Lesson 1 Introduction

It is a fact that people nowadays live longer. Every country’s age expectancy is growing and according to WHO by 2050, two billion people will be over sixty years old. 

As people grow up, they tend to develop and suffer from physical and mental disabilities which usually increase in number over time. The most common health problems are hearing loss, cataracts, back and neck pain and osteoarthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, depression and dementia. 

Family careving is when a family member provides support for the health problems of another family member, when the latter is not capable of handling them himself. This practice has a major impact on elder people that cannot function independently, as it assists them and provides supervision on everyday activities like household tasks, self-care and mobility tasks and it acts as an emotional aid and tangible health and medical support. Therefore, it is a major family  support mechanism that promotes elder’s health. Simultaneously, there are side effects for the health of family caregivers that should be discussed.