Kirk H
Dansk Gerontologisk Institut, Hellerup.
Dan Med Bull. 1992 Jun;39(3):202-3.
Discussions on care of the elderly today often lack definitions of various issues and concepts relating to the elderly in question and their needs. One problem is the tendency to categorise the elderly in general as one homogeneous group of frail individuals. Another is an increasing tendency to paint a posy picture of the third age, overlooking the problems of "the fourth age". The categorisation of "the elderly" dates back 100 years in history, when the first political initiatives on pension policy were taken. Denmark was the first country to introduce such legislation, with old age (over 60) as the basic criterion. However, the basis for drawing a vertical line at the age of 60 was a series of findings by German and French scholars of medicine and statistics on age-related decline in various functions. The development of geriatric medicine occurred rather late in Denmark, probably because of a relatively high level of quality and capacity of social institutions and other services for the elderly. Thus, longterm care for old people was not a major issue in the health care system until recent decades. Today, the new images of aging are not limited to visualisation of old people in "the third age". Nursing homes are changed to individual flats and provision of 24-hour home care services is available. This development requires coordinated education, training, and management of staff. A better knowledge of the changing images of aging in history is an important element of staff development.
如今关于老年人护理的讨论往往缺乏对各类与相关老年人及其需求有关的问题和概念的定义。一个问题是倾向于将老年人总体上归为一个体弱的同质群体。另一个问题是越来越倾向于描绘第三年龄的美好图景，而忽视了“第四年龄”的问题。“老年人”这一分类在历史上可追溯到100年前，当时首次出台了有关养老金政策的政治举措。丹麦是第一个引入此类立法的国家，以老年（60岁以上）作为基本标准。然而，在60岁划一条分界线的依据是德国和法国医学及统计学学者关于各种功能随年龄下降的一系列研究结果。老年医学在丹麦的发展相当晚，可能是因为社会机构和其他老年人服务的质量和能力水平相对较高。因此，直到最近几十年，老年人的长期护理在医疗保健系统中都不是一个主要问题。如今，老龄化的新形象不仅限于对“第三年龄”老年人的呈现。养老院改成了个人公寓，还提供24小时居家护理服务。这种发展需要对工作人员进行协调一致的教育、培训和管理。更好地了解历史上不断变化的老龄化形象是工作人员发展的一个重要因素。
