As a person ages, one undergoes various stages of life. The most common are infancy, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood (aging). Each stage in life is relevant to individual health as age can impact certain factors which also vary amongst genders. Specific subset categories exist to address core life-stage health issues including maternal and newborn health, child health, sexual and reproductive health, and healthy aging. These aspects seek to cover the needs of the segments of the population based on demographics and age. Improvement of health at these key stages in life requires continuous interventions as well as improved health delivery systems that focus on resolving socio-economic determinants of health (World Health Organization, n.d.).
Research has shown that health needs vary based on the stage of a person’s lifecycle. Circumstances including environmental, social, and physical vary starting at birth and ending with death. Each stage influences health and a person’s ability to maintain it. Specific health issues may be relevant to a person during various stages of life. For example, in middle-aged women, sexual and reproductive health often maintains a level of priority. Furthermore, specific risk behaviors will differ based on age, and influencing factors such as stress will continue to impact health (Farrell, Simpson, Carlson, Englund, & Sung, 2017)
Interview
The interviewed patient was a 65-year old Caucasian female. She has a type-2 diabetes diagnosis and has experienced other health issues throughout her life, making her a frequent user of the healthcare system. The patient noted that depending on the stage-of-life, her interaction with healthcare professionals differed. This occurred due to changes in attitude both from her and the hospital staff. She notes that as she got older, her experience helped in the interactions and receiving of treatment.
For example, she understood the procedures associated with treating her diabetes better which sped up the process of each doctor’s visit. Furthermore, her financial situation varied according to the stage of life, which made her more aware of which treatments she could afford. Regarding healthcare professionals, she noted that they approached her differently. Obviously, as a child, everyone sought to make the experience of visiting a doctor more pleasant and fun. As a woman in mid-life, she was treated with objectivity and ensuring that treatment did not severely impact her life functions. As a senior, healthcare professionals sought to ensure comfort and spoke realistically about the ways that her life could be prolonged. Therefore, it is evident that the interaction with healthcare professionals depends on the stage-of-life as there are inherently differing objectives to treatment.
Conclusion
The patient notes that the area of the clinic most concerned with her feelings was the nursing staff working at the reception and preparing her to be seen by a physician. She felt that even before nationwide initiatives focused on improving patient care, nurses were the most compassionate and understanding her condition and situation, no matter her age. She found this extraordinary and tremendously encouraging. The patient notes that her family or husband was present with her during practically every hospital visit, especially during prolonged stays. Unless there was surgical intervention, the family was always allowed to be present during all aspects of the stay and treatment. Physicians and nurses always sought to explain the necessary information from a perspective that concerned the patient as well as using a more encouraging rapport with the family. However, she notes that recently there has been increased attention at including her family in post-procedure instruction and adherence to treatment. The patient believes this partially due to new guidelines as well as her elderly age, with hospital staff worried for her health and safety.
References
Farrell, A. K., Simpson, J. A., Carlson, E. A., Englund, M. M., & Sung, S. (2017). The impact of stress at different life stages on physical health and the buffering effects of maternal sensitivity. Health Psychology, 36(1), 35-44. Web.
World Health Organization. (n.d.). Health at key stages of life – the life-course approach to public health. Web.