People Who Are Elderly | University of Queensland Australia

People Who Are Elderly

Introduction

Determinants of health such as social, economic, and environmental factors can help health professionals to identify the well-being of older adults. People age 60 or older are much more likely to be affected by social determinants of health which comprise lifestyle, nutritious food, safe housing, income, and affordable transportation are at risk of experiencing poor health, and morbidity. Elderly people are likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease as aging can cause changes in blood vessels and heart, however, it is recognized that social determinants such as physical inactivity, stress, income, lifestyle choices, can also contribute to cardiovascular diseases. In this poster, we will discuss the social determinant related to elderly people and in end, a conclusion will be given related to it.

Discussion

 Elder people are more likely to suffer from heart disease compare to young people, however, age is not the sole reason of development of the disease social determinant such as social, economic, and environmental factors can also influence person wellbeing (Wilson and Neville, 2017).

Social factors impacting cardiovascular disease

Social connectedness is vital for all ages, loneliness and isolation can crease risk of depression, sadness, anxiety which can cause chronic condition like cardiovascular disease (Flowers et al., 2017). Two in ten older adults were frequently or often lonely at times that low income is one of the factor that contribute to loneliness.  Food and nutrition is important to maintain healthy lifestyle food insecurity due to income is another big hindrance in wellbeing of older adults.

Income:

Income security is vital for ensuring health wellbeing of older adults, as many lifestyle choices such as food, home, transportation, etc. is depended on person income. It is found that 34.4 % of Australian reported to have low-income that cause stress in people increasing risk of cardiovascular disease.  55.5% of older adults are unsatisfied by affordability of staying in and maintaining the house compare to those with higher income (Laura Ann Clark, 2017). Thus, income also affect person psychological wellbeing that influence person health. 

Environmental factors

Cultural practises, geographical location can also influence lifestyle choices, for instance, indigenous Australian aged 60 or over are likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease due to poor lifestyle choices affected by income and cultural barriers. Aboriginal and Torres Islander people do not opt for health services easily due to the language barrier and inattentiveness toward biological and behavioural factors influence on wellbeing (Mills, Gatton, Mahoney and Nelson, 2017).

Recommendations

 Despite many social and environmental factors affecting a person wellbeing, we can say that healthy lifestyle choices can help elder adults to avoid the risk of cardiovascular disease. Healthy food, low-to-moderate level physical activity, social connectedness through community meeting, avoiding tobacco and alcohol consumption, managing stress, etc. can support elderly people to prevent cardiovascular disease (Jin, Simpkins, Ji, Leis and Stambler, 2015).

Conclusion

Social determinants in ounce person wellbeing, social factors such as income, social ties, influence elderly people’s health, for instance, low income and social ties can cause stress which increased the risk of cardiovascular disease. Despite these determinants influencing people’s health, professionals through health campaigns can help these people to adopt healthy lifestyles such as physical activity, opportunities for social gatherings, healthy food, etc. can help elderly people to prevent or manage cardiovascular disease.

References:

Flowers, L., Houser, A., Noel-Miller, C., Shaw, J., Bhattacharya, J., Schoemaker, L. and Farid, M., 2017. Medicare spends more on socially isolated older adults. Insight on the Issues, 125, pp.1119-1143.

Jin, K., Simpkins, J.W., Ji, X., Leis, M. and Stambler, I., 2015. The critical need to promote research of aging and aging-related diseases to improve health and longevity of the elderly population. Aging and disease, 6(1), p.1.

Laura Ann Clark MS, A.R., 2017. Health Disparities and Social determinants of Health among the elderly. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 24(4), pp.118-125.

Mills, K., Gatton, M.L., Mahoney, R. and Nelson, A., 2017. ‘Work it out’: evaluation of a chronic condition self-management program for urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, with or at risk of cardiovascular disease. BMC Health Services Research, 17(1), p.680.

Wilson, D. and Neville, S., 2017. Health Disparities: The Social Determinants of Health. Contexts of Nursing: An Introduction, pp.287-302.