The aim of this paper is to develop a healthcare maintenance plan for the elderly population by assessing and recommending various measures to promote the well-being of the target group. The paper also seeks to identify and prevent significant healthcare problems associated with old age. As a result of their advanced age, the elderly often face obesity and lowered immunity. Physical therapy and counseling sessions are identified as mitigation measures to combat these challenges. It is also reported that physical and mental health can be improved significantly due to such an approach. Other ailments and problems facing this particular group include poor nutrition and mental care issues. Easy access to healthcare, an opportunity to interact with peers, and regular checkups are identified as the most effective ways to ensure a relatively stress-free old age.
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Health Maintenance Plan for the Elderly Population
Health is a crucial factor contributing to people’s well-being. However, health deteriorates with age; hence, the elderly population faces significant challenges related to low immunity that make them more susceptible to illnesses. Health maintenance plan is a set of healthcare principles emphasizing the prevention of diseases. This plan ensures preventive healthcare rather than treatment or management of diseases and symptoms. Therefore, this paper will prove that having a working and effective healthcare maintenance plan in place will significantly contribute to the overall health and satisfaction with life, even in old age. The paper, therefore, focuses on the development of a healthcare maintenance plan for the elderly population. There is an urgent need for a health maintenance plan because many elderly people die from chronic diseases, leaving their families bankrupt in result, while such consequences can be avoided if there is an effective health maintenance plan.
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Engagement in a physical therapy is a primary care practice that allows the elderly to deal with obesity. Numerous benefits are associated with physical therapy, such as improvement of mobility and prevention of non-communicable diseases. Mobility is a physical exercise that requires energy and body fitness. However, old age or poor health may hinder someone from being mobile. Safe physical therapy exercises are also known to prevent chronic and respiratory diseases. It is recommendable that members of the elderly population visit the clinics for physical therapy instead of remaining indoors which leads to obesity. An annual checkup in hospitals is a preventive healthcare measure necessary to help manage chronic diseases (Snowden et al., 2017). Consequently, most chronic conditions that affect older adults are managed through physical therapy for the elderly visiting the hospital.
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Healthcare programs, such as counseling sessions for the elderly, constitute another primary care practice that relieves depression. As a Iadecola(2019) mention, counseling is beneficial as it helps patients address mental health conditions, depression, or anxiety. Mental health conditions, such as personality disorders, are common among lonely persons. Loneliness may result from old age whereby one lacks others’ company or is unemployed; hence, there are no interactions with colleagues or friends. Counseling is necessary as depression is a common illness that may lead to other severe conditions. Lack of confidence and mismanagement of emotions are as well corrected through counseling, which is included in the health maintenance plan. Counseling is a recommendable healthcare measure for the elderly because they are the most common victims of depression and mental health illnesses. Such a healthcare care program in hospitals for older patients will help prevent chronic conditions that lead to cognitive health issues (Iadecola et al., 2019). Therefore, health maintenance plans, such as counseling sessions for the elderly population, are vital primary care practices that manage cognitive health problems and depression.
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Moreover, older adults should have easy access to nursing homes where their diet and consumption of fruits and vegetables are properly managed. Regular meals, social engagements, and housekeeping services are among significant benefits associated with nursing homes. Older adults may lack the energy required to prepare a meal which the nursing homes would provide. Nursing homes are appropriate choices due to the benefit of providing social engagement to their clients. Different clients with similar conditions are brought together to create a healthy bond and eliminate boredom. Besides, old age in most scenarios is accompanied by body weakness, which may hinder a person from performing housekeeping duties. A nursing home is a maintenance healthcare plan element that is essential for the elderly population. Healthcare assistance to older people also provides social contact that helps patients prevent depression cases (Gea, Sancho-Muñoz, & Chalela, 2018). Finally, malnutrition, among other health problems faced by the elderly population, is manageable by nursing homes.
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Dental checkups and dental insurance in clinics are primary health maintenance elements that can help improve oral health. Saving one’s teeth is an important advantage associated with dental checkups. Teeth are an essential part of a person’s digestive system because they are used to crush and grind food. Dental checkups assist in ensuring that all the teeth are healthy and that there are no cavities. The elderly should remain healthy; hence, they need teeth to eat all the healthy meals. Therefore, a dental checkup is a primary healthcare intervention that ensures a long life of healthy teeth. A healthcare program that provides a dental insurance plan can guarantee that older adults have easy access to dental care. It is recommendable for the aging population to be part of the dental insurance healthcare plan whereby the toothless can access the service of artificial teeth provision. Simultaneously, those with natural teeth can have them well maintained (Tonetti et al., 2017). Regular dental checkups in the clinic are crucial primary care practices, as oral health is essential for older people.
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Various illnesses that affect the older population are often preventable through the clinic’s healthcare programs. Regular checkups and counseling are among the most effective primary health maintenance measures recommendable for the elderly. Loneliness, due to the lack of social contact, is a factor that leads to depression issues faced by the elderly and hence requires daily emotional support. Healthcare providers are expected to provide counseling to elderly clients to prevent such illnesses. Physical therapy is recommendable in hospitals as it may help eliminate the chances of obesity among older adults. Obesity is a source of various diseases, such as heart problems and diabetes. Consequently, most illnesses resulting from old age are manageable due to primary support measures.
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In conclusion, a health maintenance plan is essential in managing various illnesses affecting the elderly population. Chronic diseases, cognitive issues, malnutrition, and oral health are some of the diseases that affect older adults. Nevertheless, each of these illnesses is associated with recommendable primary healthcare practices that can help manage it in medical facilities. Chronic diseases, such as heart disease due to obesity or stroke, are majorly caused by lack of physical movement patients engage in. Regular checkups and engagement in therapy sessions in the hospital are the recommended preventive measures for chronic diseases. Cognitive health issues, such as challenges in thinking, learning, and remembering, have also been discussed in the essay as the ones affecting the elderly population. Healthcare programs for the elderly are recommended to prevent cognitive health problems. Malnutrition is an underdiagnosed illness that leads to weak muscles and immune system in older adults. Healthcare services in nursing homes are needed to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables by the elderly. Oral health problems may also cause low self-esteem problems and challenges in maintaining a healthy diet. Regular checkups and dental insurance in the hospitals are the preventive measures recommended to save the elderly population from oral health issues.
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