OMU Faculty of Health Sciences Department of Gerontology was established with the letter dated 06.04.2020 and numbered 25187 received from the Council of Higher Education.
Healthy aging, living, aging and old age are examined under the umbrella of Gerontology Science. Literally Geronto=don't age; logie=means science. Contrary to popular belief, it deals with the whole aging process, that is, the whole of life, starting from birth, not the elderly. The term gerontology was first coined by IljaMetschnikow, who received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1903, but Gerontology has become the common subject of all sciences, not just Medical Science. Since the 1930s, Gerontology education has been given as a department in many universities both in the USA and Europe.
The increase in the elderly population in the world has caused countries to question the situation regarding the elderly population. The population of the country is developing in parallel with the global aging. It is known that the population of Turkey and the world is getting older, and that a few decades ago, the average life expectancy in our country was in the 50s, today it is in the 70s, and it will reach even more advanced ages in a few decades. According to the data of the Turkish Statistical Institute, the population aged 65 and over in our country is determined as 8.8%, while it is stated that this rate has increased by 2% in the last ten years (http://www.tuik.gov.tr/UstMenu.do?metod=temelist). With the increase in the elderly population, the concepts of active aging and quality of life in old age have become increasingly important. Students who graduate from the department of gerontology will be able to be employed in nursing homes, nursing homes, geriatric centers of hospitals, banks (pension insurances), tourism (health hotels) by taking the title of "gerontologist". The department of gerontology will start accepting students in the future.