ELDERLY AND DISABLED CARE TOURISM IN TURKEY

ELDERLY CARE TOURISM

We all have a few common phases that are decisive in our lives. Therefore, we have given names to stages such as childhood, adolescence, youth, adulthood and old age, although their content differs from life to life. With the end of childhood and the beginning of youth, someone else becomes a child, while at the same time someone else leaves the first stage of adulthood to new and temporary owners and begins to grow old. Therefore, if we are lucky enough, old age is a phase that we all want to see. Yet, like all the other phases of life, experiencing the old age phase can vary from society to society.

All over the world, people are striving to create an ideal old age process for themselves, various government policies are being developed on this issue, and the number of private or state organisations providing services is increasing. The services provided in this context are generally categorised under the concept of advanced age or elderly care.

Elderly care services are shaped according to the elderly population, economic, cultural and social structure of the countries. The quality of life and the medical care available to societies are improving over time.  However, the human population is also getting older. Therefore, the preference of organisations providing quality services in elderly care over time makes some countries more preferable in the international health tourism arena for the same reason. In Turkey, the number of organisations providing services in this context is increasing day by day and studies are being carried out for recognition in the field of elderly care. These efforts to provide a quality service in elderly care are of great importance for Turkey to reach the position it aims in the field of international health tourism.

In Turkey, the number of organisations providing services in the field of elderly care is gradually increasing and as of November 2021, there are more than 400 nursing homes with approximately 27,000 elderly guests. Looking at the general population, it cannot be said that there is a dense elderly population in Turkey. However, an increase in the number of elderly people in a country also means an increase in the level of welfare in that country and an increase in life expectancy. The ability of Turkey's population to age safely and live a healthy old age is among the prioritised targets.

Services provided in the field of elderly care also constitute an important part of the health tourism sector. People from different countries (these people may be tourists who come to Turkey for geographical, climatic, economic or cultural reasons, or expatriates who have lived abroad for years but want to continue the rest of their lives in their country) prefer organisations providing elderly care services in Turkey if they think they can have a safe and quality life experience.

DISABLED CARE TOURISM

Disability is a phenomenon in which there are lots of different discussions about the description, explanation and experiencing forms. The position of disabled people in society, the meanings attributed to disability in the society, the policies developed/cannot be developed are important regarding creation of impression in human life. Everything told andrealized on this matter is a sign of the position that disability has in the social life. We all have a place in the social life, however, the comfort we have is largely dependent on how the other people position us.

This, whether congenital, as a result of an accident or an illness draws a completely different path for each disabled person. However, there are some common obstacles that each and every disabled person experience. External dependency is one of them and it largely determines disabled people’s position in social life. It also determines the meaning one attributes to his/her own identity. With other words, the meaning of disability in society also determines the way disabled people see themselves. Therefore, the studies about disability are conducted to raise awareness and decrease discrimination. With this way, social life is tried to be reorganized in such a way that everybody can live with comfort and the population is integrated with the social life as healthy as possible. Since disability’s position in social reality differs from place to place, the approaching policies to the disabled peopled also differ from country to country.

ELDERLY AND DISABLED CARE IN TURKEY

As a result of improvements in living conditions and advancements in care and health services in Turkey, human life expectancy has increased, and the proportion of the elderly population has started to rise over the past years. According to a report prepared by the United Nations in 2015, 12.5% of the world’s total population is made up of individuals aged 60 and above. In the process, either disabled people age or have various disabilities while they age. That’s why the need for the development of elderly and disabled care tourism is rising day by day.

Elderly and disabled care tourism is a form of service provided for tourist with advanced age and disabilities. In this regard, clinical guesthouses are being opened and treatment centers providing geriatrics (old age medicine) services are being established to ensure proper care and rehabilitation. At the same time, there are various applications developed in nursing homes in Turkey by staff with the necessary training certificates. Various trips, activities developed for the disabled, or activities called occupational therapy can be given as examples.

In Turkey, health care services are accessible and affordable for both elderly and disabled people and their companions, so that they can fully participate. The health services are offered and institutions where these services are provided, the functioning and characteristic of the institutions have been carefully considered and prepared.

In care centers in Turkey, services are provided in the comfort of a 5-star hotel with quality service approach, along with many treatment methods to meet the needs of the individual. Care homes with high health standards are personnel with experienced physicians, physiotherapists, psychologists, social workers, nutritionists, nutritionists and nurses specialized in related fields.

Elderly and disabled care tourism also includes services provided to accompanying companions, relatives and caregivers. Therefore, the number of patients and their relatives coming to Turkey has gradually increased and accordingly, the number of organizations organized has also diversified and increased. Elderly and disabled care tourism in Turkey primarily aims to ensure the integration of service recipients into social life.