Holguin Implements Actions in Favor of the Elderly
- Written by Lourdes Pichs Rodríguez
- Published in Holguin
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Health authorities in the province of Holguin have implemented actions to address the strategy of attention to aging population in response to the increase of senior citizens in this eastern territory, which reports19.7 percent, very similar to the national rate of 19.8. Of this total of older adults 191 are centenarians and the municipalities with the oldest population are Gibara (20.6); Banes (19.1) and Báguano (18.9), while Moa has the youngest population in Cuba with (10.6) and the rest are over 15.8, said Dr. Luis Orlando Castro González, deputy director general of the Provincial Health Directorate.
Currently, mortality in the elderly reaches a rate of 36.6 per thousand people aged over 60 years, with a decrease of 11.8 percent, compared to 2016.
In order to achieve good care and ensure healthy aging in Primary Health Care (PHC) in 2017, different measures were adopted, including the training of newly graduated doctors and the creation of Basic Health Teams and Groups for the better monitoring of that age group.
Currently there are 1,223 grandparents groups in this province of eastern Cuba with about 106,258 members, 52.0 percent of all older adults, but there are municipalities such as Báguano, Banes and Gibara that are below average of Holguín, precisely the most aged.
Holguin has eight nursing homes with 680 beds for the care of the older adults and 18 grandparents' houses for the daytime service of 836 people aged over 60 years, where they medical assistance, food and socialization activities are guaranteed.
