Experts point out that the gradual breakdown of the traditional structure, the shift to nuclear families, also leads to the problem of the elderly being left alone, and state that the prolongation of life expectancy and the increased care needs of the elderly create the need for professional elderly care technicians to directly carry out care services at the implementation level.
Lecturer Büşra Kul, stating that professionals working in the field of elderly care services should have at least an associate degree, said, “I believe that e-certificate programs should be taken according to the need after graduation, and individuals without an associate degree should not be able to work in the health sector as elderly care technicians with these certificates.”
Lecturer Büşra Kul, Head of Üsküdar Üniversitesi School of Health Services Vocational College Elderly Care Program, made evaluations regarding Turkey's rapidly increasing elderly population and the future of elderly care services.
The elderly are becoming isolated…
Lecturer Büşra Kul, pointing out that the elderly population is increasing worldwide and in our country due to the development of medicine, technology, and individuals becoming more health-conscious, said, “The increasing elderly population also brings many problems that need to be solved. Gradually, the breakdown of the traditional structure and the shift to nuclear families also lead to the problem of the elderly being left alone. The physiological and psychological changes brought by aging, and the difficulty for the elderly to stay with their families, increase their care needs. The prolongation of life expectancy and the increased care needs of the elderly create the need for professional elderly care technicians to directly carry out care services at the implementation level.”
Projects for elderly health should be planned
Kul also noted that the increase in the elderly population makes it difficult to cope with many chronic diseases that emerge in the elderly, and said, “Chronic diseases affect not only the elderly but also their families and society, leading to serious problems. Therefore, in our country and worldwide, considering the chronic diseases of the elderly, all their physical, mental, and social needs should be evaluated, and nursing homes, care homes (day or residential), and elderly clubs where these needs can be met should be increased. Even today, there are deficiencies in meeting the demand for elderly care services, and this situation will rapidly increase with the rising elderly population. Therefore, it is extremely important to plan and implement projects for elderly health.”
Those who will work in elderly care must know about chronic diseases!
Kul, stating that individuals who will work in this field must first learn medical terminology and human anatomy well, continued as follows:
“Then they should develop this knowledge with information on chronic diseases. At the same time, they must learn all care practices that will enable the elderly patient to maintain daily living activities, theoretically and practically, down to the smallest detail. They should reinforce this learned knowledge by applying it under the supervision of a responsible health professional in a nursing home. Thanks to the training they receive, they should know the needs of the elderly, plan their care by considering their habits, inform the patient and their family, carry out daily living activities with the patient, ensure room organization, and assist the patient in all activities they cannot perform independently.”
Must have at least an associate degree!
Lecturer Büşra Kul, stating that professionals working in the field of elderly care services should have at least an associate degree, concluded her words by saying, “I believe that e-certificate programs should be taken according to the need after graduation, and individuals without an associate degree should not be able to work in the health sector as elderly care technicians with these certificates. Training programs for elderly care services should include topics such as health and disease concepts, physiological, psychological, and social changes observed in old age, chronic diseases and basic care skills for these diseases, interventions for problems they may encounter in emergencies, principles of health protection in old age (primary, secondary, and tertiary), discrimination in old age, palliative care, the use of complementary and alternative therapies in old age, and the arrangement of the environment where the elderly individual will live.”
