The ageing population

Author(s):  
Jenny Walton ◽  
Angus Kaye

As we all age, the demographic of the world changes. Looking after older people well can bring a huge amount of pleasure and satisfaction, not just to the individual, but also to their family, friends and indeed healthcare professionals. How we care for our elderly now is likely to set a precedent for our own care in the future. This article highlights some of the features of ageing and discusses the role of primary care in the management of the older population, within the context of the general practice curriculum.

Author(s):  
Emily Brown

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) develops when microbes, such as bacteria, evolve to no longer be susceptible to an antimicrobial agent. AMR is a huge concern, being regarded internationally as one of the current top 10 threats to global health. By 2050, it is predicted that AMR will be responsible for more deaths globally than cancer. Countries around the world are rising to the challenge of reducing antimicrobial resistance, and primary care has a key role in this objective, as the vast majority of antibiotic prescribing takes place in the community. This article will explore the challenges facing primary care clinicians regarding antimicrobial stewardship and will consider approaches in day-to-day general practice that can help tackle AMR, including a number of helpful and easy to use resources. Future considerations and innovative technologies will also be discussed.


2021 ◽  

The COVID-19 pandemic forced physicians around the world to make tragic decisions: Whose life should be saved when it is apparent that available resources are insufficient to treat everyone? Under the heading of "triage" a broad societal debate ensued that also ignited the scientific community. This anthology unites voices from medicine, law, and philosophy for a conversation. It reveals controversies that are deeply rooted in ideas of law, morality, and the role of the individual in the state. Simultaneously, answers are being formulated to questions that have become sadly prominent in the COVID pandemic but could also valid beyond it.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre-Marie Dupuy ◽  

International custom “as evidence of a general practice accepted as law”, is considered one of the two main sources of international law as it primarily derives from the conduct of sovereign States, but is also closely connected with the role of the international judge when identifying the applicable customary rule, a function it shares with the bodies in charge of its codification (and progressive development), starting with the International Law Commission. Though mainly considered to be general international law, international custom has a complex relationship with many specific fields of law and specific regions of the world. The editor provides comprehensive research published in the last seven decades, invaluable to everyone interested in the field of customary international law.


Author(s):  
Sten Ebbesen

‘Averroism’, ‘radical Aristotelianism’ and ‘heterodox Aristotelianism’ are nineteenth- and twentieth-century labels for a late thirteenth-century movement among Parisian philosophers whose views were not easily reconcilable with Christian doctrine. The three most important points of difference were the individual immortality of human intellectual souls, the attainability of happiness in this life and the eternity of the world. An ‘Averroist’ or ‘Radical Aristotelian’ would hold that philosophy leads to the conclusions that there is only one intellect shared by all humans, that happiness is attainable in earthly life and that the world has no temporal beginning or end. Averroists have generally been credited with a ‘theory of double truth’, according to which there is an irreconcilable clash between truths of faith and truths arrived at by means of reason. Averroism has often been assigned the role of a dangerous line of thought, against which Thomas Aquinas opposed his synthesis of faith and reason. The term ‘Averroism’ is also used more broadly to characterize Western thought from the thirteenth through sixteenth centuries which was influenced by Averroes, and/or some philosophers’ self-proclaimed allegiance to Averroes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 506-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamila Hawthorne ◽  
Ben Jackson ◽  
Danielle Fisher

The NHS is seriously under-doctored, with general practice being one of the worst-affected specialties. GPs are a highly trusted and valued profession by patients. In addition, the ‘gatekeeping’ function and continuity of care they provide is critical to the efficiency of the services as a whole, keeps hospital admissions down, and produces better healthcare outcomes for communities and populations. Major efforts are being made to recruit new GPs and retain existing GPs, but there are serious implications for the future of primary care, and general practice in particular, as GPs struggle to cope with increased workloads. Increasing the number of GPs in the workforce is critical, and this work continues as a priority. However, a parallel stream of work has developed to consider ways in which tasks ‘traditionally’ undertaken by a GP might be diverted to new healthcare professionals within primary care teams, freeing up GPs to concentrate on the care and management of their more complex patients.


Author(s):  
Jill Long

Abstract This statement has been produced by the European Region of the World Confederation for Physiotherapy (ER-WCPT) to promote the role of the physiotherapy profession within primary care, to describe the health and economic benefits to health systems and populations of having a skilled, appropriately resourced and utilised physiotherapy workforce in primary care services, and to illustrate how different models of physiotherapy service delivery are contributing to these health and cost benefits.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (10) ◽  
pp. 496-500
Author(s):  
Shaun Heath

Student nurses are the future of the profession. Shaun Heath explains how changes to the Nursing and Midwifery Council's education standards will effect those currently acting as mentors and how all practice nurses can get involved and contribute to student placement experiences This article explores the Nursing and Midwifery Council's 2018 education standards and how these will affect the role of general practice nurses in primary care settings. The differing roles found in the standards will be discussed, alongside how primary care and the emerging Primary Care Networks can support learners in general practice through communities of practice.


2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 242-259
Author(s):  
Hoda Mahmoudi

This paper describes the central role of peace in the Bahá’í Faith. For Bahá’ís, peace begins at the level of the individual and migrates outward to the community, nation, and the world. The article explains how the Bahá’í Faith outlines a covenant – an agreement between Bahá’ís and between Bahá’ís and the world – made manifest in an Administrative Order in which the ascertainment of peaceful principles and the establishment of peaceful practices are developed. The paper explains how concepts like the oneness of humanity, the symbiosis between science and religion, and the unity of religion and God combine with ideals like justice, equality, and consultation to form a Bahá’í approach to the creation and maintenance of peace. Integration and disintegration – broad-structured, dynamic effects that shift societies and the world – will help to usher in two main aspects of a present and future Bahá’í order: the Lesser Peace and the Most Great Peace. The Lesser Peace is defined by the efforts of nations and international actors to form a broad-based, global peace. The Most Great Peace describes the arrival and ascendance of the Bahá’í Administrative Order, which will result in an unprecedented level of global peace and security.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S533-S533
Author(s):  
Daniel Doh ◽  
Kwadwo Adusei-Asante ◽  
Vicki Banham

Abstract In most parts of the world, people are now living longer lives, which presents both opportunities and concerns over how to make the ageing process a worthwhile experience. The World Health Organisation’s Active Ageing model became a prominent global policy response since 2002 and has evolved into different country-level ageing policies. While a considerable volume of literature exists on active ageing – testing the validity of its various components, there is limited empirical evidence of how social interaction contributes to active ageing for older people and how it can be promoted through policy. In this paper, we examine social interaction and how it contributes to lived experiences of active ageing among a sample of 30 older Ghanaians living in Australia and Ghana. Our findings confirm the significance of social interaction for active ageing, and shows that social interaction creates a sense of purpose for living, which leads to the ability of the individual to build resilience, which mitigates anxieties and pains associated with ill health (especially for frail older people); enhances self-motivation for play and fun; empowers the individual to explore opportunities for continuous activity including leisure, and improves the general feeling of happiness resulting in active ageing – quality of life. The paper’s main argument is that social interaction presents potentials for improving the quality of life (active ageing) for older people and needs to be carefully considered in policy, research and practice.


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