People graduate from one stage of life into another throughout their entire life based on their advancement in age. Specifically, life stages are infancy, childhood, youth, adulthood, and old age. People in these subdivisions exhibit varying health needs and complications, and their needs are addressed distinctively by the family and the health care system. Inevitably, infants, children, and the elderly receive more care than youths and adults when encountering medical facilities. For this activity, I interviewed an elderly friend of mine who is a 72 years old grandmother. Mrs. Rose has been ailing from diabetes and hypertension since she was 38 years old. As a result, she has had numerous encounters with the health care system. Currently, Mrs. Rose is in the old age bracket, although her initial encounter with hospitals for diabetes and hypertension commenced during her early adulthood.
Notably, she asserts that her encounter with the health care system has often varied with advancement in her age since, at the moment, she receives ample attention from doctors, unlike before in adulthood. Moreover, most of her encounters with hospitals are clinics as she seeks medication for her both diabetes and hypertension. Her treatment is attended to in the Endocrinology and cardiology clinics specializing in treating diabetes and hypertension, respectively (Ferdinand & Nasser, 2017). As a result, she is attended to by doctors from these departments, making them her primary contact when in hospital (LeRoith et al., 2019). However, she adds that all medical practitioners are substantially nice to her at her age as they respect and find the need to help her, unlike when she was in her forties.
Mrs. Rose says that she has always received the care she needed from doctors in all hospitals that she has attended. However, when she was diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension at 38 years old, she was often treated like any other patient with no favors. Additionally, due to her age, she communicates everything regarding her health to her doctors, thus, obtaining all the help. Even though she often goes to the hospital for clinics, she has also been hospitalized severally due to variations in her blood sugar. Furthermore, she recalls when her condition was worse, and she was rushed to hospital by ambulance since it was an emergency.
In addition, she appreciates her family for their support in ensuring that she comfortably accesses the services she requires within the hospital. Notably, Mrs. Rose asserts that having her family by her side empowers her to remain vital in fighting her infections. She states that her doctors collaborate with her family to ensure that she is well cared for at home. The doctors instruct her caregivers how to give medicine and undertake regular checks for her blood pressure to ensure that it is within the necessary range since the elderly need more care (Calder et al., 2018). As a result, her family is always included in her post-procedure instructions, especially when released from the hospital.
This interview with Mrs. Rose demonstrates that Stages-of-Life contributes substantially in influencing patients’ encounter with the health care system. According to Mrs. Rose’s story, medical practitioners have a soft spot for the elderly and afford them more attention and privileges in their treatment compared to other society members. Additionally, the family is highly involved in health matters about elderly family members since they require more guidance and care than other adults.
References
Calder, P. C., Carding, S. R., Christopher, G., Kuh, D., Langley‐Evans, S. C., & McNulty, H. (2018). A holistic approach to healthy aging: how can people live longer, healthier lives?. Journal of human nutrition and dietetics, 31(4), 439-450.
Ferdinand, K. C., & Nasser, S. A. (2017). Management of essential hypertension. Cardiology clinics, 35(2), 231-246.
LeRoith, D., Biessels, G. J., Braithwaite, S. S., Casanueva, F. F., Draznin, B., Halter, J. B.,… & Sinclair, A. J. (2019). Treatment of diabetes in older adults: an endocrine society clinical practice guideline. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 104(5), 1520-1574.