industry & reform
A book about life
Exploring what healthy ageing means across our whole lives .
Maree Bernoth interviewed by Elise Hartevelt
The aged care system remains a heated topic as the pandemic and the Royal Commission ’ s report continue to apply pressure on the sector .
A new book , Healthy Ageing and Aged Care , takes an interdisciplinary look into the healthcare system in an effort to address these issues .
The book ’ s authors , Associate Professor of Nursing at Charles Sturt University Maree Bernoth and PhD in Library Information Sciences Denise Winkler , also provide a holistic view of the older person .
“ We wanted to write a book that would capture the hearts and mind ; to get people invested in learning about ageing ,” the authors said .
Maree Bernoth joined Aged Care Insite for a discussion about life choices and how to age healthily in Australia .
ACI : What aspects of healthy ageing do you explore in your book ? MB : We look across the lifespan . We are looking at the person as a whole , and we ’ re very respectful of the person , both the older person and the reader who ’ s engaging with the book .
We wanted to write a book that would capture hearts and minds , get people invested in learning about ageing . Certainly , we ’ re looking at the physical aspect of the person , the physical , mental , social , and spiritual aspect , but we want to have the reader appreciate that people exist in communities and are members of families and communities and cultural groups .
To be able to understand the importance of ageing well involves the person being able to be part of and interact with all different parts of society , and all the groups that they feel are important to them .
What specific needs come up as we get older , and how are those needs covered in aged care ? We ’ re all individuals . We all have different needs , if you like . We are beings that have lived life , handled different aspects of our lives . One of the things we want our readers to appreciate is that if we ’ re going to be working collaboratively with the older person and supporting them as they age , we need to know about their life .
We need to know about all the aspects of their life that were important to them and how we can respect and enhance those as people age .
Do you think aged care systems support healthy ageing ? It ’ s not just about aged care systems . Ageing happens from conception , so we need to think about the lifespan and all the aspects of health and wellbeing that enhance our quality of life . More and more researchers are looking at dementia and what prevents it , and we ’ re finding it ’ s a lifespan issue and life choice issue that impacts our ageing .
From maternal and child health right through immunisations , issues around eating and exercise , reducing obesity , reducing drug and alcohol use , ensuring people get enough exercise , and engagement with community . They ’ re the important things that we need to think about , not just when we turn 65 or 55 , but we need to be thinking about ageing and the impact of life choices right across the lifespan .
You dedicated a chapter to policies influencing aged care in Australia . How do you think we can resolve issues regarding staffing problems and a lack of government funding ? The chapter on policy is a really significant one . We wanted to point out that , despite the number of inquiries and the number of investigations into aged care , things haven ’ t changed much , although we did have a
16 agedcareinsite . com . au