Perception of long-term care and the population it serves.
In a country like the United States of America, people aged 65 years old and above are gradually increasing as years goes by. This number is estimated to double. Senior people made 12% of the total population in the year 2000. By the year 2030 the figure is expected to increase by 19% that is 72 million of the total population. This seniors will need long term care to cater for to their needs. Policies that can make long term care affordable and easier are often debated by leaders (Pratt, 2016).
In my own perspective, in order to gain insight on the approaches that can enable long term care and the population it serves, people who are aged forty years old and above should be involved in providing relevant data to help in making decisions and shaping policies. The point of focus should be on understanding their point of view, their past experience and reactions towards planning and preparing for their personal care and interact with the entire system practically (Pratt, 2016).
Generally, most people aged forty years and above show interest in long term care as they are well aware looming challenges that come with old age. This glaring fact does not usually push them to take action and acquire a personal long term care plans that will cater for their needs. Only a few individuals who fall under this age group of forty years and above, take necessary steps to ensure they get personal long term care plan and go ahead to discuss issues pertaining long term care with their family members. Also, some individuals set aside finances that will cater for the plan. And its needs. It is also public knowledge that a lot of people prefer public policies to facilitate their long term care needs. Public policies incorporate tax incentives to enable people save for long term care. Individuals who are forty years old and above bank on the fact that their family members will shoulder the burden as they age but the few who have fully embraced long term care do not depend on family members or relatives to take care of them (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ,2005).
In most populations, the public does not discuss matters to do with old age and usually do not give it a thought. Some may consider it and realize its importance .If governments create awareness, it will educate the public on the issue. If people are educated enough on the benefits of long term care, they will be able to consider it on a personal level and this will force them to be well acquainted with the policies that come with it. Thinking will generate genuine concern which will then be acted upon and therefore plan for long term care (Singh, 2014).
Professions that have been known to provide human labor to the sector should also be given a platform to create awareness. This will help to define its ideology in context of what they offer. The best method of defining long term is by applying a time period cutoff limit. Care can be termed long term when it lasts for more than ninety days. Although defining it simplifies it and makes it more convenient, it does not give it any legitimacy. Other perspectives can be added to enable better answers to challenges. Time oriented definitions do not solve any problems that come with the nature of services needed by the long term care elderly patients (Singh, 2014).
A part from defining long term care, an alternative approach is to isolate elderly people who suffer from long life conditions. This helps to generate types of services that will be needed by the long-term patients. Knowing the actual number of senior people suffering from lifelong conditions is vital for other purposes such as interventions, medical diagnosis, application and prediction of medical results. For example, if a survey is conducted on the number of people who stay in bed because of lifelong conditions, the findings can be used to come up with the man power needed for long term care. This is because human intervention alone cannot alter individuals’ predicaments. In 1980, 17000 which represents less than 1 % of elderly population was reported to have chronic conditions (Singh, 2014).
Functional injury cannot be used as a criteria for including people in long term care population programs. This is due to the simple fact that functional disability is too general hence providing no guidelines .There are two ways that have adequately provided ways of developing estimates of the size of society that needs long term care services .The first one is by defining the individual: any person who has attained either swiftly or progressively a status of collapse or decline in his or her behavior function system and the system can be rehabilitated or stabilized. This means that long term care is made up of services that are meant to diagnose, prevent, cure, rehabilitate, support and enable services for all people belonging to various age groups and suffer from any serious physical illnesses or mental impairment, in institutions and none institution health sector settings such as homes; with the aim of enabling highest levels of physical and social forms of psychology functions. The definitions focus on observable behaviors and other measurable factors such as practical limitations and the vital role played by services offered by individuals. The definitions bring up services expected to be offered in the long term care (Gerlach & Hegner, 2014).
Long term care should exclude people whose condition can be alleviated by use of equipment such as wheelchairs and reachable transport systems. The ever changing technology can make some people independent in the foreseeable future (Gerlach& Hegner, 2014).
Medicare is an insurance for persons aged 65 years old. People with disabilities and renal disease at its end stage are also qualified. But it does not provide cover for any long term care in healthcare institutions and personal homes. It only covers medical services offered but not any other expenses that result from staying in the institutions that cater for long term care .Therefore, it does not cover daily expenses that result from staying long term facilities. Another insurance company that offers long term care is the New York life insurance using reimbursement policies. They refund holders with long term care as long as they meet the required threshold and benefit dollars. This help to educate the public on the benefits of long term care and also the individuals who are eligible to qualify for the services. This increases the public’s awareness (Gerlach & Hegner, 2014).
Long term care offers various services that help meet both medical and other needs that come as a result of chronic illnesses. The services provided help to rehabilitate and improve the quality of life lived by the patients. It caters for skilled and non-skilled services such as cooking, dressing and usage of bathrooms. Highly qualified medical care is also provided to provide for seniors who suffer from chronic conditions that come with old age.
References
Gerlach, M. J. M., & Hegner, B. R. (2014). Assisting in Long-Term Care. Delmar Cengage Learning.
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2005). Long-term Care for Older People. Paris: OECD Publishing.
Pratt, J. R. (2016). Long-term care: Managing across the continuum.
Singh, D. A. (2014). Effective Management of Long-Term Care Facilities. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.
