Who is a “Senior”? Looking for a definition in the healthcare system

Who is a “Senior”? Looking for a definition in the healthcare system Monica Consolandi Working with Older People, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.- Seniors are nowadays at the core of important reflections to understand both how to ensure them a proper quality of life and better recognize their social role, providing them services and proper health care to value them as persons and resources. This paper aims to find a through definition about who is a senior, in the author’s opinion the starting point to help them flourishing. As an example of definitions, an online dictionary and two geriatric text-books are quoted, highlighting qualities and rights referred to seniors especially in the delicate context of the health-care system. The lack of a commonly shared perspective on this delicate kind of patient entails the difficulty to reach a coherent and satisfying definition about who a senior is. The lack of a commonly shared definition leads to inevitable misunderstandings and could explain the arduousness of considering seniors in all their aspects. Further investigations are suggested.
Source: Working with Older People - Category: Geriatrics Authors: Source Type: research