Problem/ Solution Research Paper. Healthy Living and Disease Prevention in the Twenty-First Century

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Healthy Living and Disease Prevention in the Twenty-First Century
Health living and disease prevention are two major trending themes in health care and geriatric medicine in the twenty-first century. Although concerted efforts have been focused on young persons, emerging evidence indicates that enhancing people’s living standards and preventing contagious infections are both feasible and appropriate for persons aged 65 and above. The healthy living and disease prevention approach is among many prospective techniques used to address and deal with the augmenting hallmark of contemporary times – the prevention of functional impairments or multiple chronic disorders among the elderly (Bauer et al. 51). Although the promotion of a healthy lifestyle and disease prevention approach does not necessarily replace medical care either for acute flare-ups or treatment of chronic disorders, it guarantees a reduction of the prevalence and instances of acute and chronic diseases among the elderly and the general population. Besides this approach, this paper will explore how long-term care for many illnesses, conditions, medical treatment, and studies to enhance treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of acute and chronic diseases prevent infections.
Healthy living involves developing behaviors and routines that improve and enhance the bodily functioning of individuals and improve their ability to adapt to environmental changes. On the other hand, disease prevention entails actions to eliminate or to reduce an individual’s exposure to health risks that might augment the possibilities of a person or a community to incur premature deaths, disabilities, or diseases (Bassett 208). Research shows that some of the risk factors for disabilities and illnesses such as personal habits are amenable or mutable to change, while others, such as family history and genetic makeup, are not. Therefore, the fundamental focus of promoting a healthy living and disease prevention for an individual and the community at large determines health-related problems for which proper prevention approaches can lead to improved health status and effective utilization of healthcare services.
Primarily, health living and disease prevention underscore an approach to health care that focuses on the significance of personal behavior and a healthy lifestyle to improve both mental and physical health and functioning as well as maintaining personal health status. Furthermore, health promotion also recognizes that the degree to which behavior change and health care interventions can be efficient in preventing diseases and promoting people’s health (Bauer et al. 47). Further research indicates that this technique partly depends on the current phase in the life cycle and on the health status in which specific health care interventions are administered. Both aspects emphasize the need of family units and individuals to embrace the concept of personal responsibility by taking the initiative to manage and control their lifestyle and behavior to improve their health care.
There are three main types of prevention practices that impact the well-being and health of the elderly. Firstly, primary prevention refers to strategies or efforts used to eliminate the functional or health problems right at their source (Butler et al. 149). Primary prevention entails practices used to mitigate the occurrence of infections by using different approaches such as recommending the proper diet to improve people’s nutritional status, encouraging physical fitness, providing vaccination and immunization, or promoting emotional well-being. These mitigation approaches help to reduce or eliminate the incidence and prevalence of infections or render a vulnerable population not to be at risk of contracting the diseases.
On the other hand, secondary preventive measures involve strategies that can help detect the presence of adverse health risks during their early phases, curtain the spread of the infection or offer prompt and effective interventions to the affected individual or population. In this century, technology and innovation play a critical role in managing the spread and transmission of infections. For instance, many countries have devised technical equipment that helps to instantly screen infections without using laboratory sampling techniques (Butler et al. 149). However, conventional methods, such as proper handwashing, sanitation, and maintaining proper hygiene, are commonly recommended. Thirdly, tertiary prevention is a technique that aims to reduce or eliminate the severity or duration of a potentially disabling upshots of disability and disease, to minimize suffering, reduce potential complications once an infection is established, and to help a person to acclimatize to irredeemable conditions (Sykes 109). However, the tertiary prevention approach is only employed in situations where both primary and secondary preventions are not applicable or where they have failed to achieve the desired outcome. These interventions work alone or in unison to elicit the best possible results and reduce or eliminate the potential impacts of infections.
Disease prevention and promotion of healthy living aim to improve health equity within and between countries, enhance universal access to quality primary healthcare services, which, in return, increase the life expectancy of the population. However, the achievement of these objectives is begged on the development of sustainable healthcare systems, making universa...