Older people Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Older people - Essay Example ctices aimed at making the older population healthy, active and engaged. This paper seeks to explore the major barriers experienced by the older population in Australia with regard to their nutrition, exercise and active ageing. The paper also reviews contemporary governmental policies on aged care and throws light on how factors such as health, socio-economic status, gender, ethnicity, and current policies relate to the older population in the nation. The case study of Jack Andrews, a seventy year old man from the rural Queensland, is also employed in the paper to show the depth and seriousness of the issue. Case study of Jack Andrews Jack Andrews is a seventy year old man from the rural Queensland who suffers from cardiovascular diseases and visual impairment. He is negated of opportunities for active ageing because of his rural background. Born in a poor family in the rural Queensland he fails to receive adequate health care, transport facilities, nutrition or guidelines on health y exercises. During conversations with him, he disclosed that in rural Queensland there was not even a single nursing home or hospital nearby. The nearest hospital facility was about two hours away and due to poor public transport facilities it was difficult for him as well as his relatives to have easy access to healthcare. While Jack was quite unaware of nutritious diets required for a cardiovascular patient he was unhappy that there were no facilities for structured or group exercises in rural Queensland. Even though there are many in his community who are eligible for a community aged care package the inequity in funding often negates them their opportunities. There is also a great amount of staff shortage when it comes to home visits or rural health services. There are also no acute care centers in the vicinity where the older villagers could easily get medication and support systems. Public transport or taxi services are very rare in small rural communities whereas in Central Queensland there are community bus services offering free transport for older people to attend medical appointments which clearly reveal the unequal treatment in the state. Jack’s personal experiences throw light on many of the issues surrounding the older population in Australia-health barriers, barriers based on socio-economic status, lack of access to healthcare, lack of nutritious diets, lack of opportunities for active ageing and lack of facilities for group or structured exercises. Ageing in Australia It is worthwhile to analyze the statistics and proportion of ageing in Australia. With the advancements in science and medical technology life expectancy in Australia has increased considerably whereas the mortality rates were at a decreasing rate. Similarly, since the 1970s deaths from chronic diseases affecting older age groups have also decreased considerably. On the other hand, the fertility rates of the nation have also diminished steadily which resulted in a greater number of