THE CURRENT CONDITION OF THE MEDICAL AND SOCIAL REHABILITATION OF THE ELDERLY AND WAYS OF ITS IMPROVEMENT

Abstract

The aging population is one of the main problems, which nowadays has a great importance for the economic and social policy of the countries all over the world. A natural consequence of the aging population is the growing demand of medical and social care, and the development of the social service system. Important problems of age are the socio-demographic structure of the population, medical features of age and social protection of the elderly. With the age, the number of chronic diseases is gradually increasing, the amount of people who need constant medical monitoring and complex medical and social problems solving is growing. Considering all the above, it is necessary to draw attention to the importance of medical and social rehabilitation of the elderly. The goal. The purpose of the article is to analyze current scientific resources about modern approaches and the condition of the medical and social rehabilitation of the elderly and senile individuals and ways of their improvement. The results. The health of the elderly and senile people is characterized by a change in social status, an increase in the level of morbidity, a decrease in the standard of living, and the emergence of the need in partial or permanent care. With the age, the level of functional limitation is increasing, which leads to a decrease of their activities in everyday life, contributes to an increase in the need of medical, psychological and social care. One of the main forms of assistance for the aging population is medical and social rehabilitation. It involves the use of a set of measures aimed at restoring a person's rights, social status, health, and legal capacity. The main strategic task of medical and social work with the elderly should be considered preservation and improvement of their quality of life. Renewal treatment of the elderly and especially senile people significantly distinguish from that of patients of other age groups, which is related to the physiological features of the aging body. When carrying out the rehabilitation of the elderly, it is necessary to take into account that the intensity and duration of any rehabilitation intervention should not cause reactions of functional exhaustion and be proportional to the individual functional condition of the aging patient. Renewal treatment improves the functional condition of the elderly and senile individuals, which contributes to the improvement of their quality of life. The functioning of the rehabilitation system in Ukraine lags far behind needs and does not meet today's requirements. In order to improve the rehabilitation system in Ukraine at the level of world and European standards, it is necessary to solve the problem of human resources for doing rehabilitation, enhance the facilities and equipment of rehabilitation institutions and more actively develop medical and social rehabilitation.