Maintaining function

The progression of some seniors' medical conditions, such as incapacity or dementia, can be delayed if scientific ideas and methods are adopted and they are also shown sufficient patience and perseverance.

Bao Changxiao, 50, a caregiver at a nursing home in Beijing, has looked after the elderly who are incapacitated, including those with senile dementia, for 24 years.

"The rate at which a chronic illness progresses in a senior patient can be slowed if the right approach is taken to their care, unlike a patient of about the same age and with the same symptoms who has not received any care," she said.

Bao added that an elderly man she helped after he had a stroke had been barely able to get out of bed, but after rehabilitation training, he can now walk with the aid of a stick.

"It is quite a tough task for him. Because of the stroke, he is reluctant to move, but he needs exercise, so we caregivers speak gently to encourage him to walk every day," Bao said.

Long-term care for the elderly requires experience, which is a combination of care, patience and love.

In addition to physical aging and pain, the elderly may experience psychological problems, which can be stressful for long-term caregivers.

"About 40 percent of the elderly I work with have problems such as apathy, a lack of communication, depression, anxiety and irritability. Their families may initially be devoted to their care, but over time people become tired of this work, and they also have their own pressures from work and life," Bao said.

She has also arranged for social workers to visit the elderly to listen to their concerns.

"Resistance training can only work on the elderly if they cooperate and make efforts to receive it," she said. Such training is a form of exercise essential for health and fitness.

Bao, who mainly serves the elderly in Beijing's Fengtai district, said residents in the area are increasingly beginning to think about how they and their loved ones deal with death.

"They put forward ideas concerning their relatives' deaths. Instead of being sent to the emergency room at a hospital, the elderly prefer to make their own decisions so that their families suffer less," she said.

Liu, from Peking Union Medical College Hospital, said, "Medicine for geriatrics is inseparable from palliative care.

"We propose integrated care to help the elderly take care of themselves as much as possible so that they can enjoy life.

"In addition, every person has the right to know about his or her illness and make decisions individually. We hope the older adults can live well and die well."