14 April 2021 Wednesday
Senior Citizens Week
Defined as “being old” and “showing the effects of increased age”, “old age” is the fact that human beings have been thinking about, researching, looking for various remedies, but could not prevent it from the day it existed.
In particular, advances in health technology, controlled and reduced fertility, facilitating early diagnosis of diseases, increasing the effectiveness of the treatment methods used and the decrease in mortality rates due to these are known as the most important factors that cause the increase in the rate of elderly people in the society.
It is a known fact that the world population is getting older day by day. Even supposing that Turkey has a young population, future predictive studies show that in fact our population is aging quickly. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the effects of aging after 2030 in Turkey will be felt more like in other European countries, moreover with the increase in the number of elderly people in the population of the country, economic and social effects will also increase. It is estimated that in 2050, 20% of the total population in Turkey will be elderly population. Indeed, Turkey Demographic and Health Survey report which was published in 2019 has been reported that individuals aged 65 and over in Turkey represent 10% of the population. It is thought that the rapidly aging population affects almost every aspect of society like health of individuals and families in Turkey, family life, the environment, social life, economy and cultural activities and these effects will continue exponentially in the future.
Every year between 18 and 24 March is referred to as the “Senior Citizens Week” in order to draw attention to the aging population and to raise awareness about the health of the elderly.
As nurses, our priority is to ensure that our elderly people are healthy enough to take care of themselves without the need for anyone. In addition to providing care, nursing specialties such as public health nursing and elderly care nursing also conduct studies that will strengthen the care of the elderly. Old age is an inevitable situation for all individuals. In this period, healthy aging is of great importance in order to maintain physical, spiritual and mental well-being, to perform daily life activities independently and to maintain and improve the quality of life.
Remember that every passing day is a step we take towards old age.
