Is Biology A Role For Caring For The Elderly - 1630 Words

Literature Review: Biology: Biology is one of the disciplines that will discuss elderly patient care. Biology means the study of life, but it also has much more to the definition. â€Å"Biology stresses the value of classification and experimental control. The latter is the means of identifying true causes, and therefore privileges experimental methods over all other methods of obtaining information† (Repko, 2008). There are many ways that show how biology plays a role in caring for the elderly. Age has been a good indicator of health. The elderly face additional disease and injuries than other age groups. A study was done that compared fatality rate of those older than 65 with those who were younger. The categories that were studied†¦show more content†¦Also, the molecular changes cancer has on the geriatric patient s brain, is less responsive to the treatments that are available (2011). The elderly s body is fighting against them getting better. Not only does the older patient have an incre ased risk of injury of disease, there is also an increase risk with side effects. A study was done to see if certain medication would produce an increased risk of falls in the elderly (Hartikainen, Lonnroos, Louhivuori, 2007). The study showed that drugs that targeted the central nervous system such as psychotropic increased the risk of falls (2007). Biology has shown through several studies that the elderly are more likely to have injuries, disease, and have increase side effects to current treatment or are resistant. The elderly have a lot going against them, looking at it through a biological standpoint. Psychology: Another discipline that one can look at the problems that elderly are facing and looking at their treatment is through psychology. Psychology is defined as, â€Å"The epistemology of psychology is that psychological construct and their interrelationship can be inferred through discussions and observations, and applied to treatment (clinical) or a series of experiments with slight variation (experimental). A critical ingredient of a good