الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract One of the main features of the Egyptian population over the last few decades is the gradual increase in the absolute and relative numbers of older people as a result of increased life expectancy in Egypt from 1995 to 2008 by 17.9 years for males and 20.2 years for females. Many elderly people suffer from problems that have not been reported to the physician as they may be falsely considered as nonmodifiable consequences of aging or these problems may not even be known to the elderly person. Many older people acquire chronic diseases that in turn result in varying degrees of disability and functional impairment. Once functional impairments or dependencies arise, the elderly person’s condition is strongly influenced by his or her social and physical environment. For example, the arrangement of the elderly person’s in-home environment and the availability of his or her social network might determine whether a person can continue to live in his or her home. The traditional medical model for the care of patients focuses on the differential diagnosis of single symptoms. This process does not allow for the comprehensive evaluation of the typical geriatric patient who has multisystem disease complicated by other functional and psychosocial limitations. CGA allows us to focus on the disease and how it affects the person’s ability to function successfully in his or her environment and so the treatment plans can then be developed. |