A Critical Review of Studies on Health Needs Assessment of Elderly in the World
Journal Title: Elderly Health Journal - Year 2017, Vol 3, Issue 1
Abstract
Introduction: Health improvement, control of communicable diseases and increase in life expectancy among the elderly of developed and developing countries has greatly increased. Since the health care and social needs of older adults differ from that of other adults, it is necessary to identify the needs of the elderly in order to make proper plans that will promote their health. The aim of this paper is to critically review these researches. Methods: A comprehensive literature review on the needs assessment of elderly health was applied searching English and Persian databases in Pub Med, Science Direct, ProQuest, Elsevier, Magiran, ISC and using key words including, Health need, Assessment, Elderly, Aging, Older adults, Aged and Health care needs. Results: Initial search yielded 745 references, considering the inclusion criteria, 21 papers were reviewed. Results revealed that in conducting needs assessment, various methods and procedures in various health dimensions including physical health, mental health, emotional, care, social, cultural, economic, nutritional, service, security, legal and educational needs have been utilized. Some of the dimensions had been more explored and some rarely. Conclusion: Most of the conducted studies had mainly focused on the elderly physical health needs and had neglected to take in to account other needs such as social and health care needs. In order to comprehensively recognize the health needs of the elderly, identifying their health care and care services is also important. Furthermore, in addition to quantitative studies, discovering the older adults‟ perceptions of their own health needs is also necessary. It seems that the challenge ahead of managers, experts and researchers on elderly health is trying to design comprehensive mechanisms of health need assessment and considering it as a reference for any future planning
Authors and Affiliations
Sima Ghasemi, Nastaran Keshavarz Mohammadi, Farahnaz Mohammadi Shahboulaghi, Ali Ramezankhani
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP212895
- DOI -
- Views 90
- Downloads 0
Healthy Lifestyle Status among Non- Institutionalized Older People: A Literature Review
Introduction: Advances in medical and health sciences have led to increase in the number of older people. The most common non- communicable diseases can be prevented by following a healthy lifestyle. This study aimed to...
Home Visit Services Provided for Elderly Dwellers in Isfahan Province: A Cross-Sectional Study
Introduction: As the elderly population increases, chronic diseases and disabilities also become more prevalent. Home care programs as hospital services supplement, not only can prevent elderly from get worse in their di...
The Effect of Lower Limb Resistance Exercise with Elastic Band on Balance, Walking Speed, and Muscle Strength in Elderly Women
Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an 8-week resistance exercise program on balance, walking speed, and muscle strength in elderly women. Methods: This randomized controlled trial was...
Comments on Common Intestinal Parasites in Elderly People
No abstract
Editor's Welcome
The increasing number of aging people around the world, especially in developing countries, and its economic, social, and health consequences demonstrate the necessity of studies focusing on the elderly. The results of t...