Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
9 TH International Current Issues Congress on Medicine, Nursing, Midwifery, and Health Sciences Congress Schedule, İzmir, Türkiye, 1 - 03 Mart 2026, ss.408-414, (Tam Metin Bildiri)
THE TRANSFORMATION OF CARE IN AN AGING SOCIETY: THE NEED FOR INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF PROFESSIONAL ELDERLY CARE SERVICES IN TURKEY Abstract:
The increase in the proportion of elderly people in Turkey necessitates a structural reassessment of care services. According to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK, 2024), the population aged 65 and over has reached 9,112,298, constituting 10.6% of the total population. At least one elderly person is present in 25.3% of households; 1,750,900 households have an elderly person living alone. This demographic picture shows that care is largely provided at home and that the risk of social isolation is increasing. Care services in Turkey are predominantly family-based and informal; women in particular bear the burden of care. The increase in the proportion of the elderly population in Turkey, along with the associated rise in chronic diseases and the spread of progressive diseases such as Alzheimer’s, has significantly increased the need for institutional care services in multiple ways. Demographic changes and the prevalence of chronic diseases, transformations in family structures, the increasing burden on caregivers, and the inadequacy of existing services are emerging as key problem areas that need to be addressed with multidisciplinary approaches. In this context, it is essential to emphasise the importance of developing professional care, training specialist care personnel, establishing multidisciplinary teams, promoting holistic care models, and improving the quality of healthy life for elderly individuals, with medicine adopting an ethical approach and methodology at every stage of the patient's journey and the disease. Therefore, the aim should be to develop and implement methods that support the care of elderly patients with a view to achieving the greatest benefit. In particular, the prevalence of chronic diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia places a significant physical and psychological burden on individuals providing home care. However, social resistance to institutional care services necessitates the development of flexible and alternative models. This study aims to examine the transformation of elderly care services in Turkey from a traditional family-centred structure to an institutional and professional model and to reveal the need for institutionalisation of care services in the demographic ageing process.
Keywords: Turkey, Care of an ageing society, Family-based care, Elderly care services