Implementation of patient-centered physical training for older people accessing routine health care

Excerpt

Health care for aged people represents a major challenge for health care systems and the whole society. Firstly, the older population is growing, both in absolute as well as in relative numbers. Secondly, medical care for older people is often complex due to a variety of health impairments that typically occur with age, such as hidden diseases and multimorbidity. As comprehensive care for aged people does not only require medical care, but also management of social, psychological, lifestyle-related, and environmental factors, a multidisciplinary, intersectorial, and integrated approach is required in care of older people. Thirdly, the relevant health outcomes and prevention of adverse events differ in older people compared to the general population. In the general population the most important aims of prevention are focused on preventing chronic diseases which often need decades to develop, preventing progression of asymptomatic diseases through early detection, and preventing premature mortality. In aged people, however, it is more important to prevent complications through managing diseases and preventing dependency, social decline, loss of quality of life, institutionalization, hospitalization, and also premature death. …