Importance of Gerontology

The elderly are part of our society, but as life has become more and more fast-paced, where what matters is youth, success and individualism, the quality of life of people who are studying the third age is complicated and often plagued by suffering. That is why it is useful to pay attention to gerontology, that discipline scientific that is in charge of working with different aspects and elements of the life of the elderly.

The need for greater knowledge of the elderly

Gerontology, as the term says (in Greek, geron means "old man" and logos "treated about") is the branch of science that focuses on analyzing the characteristics and behaviors of the elderly. In this sense, you can work with elements that have to do with your physical appearance, especially how the organism suffers different types of damage or wear and tear, as well as psychological or emotional aspects, even social ones, that is, the way in which an elderly person relates to the world abroad.

This type of approach to the elderly is of great importance since, despite the fact that societies today establish values of success around youth, the quality of life of people who have already retired and who are living their last stage of life must be worked. The objective of this science is to get to know these people better in order to develop changes and improvements in their lifestyle.

Demographic aspects and analysis of the elderly

Another of the objectives of gerontology is to make statistics on the demographic information that a society can provide us. Thus, societies with a high rate of population elderly will present problems related mainly to health, work areas, etc., while others with a larger youth population may consider the way in which they care for the elderly, etc

The quality of life of people is essential so that they can enjoy the different stages with dignity and properly assisted. Gerontology seeks to work with problems such as suffering due to the wear and tear of the body, as well as also with chronic or degenerative diseases, fears of interacting with the rest of society, access to the technology, the possibility of having a social group that assists the person, the work on the self-esteem, pleasure and enjoyment among other things.

Fotolia image: Solarisys, MoiraM