| |
Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
 | |
|
Premature and preventable deaths in frail, older people
— a new perspective | | Author(s) | Tatiana Hitchen, Joseph E Ibrahim, Marta Woolford |
| Journal title | Ageing and Society, vol 37, no 8, September 2017 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press, September 2017 |
| Pages | pp 1531-1542 |
| Source | http://www.cambridge.org/aso |
| Keywords | Death ; Early ; Care homes ; Nursing homes ; Australia. |
| Annotation | The concept and potential implications of a premature death of an older person are under-recognised and misunderstood by society. Clinical, forensic and public health practitioners need to redress this gap, to better prepare society for a future in which an increasing proportion of the population is made up of vulnerable older people. Having information that is reliable and valid is paramount, if we are to understand how many older people have premature, preventable deaths; and also has implications for aged care services, health-care expenditure, quality and safety, and human rights. The authors aim, first, to provide discourse on the limitations and challenges to the use of the concepts 'premature' and 'preventable' deaths, examining the situation for nursing home residents. Second, they propose the use of a novel classification system of 'treated', 'un-treated' and 'untreatable' causes of death that is more sophisticated and reflects the demographic reality of our ageing population. If we accept that preventable, premature deaths may happen to older people, then adopting a new classification is a novel approach that has considerable benefits for older people's health and social care. Improved assessment of the quality of care provided (including identification of health or life care practices that are unsafe or deleterious) can be identified and addressed. (RH) |
| Accession Number | CPA-170825200 A |
| Classmark | CW: 4J: KW: LHB: 7YA |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
|
| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
| |
|