Concepts of Altered Health in Older Adults

For age is opportunity no less than youth, itself, though in another dress. And as the evening twilight fades away the sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.

—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

ging is a natural, lifelong process that brings with it unique biopsychosocial changes. These changes cre­ate special health care needs for the older adult pop­ulation that merit consideration. Because the prediction for the future is a continuous increase in the older adult pop­ulation, there is a need to focus on the special health care  needs of this group. Gerontology is the discipline that stud­ies aging and the aged from biologic, psychological, and so-ciologic perspectives. It explores the dynamic processes of complex physical changes, adjustments in psychological functioning, and alterations in social identities. Through a holistic approach, health care providers specializing in gerontology seek to assist older adults in maximizing their functional abilities while attempting to prevent and mini­mize illness and disability.

An important first distinction is that aging and disease are not synonymous. Unfortunately, a common assump­tion is that growing older is inevitably accompanied by ill­ness, disability, and overall decline in function. The fact is that the aging body can accomplish most, if not all, of the functions of its youth; the difference is that they may take longer, require greater motivation, and be less precise. But as in youth, maintenance of physiologic function occurs through continued use.