The goal of long-term care is not to cure the patient, but rather to improve or maintain the individual functional ability. The condition of long-term care patient´s includes´ chronic disabilities, injuries due to accidents, mental retardation and illness, congenital disabling disease, and other defects. Estimate of the proportion of the population that needs long-term care are difficult and vary depending on the nature or type of services included.
Chronic illness, functional impairment, and advancing age are directly related to the need for long-term care.
Demographic trends in ´ the 65 and over age group are of particular importance, because -members of this age group are five times more likely to be functionally disabled than the general population.
The increase in the aged population is important in determining kind and method of long-term care, because the prevalence of chronic disease and impairment increase with age. The elderly are the fastest growing layer of our population. This special population group has special health care needs, and most of these needs are nursing needs that require and resp -ond to the unique skill, of nurses. The present health care delivery system has impeded the use -of qualified nurses in care of the elderly. .
As health care providers, nurses focus on abilities rather than disabilities; on health rather than diseases; on the well elderly as well as the frail. The nurse must assist the elderly in achieving and maintaining a level of wellness and quality of life consistent with ´the limitations that may be imposed by the aging process or by acute and/or chronic illness.
The scope of gerontological-nursing practice includes
? assessing the client´s health -status
? monitoring chronic health care needs;
- planning and providing care to meet the physical, psychosocial,´ and recreational needs of each individual;
? evaluating all aspects of the individual´s health care on a continuous basis;
? improving health status by non-pharmacological intervention
identifying and coordinating services of other health care providers
? providing health teaching to the client and family;
? collaborating with and making referrals to nurses in specialty practice and to other health care professionals ; ? advocating community services and providing consultation to community´ services organizations
Appropriate utilization of nursing in providing health care services to growing elderly population is the most cost-effective response to a mounting public concern ;for its responsibility for safe and accessible health care for the elderly. Nurses comprise the most available ones and one of the best, resources in health care system. Nurses are the one group of providers who can make a difference in the cost of services to the elderly and in the quality and appropriateness of the, care they receive. Wlien the health care needs of the elderly are appropriately met.... through wellness care, health teaching, and prevention´ of disease and disability-.... these clients will require fewer drugs, less high-tech intervention.
Accordingly, it is needs to produce gerontological nurse of high quality to provide long
term care for the elderly. To satisfy this demand, we need the following requirements.
1. We must adopt "Gerontological Nursing" as a separate subject among the compulsory
subjects of undergraduate or graduate courses.
2. We must make a gerontological nursing text, which can provide a better educational goal and practice.
3. We must produce faculty members who can teach the course with efficiency.
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