Geriatrics Handbook

People are living longer.

• Life expectancy has doubled in the last two hundred years.
• We expect the number of centenarians to be over 200,000 in the next ten years.
• Those living into their eighties and nineties will be common.
• Over the next ten years, it is possible that nearly 30percent of the population will be retired seniors above the age of sixty-five.

Increasing longevity and aging has its positives and negatives. It is desirable to see that people are living longer, but they also face an increasing number of healthcare and socioeconomic issues. It is a well-established fact that healthcare costs increase toward the end of life.

Geriatrics is a medical speciality of providing healthcare for the older adult. Their healthcare needs differ somewhat from the younger population. This handbook addresses various medical problems as it relates to older patients. Prevention of health hazards and expression of compassionate care deserve as much attention as providing appropriate medical care. Hence, the book is divided into those sections.

This handbook is written for the following:

• Medical professionals who render much of the current geriatric care in many parts of the world.
• Physicians, physician assistants, nurses, allied professionals, and gerontologists.
• Students, interns, residents, fellows, those who intend to provide care to aging adults.
• Aging adults who want a better understanding of aging and health-related problems.
• Caregivers and family members of aging adults who want and need a handbook to understand aging and important issues aging adults face.
• Healthcare administrators, those who run facilities attending to the health needs of our aging population.