ADVANCING HEALTH AND WELL-BEING INTO OLD AGEOlder persons and disabilities
Greater understanding is needed of the relationship between ageing and the emergence of various forms of disability. Also the way in which disabled persons respond to ageing needs to be explored. Alternative approaches to measuring disability and its consequences should be explored. Training in concepts, manifestations and outcomes of disability should be incorporated in all curricula for gerontology and geriatrics. Programs concerned with ageing and care of the aged should incorporate considerations of disability and seek integration of services with those primarily focused on dealing with various forms of disability as appropriate
Research- Research in social participation of disabled elders should be conducted to strengthen programs and achieve positive outcomes.
- As persons who have lived with disabilities during their early lifetime become older, the consequences of age-related chronic conditions exacerbate pre-existing disabilities and require new understanding of how best to serve these individuals effectively. Research is a key to this understanding.
- Curricula in gerontology and geriatrics should include instruction on disability and physical, mental, environmental and socio-cultural factors involved in its genesis and remediation.
- Curricula in gerontology and geriatrics should incorporate appropriate instruction on the range of mental health problems of older people including modern knowledge about detection, assessment, treatment, rehabilitation, referral and systems.
- Education on mental health issues of older people should include a multidisciplinary perspective because of the multiple needs of people with mental health problems and their family caregivers.
- Specific instruction in this area should include psychopathological components; protective factors (e.g. cognitive tasks in dementia and pleasant events in depression and cognitive behavioral rehearsal in anxiety); treatment (medication, psychological, cognitive behavioral etc); rehabilitation and support especially of family caregivers, stigma reduction, spirituality and death and dying issues.
- National policies should provide for the integration of social and health care to facilitate access to programs and to ensure effective coordination of services.