Basics of Geriatric Care this section includes Chapter 1. Health Care Funding Chapter 12.
Quality of life is an intensely personal and variable concept.
Most people are comfortable talking about their own quality of life but become uncertain and reluctant if asked to determine the quality of life of others. Thus, in health care, health-related quality of life is best assessed on the basis of the patient's experience. Therapeutic objectives are best guided by objective measures, such as the presence and severity of mental or physical suffering or pain, and by the likelihood that treatment will restore lifestyle and pleasures or result in suffering. Several phenomena that become more prevalent with increasing age affect therapeutic objectives. Therefore, the health care delivery system for older adults should be oriented toward care of chronic disease, regardless of the patient's age, and should emphasize continuing care aimed at improving function, postponing deterioration and disability, and preventing complications.