(By Ramandeep Kaur & Thetna)
("Source:Media from Wix").
Health is a complex and a challenging issue which varies across each country and provinces within. The determinants affecting health as well as the multiple healthcare models play a crucial role to help one understand the state of an individual’s health. The disease prevalence ratio also varies between various provinces. In this blog, we are going to talk about the two prevalent issues predominant in our provinces occurring between age groups that fall between the varying ends of a spectrum; one is the healthcare in the elderly population and the other is pregnancy in adolescent. We are going to a give a brief overview with some statistical evidence on how the healthcare models we have used aid in understanding and solving issues pertaining to the elderly and the adolescent.
Thetna has explained in her blog about a prevalent issue which is healthcare in the elderly population. As per the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), the population of seniors in Canada is expected to almost double by the year 2036 as the baby boom generation reach the age 65 years. This will impact the country’s economy, society and health care system over the next 25 to 30 years. The risk of ill health and disability increase with age and nearly three-quarters of Canadians over 65 have at least one chronic health condition. “Because of increasing rates of disability and chronic disease, the demand for health services is expected to increase as Canada’s population ages. Currently Canadians over 65 consume roughly 44% of provincial and territorial health care budgets, and governments are concerned about the health care system’s capacity to provide quality services in the future.” (CMA, 2013)
The CHOICE- Model of Integrated Home Care that was initiated in Edmonton has been used by Thetna to explain how this model has been designed to help seniors stay in their homes and live independently for as long as possible. Seniors are brought to a day center at least once a week to get a full range of medical, psychological, social and support services from a multidisciplinary team of healthcare workers. Below is an illustration of the CHOICE model of integrated home care for seniors.
I have used the social ecological model in my blog post to explain its relevance to adolescent pregnancy. Adolescent pregnancy seems to be on the rise in all provinces. I have applied the five levels within the social ecological model i.e. individual, interpersonal, organizational, community and public policy to my work-related experience in Ontario to explain the reason behind the numerous adolescent pregnancies and hence the need for multiple abortions. According to the blog post by Amy in 2017 on on the social ecological model written under the Borgen Project, the lack of a sound support system, an organization of care, poor social economic conditions, lack of knowledge are few of the reasons that are relevant to the social ecological model and clarify the cause of the adolescent pregnancy. Below is a graphic image taken from an article written on teenage pregnancy by Dryburgh in the year 2000, that shows the variation in the teenage/adolescent pregnancy rates in the Canadian provinces.
("Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11565115").
From the graphical demonstration above, it is evident that the teenage pregnancy rates in the year 1997 were more than 50 pregnancies per 1000 pregnancies in Alberta as opposed to Ontario which had less than 50 pregnancies per 1000 pregnancies.
The commonality derived from the CHOICE- Model of Integrated Home Care and the Social ecological model lies in the fact that the “social and support services” are included in both these models. While the elderly population requires constant social and support services to cater to their day to day needs such as a nurse, social worker, physiotherapist with the use of CHOICE model; the adolescents need social support such as counselling in terms of sex education, safe sex practices as well as support from their family members and friends during these emotionally difficult times. The social and support services for adolescents are derived from the interpersonal and organizational levels of the social ecological model.
It is also vital to understand that health inequities exist across the provinces in Canada. There are major discrepancies in the availability of care between provinces and territories which include both rural and urban areas. Furthermore, as per the Health Council of Canada’s report on the state of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis seniors’ health, it was evident that these populations unfortunately were not provided the equal care as non-Aboriginals primarily due to reasons like poor communication and collaboration and disputes between different levels of governments (The State of Seniors Health Care in Canada, n.d.)
In conclusion, the aging population is one of the most demanding issues which will have a huge impact on our healthcare, social services and the economy of our country. At the same time, the youth is the future of our country and they need to be supported, well guided and be counselled regarding safe sexual practices that can minimize unwanted pregnancies. Public healthcare policies that have been developed as well as the healthcare models such as CHOICE for the elderly and the social ecological model for adolescents play a pivotal role in bringing necessary reformations and enhancing the level of healthcare (The State of Seniors Health Care in Canada, n.d.)
References
Amy. (2017, August 06). Social Ecological Model Offers New Approach to Public Health. Retrieved from https://borgenproject.org/social-ecological-model/
Anderson, A. (2005). Planning Model for the Health and Care of the Elderly. Retrieved from https://alzheimer.ca/sites/default/files/files/on/pppi%20documents/planningmodelforthehealthandcareoftheelderlynovember2005.pdf[Accessed 14 Jun 2019].
CMA (2013). Health and Health Care for an Aging Population. [online] Available at: https://www.cma.ca/sites/default/files/2018-11/CMA_Policy_Health_and_Health_Care_for_an_Aging-Population_PD14-03-e_0.pdf [Accessed 14 Jun. 2019].
Dryburgh, H. (2000, October). Teenage pregnancy. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11565115
The State of Seniors Health Care in Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cma.ca/state-seniors-health-care-canada
Comments