Health Of Ageing Population With Disability: Public Health And Health Care Perspectives

Holistic Health of Ageing Population with Disability

This report will discuss the health of the ageing population with a disability. The issue that will be discussed in this report is the health of the ageing people who have disability and the population of interest is people aged 65 years and above. The issue is important from a public health perspective because the ageing population is increasing steadily. Besides, more than half of the selected population lives with a disability (1). The ageing population with disability also tend to develop secondary conditions, which makes the issue a public health issue. This population may also require rehabilitation or hospitalisation often (2). On the other hand, the health of the ageing population with a disability is important from a health care perspective because the older adults should get the best possible treatment and have access to specialised health services. Disability limits the access to the health services, which might cause comorbidities and mortality. Older persons with a disability become dependent since they are unable to manage routine activities. From a health care perspective, ageing with disability increases the costs of care for the family and health care system. Based on this analysis, the selected topic is important to consider in the public health and health professional perspectives.

Holistic health entails being physical, mentally, socially and spiritually well. The health of the ageing population with a disability is significantly compromised. The population tends to experience physical limitations such as the inability to walk, stoop or inability to stand for many hours (3). The mental dimension includes depression, negative attitude and being unhappy. The social dimension might be affected due to the lack of social networks and failure to engage in social activities. Lastly, spiritual wellness is not affected since the population seems to have strong faith in God (4).

The health of ageing individuals with disability tends to worsen with age. This population tends to experience a high incidence of physical disabilities, chronic disease and mental illnesses (5). Based on ethnicity, the indigenous ageing population tends to experience poorer health compared to the non-indigenous population. Besides, women tend to experience poorer health than men. Minimal research has been done on how genetics affects the health of ageing persons with disability. DMD results in progressive impairment of muscle function and physical disability (6).

The ageing population with disability have higher rates of socio-economic disadvantage and poorer health compared to the population without a disability. In Australia, persons with disability are less likely to have completed year twelve, be employed and earn income (7). Men with disabilities tend to have low incomes and live in the most disadvantaged areas (8).

Health Condition of Ageing Individuals with Disability

There is a relationship between physical performance and cognitive performance (9). Disability affects cognitive performance. For instance, balance and walking ability influences cognitive performance in men, while walking ability affects cognitive performance in women. The attitudes, values and beliefs of the ageing population with a disability tend to vary. Some individuals have positive attitudes towards their condition while others have negative attitudes towards their condition. Buchbinder and Jolley note that belief and attitudes have a vital role in disability associated with back problems (10). Hence, the belief of an ageing person with a disability has a great influence on their health.

Risk behaviours of the ageing population with a disability affect health adversely. A recent study performed in Australia found that the physical risk behaviours of the ageing adults are smoking, physical inactivity, high alcohol intake, and poor diet (11). Social risk behaviours are loneliness and failure to engage in social activities.  An ageing population with a disability may have negative mental attitudes, which affects their health adversely. The spirituality of this population further affects their health.

The natural environment that is facilitative is associated with good health, while a baneful environment is associated with poor health. Research on the effects of natural environment on health has focused on climate change. Climate change intensifies health problems in vulnerable areas, increases the risk of climate-related disease and impairs mental health (12). The selected population is more susceptible to diseases and thus experiences an increased disease burden. Air pollution has been found to increase the risk of poor health and mortality for individuals aged over 65 years (13). Hence, the ageing population with a disability is at the risk of experiencing poor health associated with the natural environment.

The build environment is pertinent since it affects physical mobility, access to health care facilities and social participation. This environment might affect the health of the selected population by promoting falls and minimal social interaction (14). Inadequate and substandard housing influences independence in self-care activities (15).  However, the built environment can also improve the health of the ageing population with disability. Clarke et al. argue that good street quality can reduce the disablement process for older adults (16).

The ageing population with disability experience the unfavourable social environment. Some health professionals have negative attitudes towards disability and might fail to deliver the best available care to this population (17). Individuals with an intellectual disability always experience disparity in accessing health care leading to physical health problems (18). The seniors experience loneliness due to lack of close family ties or as a result of living alone. Nevertheless, the ageing people with disability who live with their families experience better health.

Inequalities Faced by Ageing Population with Disability

The economic situation impacts the health of the ageing population with a disability. Palmer et al. conducted a study to determine the lived economic experience of the population with disabilities and how they cope with economic challenges linked to disability. They found that low and unstable income results in several coping mechanisms in the short-term, but threatens the long-term welfare (19). Their finding was consistent with the research by Rodriguez-laso. This research article found that the economic condition of a household is related to the prevalence of disability in old age (20). Based on this analysis, it is evident that suitable economic condition results in good health of the ageing population with a disability while unsuitable economic condition leads to poor health.

The political environment specifically the government policies have a great impact on the health of the ageing population with disability. The government policies can promote the access to care for people with disability and promote equal access to services and resources. For instance, the Home and Community Care (HACC) offers funding for a population with a disability to help them leave independently in their homes (21).

Evidently, the ageing population with disability experiences numerous inequalities. These inequalities affect the access to health care services leading to poor health and mortality. Health promotion is required to minimise inequities in health status, ensure equal opportunities as well as resources for health. The adoption of a health promotion strategy would help to address the inequalities. This paper proposes a creative policy known as Comprehensive Assessments, Treatment, and Follow-ups (CATF). The CATF is based on the first principle of the Ottawa Charter, build healthy public policy (22). The CAFT is designed with the objective of ensuring equity in health status between the ageing population with disability and older adults without a disability.

 According to the public policy principle of the Ottawa Charter, health promotion places health on the agenda of policymakers in all sectors and at all levels. It directs them to recognise the health implications of their decisions and embrace their role for health. Besides, health promotion policy integrates different but complementary strategies such as legislation, taxation, organisational change and fiscal measures (23). The policy coordinates diverse actions resulting in health, social and income policies that promote greater equity. The first fundamental step in the creation of a health policy is the identification of barriers. In the selected population, the key barriers are presented by both the individual determinants of health and environmental factors. The population faces economic challenges. Also, the built environment acts as a barrier to accessing health care services (24). The CATF would address these barriers to improve the health of the ageing population with disability.

Policy Proposal: Comprehensive Assessments, Treatment, and Follow-ups (CATF)

The CATF would be a federal government funded program that offers free comprehensive assessment for the selected population. After the assessment, the individuals who are diagnosed with any illness would be offered subsidised treatment and follow-up. The program would be offered at the community level to address the barriers presented by the built environment. Siegler et. al. assert that community-based support and services are meant to assist community-dwelling aged people remain safely in their homes and inhibit or delay institutionalisation (25). For maximum benefit, the program would only be available to individuals aged 60 years and above. Various specific objectives can be embraced to make guide the delivery of services. Firstly, the policy will support the health needs of the ageing population with disability. This objective insinuates that ageing individuals without disabilities will not be recruited in the program. Secondly, it will offer funding to promote timely access to integrated health support services. Timely access to health support services will prevent adverse consequences of sickness such as death (26). Finally, the program will be administered by a multidisciplinary team to ensure the best possible care is delivered.

In my future practice, I would aim to educate the ageing people with disability on healthy ageing. One of the individual determinants of health that has been identified in this paper is the lack of sufficient knowledge. Notably, a significant percentage of the older adults with disabilities have not completed year 12(7). This possible solution would fit in the Ottawa Charter on the principle of developing personal skills(27). Health promotion buttresses the social and personal development by offering information and education for health. It also enhances life skills allowing people to cope with illnesses. Through these aspects, health promotion widens the options available to individuals practice to control over their own health. People also get options to make decisions conducive to health. Empowering people to understand how to cope with a chronic condition or injury is necessary. Additionally, preparing people to cope with injury and disability is essential.

In my proposed solution, I would focus on three elements, which are physical activity counselling, psychotherapy and education on the health programmes for people with disability. Mobility tends to decline with increasing age(28). The physical activity counselling would entail training people on how to cope with declining functional capacity. Although the decline in mobility might be propagated by disease, it might also be due to lack of exercises.  This fact justifies why the ageing population with a disability should be informed about the best physical activity to increase mobility. On a physiological viewpoint, walking is a combined functioning of musculoskeletal, sensory, cardio-respiratory and neural systems (28). Since I have this knowledge, I would train the selected population on how to increase muscle strength.

The education on the existing programmes for ageing people with disability would be essential since some people do not have access to such knowledge. Ideally, some people fail to get the best possible treatment due to health illiteracy. Making this population aware of the available help would increase the use of such services and prevent the worsening health and mortality. Apart from physical disability, the selected population might experience mental disability, which justifies the use of psychotherapy.  Discrimination and stigmatisation associated with disability in old age occurs with depression (29). Psychological therapies are effective for late-life depression (30). These therapies are even more effective for problem-solving therapy and cognitive behaviour therapy. The solutions I propose in my future practice would be more effective at a community level.

Conclusion

Conclusively, the health of the ageing population with a disability is compromised by several determinants of health. The analysis of determinants of health using the Red Lotus Model reveals that there are deep-rooted inequalities and inequities within the ageing population with a disability. The main individual determinants of health that influence the health of the selected population are biological and socioeconomic factors. On the other hand, the primary environmental factors that influence the health of the ageing population with a disability are economic, political and social factors. These factors insinuate that the health promotion of the people with a disability requires a holistic approach. This paper proposes a health policy known as CATF. The program would promote the access to timely care for the selected population. Also, the program would help this population to get subsidised health care from a qualified multidisciplinary team. This program is based on the principle of Ottawa Charter, building healthy public policy. In my future practice, I would like to focus on educating the ageing population with a disability on how to cope with their situation and improve their health. As such, my focus would be physical activity counselling, psychotherapy and education on the available health programmes. 

References

Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:

Turnitin Report

Formatting

Title Page

Citation

Outline

Place an Order