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Older persons' definitions of good health: implications for general practitioners
Author(s) -
Saltman Deborah C.,
Webster Ian W.,
Therin Gallia A.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1989.tb136561.x
Subject(s) - general practice , perception , health care , population , medicine , health problems , population health , older people , population ageing , psychology , nursing , gerontology , family medicine , environmental health , political science , neuroscience , law
General practitioners are the major providers of health‐care services for the older population in Australia. Care that is provided for older persons within the general‐practice setting remains crisis‐orientated. Nevertheless, many of the disabling health problems of older persons neither can be “solved” nor cured. Therefore, the older population is a unique population in which to study what constitutes good health and ways in which good health can be maintained. This article describes the perceptions of a group of older persons about their health. They define good health in a remarkably non‐medical way. General practitioners need to take into account this knowledge when considering ways to improve the health of these patients. (Med J Aust 1989; 150: 426‐428)