Post edited – June 21, 2011 by Cheryl Cook

Great definition Susan - I think often we forget about the emotional and spiritual aspects for people. We think if someone has nothing physically wrong with them then they maybe don't need so much attention.

I see this in reading around care for dementia patients. Often because they are physically functional, they are seen as needing less hands-on care. Whereas the staff working with them know that in reality, their physical capacity coupled with cognitive issues may mean that more care is needed in a hands-on sense.

And the social and emotional needs of dementia patients are often overlooked in favour of their daily physical needs. A good example was the policy that was suggested in the UK that all dementia patients entering residential care, regardless of their current stage of dementia, be fitted with a feeding tube. Many argued that even when feeding is a challenge, the social activity of being the dining area, of being around others is a necessary part of living for most – and that fitting with feeding tubes would encourage adopting that practice sooner for patients, rather than later. Sadly, I heard debate from those who work with patients about how at a later stage, patients are better off left in their room with a feeding tube, as they don't know what's happening any way.

So for me, another aspect of healthy aging is the right to be treated with dignity and respect as a human, no matter what state or stage of a disease you are in, no matter what level of cognizance you have of this treatment. In a larger scope of how to perceive healthy aging as a society, I think how we deal with dignity in death and dying must be considered.