Impact of an aging population in the world and the United States
The world population is aging and people are living longer lives than expected. The population rate of people 65 years older is estimated to be at its highest by 2030. The increase in the rate of older people in societies is an implication of effective healthcare, economic development as well as the ability of nations to give older populations better care. This also means that there other implications for such an occurrence. Governments must be prepared to revaluate the way they approach care for the old. This is because such care is having an impact on the economic as well as social resources of a country. As such there is need for a change in social security policies such as retirement age and pension’s schemes. Social insurance expenditure has also ballooned to the extent that it exerts a very big economic pressure to modern governments. Economic experts are warning that the current social security systems are not sustainable in the long run. It means that government must put systems in place that encourage the younger generations to stars preparing for old age to ease pressures on social security systems. Furthermore with reducing birth rates as well as death rates of the aged it means that the global population of the aged will soon outstrip the population of those below five years of age. Countries economic productivity will be hit as the productivity will be affected as the population of those who are not economically productive (the young and the old) increase creating pressure on the middle aged (Suzman, Dobriansky and Hodes, 2007).
The need for exemplary care for older adults
The need for exemplary care for older adults presents peculiar healthcare challenges. Global health standards have improved to an extent that communicable illnesses are now under control. However, the prevalence of non-communicable illnesses is rising to an extent that these diseases are the newest health challenges especially for people above 65 years. Non-communicable diseases such as cancer and diabetes are increasingly becoming common amongst the aging population. These illnesses become an unbearable weight on two fronts: they impose huge cost on the patient as well as their dependents and also lead to very high levels of disability to patients. The need for better care for the aging population is needed because some of them had not saved enough to help cater for the cost. Despite communicable diseases being under control they still need a lot of resource to manage (Suzman, Dobriansky and Hodes, 2007). As such government need to plan as a matter of urgency on providing better health care to aging generations to avoid creating an extra healthcare burden to the economy.
Role of the professional nurse in providing exemplary care for older adults
Due to the complex nature of the illnesses of the old and the intense care they need, nurses play a very crucial role in providing of exemplary services. Nurses who are intended to take care of the elderly are trained in geriatrics. It has been noted that geriatrics nurses offer best care to the elderly as compared to ordinary nurse. Geriatrics nurses give preventive-care to help the aging patient prevent attacks of illnesses. Nurses also assist the elderly in control of chronic illnesses and sometime help the elderly by counseling to prepare for the eventuality of death. Geriatric nurse are also used to help the elderly manage chronic illnesses such as cancer, and diabetes so as to reduce the number of repeated hospitalizations for these elderly patients. Geriatrics nurses are also trained on how to recognize symptoms and restraining them from developing to fully ledged medical condition. These nurse are able to notice delirium in elderly patients early enough and administer the necessary medication in time as such making such medication more effective (Stierle et al, 2006).
Reference List
Stierle, L. et al. (2006). Professional Development: The Nurse Competence in Aging Initiative: Encouraging expertise in the care of older adults. American Journal of Nursing, 106 (9). Web.
Suzman, R., Dobriansky, D., & Hodes, R. (2007). Why Population Aging Matters: A Global Perspective. Web.