware of the psychological, physical and cognitive phases as someone ages. They’re usually changes that will occur like active physical lifestyle and how that can help the adult positively by preventing physical diseases or inactive physical lifestyles that can lead to failure of bones or movement in general.
Gerontology has numerous of components like Nutritions and Diseases, Determinants of Health Behavior, Communication and Aging, Death Aging and Meaning, and Sociology of Death and Dying. There are countless of more areas to gain knowledge from and professionals utilizing what they know and are applying it in the real world. All this knowledge has helped professionals today because they are completely aware of the variety of issues that come upon these individuals. Professionals want to help; they feel a strong desire to assist those in need without anything in return.
