tailieunhanh - Health Education for the Elderly - Ayla Kececi and Serap Bulduk

he spread of good oral care will help reduce aspiration pneumonia, endocarditis, and other systemic diseases in the elderly, as well as reduce and prevent diseases of the oral cavity such as periodontal disease and candidiasis. Oral functions will be restored and maintained by improving eating and swallowing functions, and it is our hope that the resulting restoration of health and social activity will lead to improved QOL for elderly people. Daily care of the teeth and mouth is important for a healthy life. . | 11 Health Education for the Elderly Ayla Kececi and Serap Bulduk Duzce University Vocational School of Health Services Turkey 1. Introduction Health promotion and wellness are a great responsibility particularly for all health care providers who work with elderly people. Some health care providers claim that because of their age activities pertaining to prophylactic measures health and wellness maintenance will not be helpful to elderly people. On the contrary wellbeing should not be regarded as a concept specifically relevant to younger individuals. The wellness concept is applicable to every age from older adults to the young Reicherter Greene 2005 Tabloski 2010 . The world population on the whole is growing older and wellness and common diseases infectious diseases acute illnesses chronic diseases and degenerative diseases etc. have been changing. Although many chronic diseases cause serious defects some studies show that if a healthy life style is adopted and maintained these defects can be delayed. Besides these illnesses generally pose risk factors for individuals and their life styles. Studies on wellness and the prevention of diseases have been found effective especially in providing lifelong behavioral change. Since the elderly population is at a huge risk of major diseases and defects members of health care units should handle their education carefully. Through such education benefits are provided regarding protective and wellness development for many elderly people Reicherter Greene 2005 Tabloski 2010 . Health education is a concept directly linked to health promotion in both clinical and educational preparation fields. Health promotion reform has developed an increasing interest in acute injuries and diseases from the mid-1980s. However opportunities to promote health have generally been neglected Choi et al. 2010 . Health education increases individuals knowledge of health and health care and makes them informed about their health care choices. .