The specific needs of people with diverse characteristics* may not always be taken into consideration when they access nursing, medical or social care. These needs may be additional, or require additional consideration to be given by health care professionals, to ensure the care they receive is high quality and equitable
*Diversity characters may have a lot of nursing, medical and social needs, for example because of low or high age, gender, ethnicity or disability issues. Such people may have special needs in physical, mental, social, and cognitive area and thus often need more time and support than other patients, when dealing with health services. This is not always taken into account when taking care of diverse people in health services.
Ageing can cause a deterioration in all aspects of functional capacity, physical, psychological, social and cognitive. And the weakening of one area can affect other areas, for example the restriction of movement makes it difficult for social interaction and the reduction of social interaction can lead to psychological problems. When the performance of an older person is impaired, he/she needs help in various activities. Obtaining health care, accessing and staying in health services can also cause many problems for the older person in need of care and treatment.
Age, at the other end of the spectrum, can also create additional needs in all of the above-mentioned areas. The age of a child and their development do not necessarily go hand in hand and it is important to consider the child’s developmental age, rather their chronological age when discussing their healthcare needs with them. Naturally, with children, the family play an important role and should be considered as an integral part of the child’s healthcare. Different families may also have additional diverse characteristics which should also be considered alongside age.
