...Presentation of Illness in Older Adults 2 An atypical presentation of an illness in an older adult can appear as a subtle, nonspecific, or unusual manifestation that is outside the normal range of signs and symptoms for a specific illness. Nursing care of an older adult requires a through assessment of acute, chronic or complex illnesses. Illness in older adults is complicated by numerous medical problems and the physical changes of aging. Identification of an illness can be overlooked simply because symptoms might be reported vaguely. Multiple overlapping factors such as environmental, sociologic, physiologic and psychologic aspects need to be considered in the nursing assessment. It’s essential that nurses recognize atypical presentations of illness in older adults early to help improve patient care. Early detection can reduce the risk of missed diagnoses, death and/or prolonged hospitalization, and reduce rates of co-morbidity from treatable geriatric syndromes (GrayMiceli, 2007). Aging causes physiologic changes to the body. These normal age related changes could be similar to changes seen in the presence of pathological conditions. This causes a problem when normal changes mask early signs of an acute illness. Changes to the musculoskeletal system can affect a patient’s ability to function. Reduced bone mineral density leads to osteoporosis and an increased risk for fall-related fractures (Ebersole, Hess, Touhy, & Jett 2012, p. 48-49). Age related changes to the cardiovascular...
Words: 1781 - Pages: 8
... HCS/490 University of Phoenix January 19, 2012 Aging Demographics in Health Care The expected growth of the older population in the United States over the next fifty years will have an exceptional impact on the U.S. health care system. Population aging is a complex issue that concerns not only the well-being of today’s older American’s but also comprehensive areas and sectors affecting the total population, such as health, labor markets and public finances. It affects and engages communities, all levels of government, and all sectors of society. In this paper there is a discussion of the aging population and the impact it has on demographics in healthcare. There is an upsurge in the population of older adults. As the population ages and medical care continues to elongate the average lifespan of the population, this results in a greater percentage of the population being composed of older adults and subject themselves to the medical consequence associated with increasing age and chronic disease. At birth, every cohort has a small excess of males but, leaving to the higher death rates for the mall population and the more rapid improvement in mortality for women, although there is a large excess of women at older ages. “In 1980, 12 percent of the white population was age 65 or older which was a much larger proportion than the 8 percent of the black population” (Siegel and Davidson, 1984). This attributes the difference to higher...
Words: 1326 - Pages: 6
...The rapid growth in the number of older Americans has many implications for public health, including the need to better understand the risks posed to older adults by environmental exposures. Biologic capacity declines with normal aging; this may be exacerbated in individuals with pre-existing health conditions. This decline can result in compromised pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic responses to environmental exposures encountered in daily activities. In recognition of this issue, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is developing a research agenda on the environment and older adults. The U.S. EPA proposes to apply an environmental public health paradigm to better understand the relationships between external pollution sources → human exposures → internal dose → early biologic effect → adverse health effects for older adults. The initial challenge will be using information about aging-related changes in exposure, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic factors to identify susceptible subgroups within the diverse population of older adults. These changes may interact with specific diseases of aging or medications used to treat these conditions. Constructs such as “frailty” may help to capture some of the diversity in the older adult population. Data are needed regarding a) behavior/activity patterns and exposure to the pollutants in the microenvironments of older adults; b) changes in absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion with aging; c) alterations in reserve...
Words: 285 - Pages: 2
...Cognitive Development and Aging Paper Psych/640 Cognitive development and Aging Paper As people age their bodies go through a lot of changes physically as well as psychologically. As humans age normally they undergo changes in their brain which affect cognitive functioning and development. Each person is different so the age-related changes in the structure of the brain and in its function as well as in cognition and cognitive domains are not uniform across the whole brain, nor are the uniform across individuals. This means that some of the changes that a person goes through due to aging another person may not experience. The two basic cognitive functions that are affected most by a person aging is attention and memory (Glisky, 2007). The thing that a person needs to know is that memory and attention are not unitary functions; there are multiple parts to both functions some of which may not be affected by a person aging while others are affected. According to the Glisky (2007), perception in a person as the person ages declines due to declining sensory capacities which can impact the cognitive functions later in a person. Perception is a person’s senses such as touch, sight, taste, and smells which is why some people believe that it is actually a precognition function. According to Anderson (2010), perception is the sensory experience of the world around individuals which involve recognition of environmental stimuli as well as actions in response to the stimuli. What...
Words: 1055 - Pages: 5
...Purpose of the organization Assistance to the Elderly, Inc., (ATTE) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that enables low-income, vulnerable adults to lead meaningful and dignified lives by providing supportive housing, care services, community education, and advocacy. ATTE provides supportive housing for Residential Plaza at Blue Lagoon (RPBL), an assisted living facility with 350 units that serves a predominantly Hispanic, low-income older population. Residential Plaza at Blue Lagoon has a long-standing reputation for providing quality services to low-income residents. Residential Plaza's Memory Care Program (RPMCP) provides affordable 24-hour specialized care, based on the Montessori for Aging and Dementia Program, in a homelike environment...
Words: 845 - Pages: 4
...Sociological Theories Sociological theories focus on the changing roles and relationships that accompany ageing. These theories discuss how these changing roles, relationships, and status impact the older individual's ability to adapt. In this blog, we will discuss the following sociological theories: disengagement, activity, and continuity. Disengagement Theory The Disengagement Theory, one of the earliest and most controversial theories of aging, views aging as a process of gradual withdrawal between society and the older adult. This mutual withdrawal or disengagement is a natural, acceptable, and universal process that accompanies growing old. It is applicable to elders in all cultures, although there might be variations. According to this theory, disengagement benefits both the older population and the social system. Gradual withdrawal from society and relationships preserves social equilibrium and promotes self-reflection for elders who are freed from societal roles. It furnishes an orderly means for the transfer of knowledge, capital, and power from the older generation to the young. It makes it possible for society to continue functioning after valuable older members die. Weakness: There is no base of evidence or research to support this theory. Additionally, many older people desire to remain occupied and involved with society. Imposed withdrawal from society may be harmful to elders and society alike. This theory has been largely discounted by gerontologists. Activity...
Words: 3063 - Pages: 13
...Chapter 1 – Study Questions: 1. What are the four key features of the lifespan perspective as identified by Paul Baltes. Provide original examples for each feature. (pp. 4-5) Paul Baltes identified 4 features of the life-span perspective: 1. Multidirectionality: development involves both growth and decline – as people grow in one area they may lose in another and this may occur at different rates Ex: (Book): people’s vocabulary abilities tends to increase throughout life, but reaction time tends to slow down. Ex: (original): Language acquisition. At a young age children are able to learn multiple languages very quickly. However, as they get older, their ability to learn multiple languages quickly becomes more difficult. Social situations. At a young age children are not able to understand complex social situations such as parents fighting or divorce or financial problems between their parents. As they grow up and age, they begin to understand these social situations and deal with them. They may comfort a parent through a hard time, or go get a job to help with the financial situation. 2. Plasticity: One’s capacity is not predetermined or set in concrete. Many skills can be trained or improved with practice, even late in life. There are limits to the degree of potential improvement Ex: (original): Your IQ is not predetermined. You’re ability to play a sport is not predetermined. With practice and dedication you can improve your ability to play the sport. However...
Words: 5072 - Pages: 21
...life threatening disease that can and could affect the world’s population; along with how to prevent disease from spreading among communities that where a person lives. Even though there are some diseases, which are preventable today, and there are new diseases popping up all the time, and it is not impossible to find cures for them right away. There will always be a chance of catching a form of disease or illness within a person’s lifetime; also there are many factors, which can affect the health delivery systems in many forms. The middle age adults of the world’s population are increasing; the reason for this is because of a decline in fertility, along with a 20-year increase in the average life span during the second half of the 20th century. These factors, combined with elevated fertility in many countries during the second decades after World War II (the “Baby Boom”) results in the increased number of person’s aged 65 and older during the years 2010 – 2030 (www.cdc.gov). Throughout the...
Words: 1879 - Pages: 8
...day celebration,The Golden Girls for Glory (Faith Based Social Club). A group of ladies that, by virtue of age, are considered older adults. They belong to varying church congregations of various faiths but come together regularly for community based activities and sponsor many events. Secondly, one of the Golden Girl’s husbands runs a printing shop and donated his time and much of the printed material, not the least of which were the banners for the canopy on the booth at the venue for the festival. The organizers of the event provided the tote bags, canopy and chairs. A local restaurant supplier married to another Golden Girl donated disposable shot glasses upon which stickers were applied. The Golden Girls Event Coordinator is the best friend of my roommate and was struggling to find a theme for their booth this year, and I just happened to be present during her conversation about her dilemma. When I asked if she would consider allowing me to do my presentation as their theme we were all ecstatic. My chosen topic was entitled “HAVE A SHOT>>>ITS GOOD FOR WHAT AILS YOU” An educational presentation for the promotion of health and prevention of disease in older adults through immunizations. I took a light hearted approach with numerous plays on the party atmosphere. As I alluded to before, the Golden Girls and their spouses are technically “Older Adults” but only by virtue of their ages. They live vital, active, energetic lives, which seems to be the predominate life style of...
Words: 1805 - Pages: 8
...With age, changes in the kidneys’ structure cause them to mislay some of their ability to get rid of wastes from the blood. Additional, the muscles in the ureters, bladder, and urethra be inclined to lose some of their potency. Older adults may have more urinary infections as the bladder muscles do not tauten enough to empty the bladder wholly. A decrease in potency of muscles of the sphincters and the pelvis can also cause incontinence. Illness or injury can as well stop the kidneys from filtering the blood wholly or obstruct the passage of urine (NKUDIC,...
Words: 905 - Pages: 4
...Health assessment provides a detailed plan of care that focuses on the specific needs and the specific approach to achieve them. The process involves evaluation of health status and conducting a physical examination and the overall health history (Laymon, Shah, Leep, Elligers & Kumar, 2015). Health assessment in lifespan provides a substantive evaluation of the health of individuals across ages. The paper serves to address an assessment of the health of a child, an adult and an older adult for instance X. The essay will tackle the family health history, healthy lifestyle and health risk across the lifespan. The family history plays a critical role in the health of a child. The genetic transition during the embryonic development may transfer...
Words: 405 - Pages: 2
...data are your patients’ verbal descriptions of their health problems. Only patients provide subjective data. For example, Mr. Jacobs's report of incision pain and his expression of concern about whether the pain means that he will not be able to go home as soon as he hoped are subjective findings. Subjective data usually include feelings, perceptions, and self-report of symptoms. Only patients provide subjective data relevant to their health condition. The data sometimes reflect physiological changes, which you further explore through objective data collection. --Objective data are observations or measurements of a patient's health status. Inspecting the condition of a surgical incision or wound, describing an observed behavior, and measuring blood pressure are examples of objective data. The measurement of objective data is based on an accepted standard such as the Fahrenheit or Celsius measure on a thermometer, inches or centimeters on a measuring tape, or known characteristics of behaviors...
Words: 23163 - Pages: 93
...Describe the major difference in the determinants of physical activity among children, adolescents and adult. a. Determinants of Physical Activity in Children and Adolescents i. Gender. Studies of different researchers identified some factors that affect the gender specific towards their view of physical activity. Bottom line, family influences during childhood have a positive effect on the physical activity patterns that children develop. ii. Ethnicity. Children of Asian origin were less active than children in other ethnic groups. In terms of ethnic differences, Asian Americans and Latinos reported the lowest level of neighborhood safety for physical activity, and African Americans and Latinos reported the fewest convenient facilities for physical activity. African Americans reported the highest level of television viewing per week (Sallis et al, 1996). iii. Socioeconomic Status. A study of 2, 285 children in 4th-6th grades in multiethnic, low-income urban neighborhood revealed that 20% of the girls and 25% of the boys were inactive. It particularly influenced participation in organized sports at or outside of school. Cost of participation and transportation may have posed major problems to parents. b. Determinants of Physical Activity in Adults iv. Influences on physical activity for middle-age adults include: past program participation, self-efficacy, benefits, barriers, spouse support, peer support,...
Words: 1285 - Pages: 6
...Diabetes and the Older Adult Christine McDermott Metro State University of Denver DIABETES AND THE OLDER ADULT General description of the Gerontological care issue The ageing population is unusually increasing in the history of humanity. With increase in number of the older persons, there is a decline in that of the younger people and it is estimated that by 2050 the percentage of the older persons would have increase by 10% from the current 15% (Cisneros & Hickie, 2012). These changes come with major challenges not only to the health sector, but also to the pension and welfare system in both the first and second world countries. Diabetes mostly among the old people is continuously being diagnosed in an epidemic magnitude. It is estimated to affect 592 million people in 2035 compared to 382 million people in 2013 (Guariguata et. al 2012). Type 2 diabetes is mainly more prevalent in the ageing population compared to type one diabetes, which affects mostly the going thus creating burden to the society as the sick mostly depend on the society. China is the leading country with the largest number of people with diabetes, followed by India, the United States, brazil and Mexico in the fifth position. These statistics bring about a considerable concern for the national healthcare system which come with various challenges in provision of focused diabetes management to the ageing population. This problem becomes complex by the different modalities of managing diabetic patients in...
Words: 2196 - Pages: 9
...adulthood to the potential client’s family. Some issues that will be addressed are the changes in role and social position during this stage. One will also compare living accommodation such as accessibility and the need for health care. Also one will illustrate the adjustment and transition from work to retirement. What changes occur in marriage, family, and peer relationships? Lastly one will identify social policies that affect the older adult. The older adults face several problems. In our society they have a role less role. It is important to find a role for older adults. Some older adults are encouraged to be productive and work in order to change perceptions. There are stereotypes that they face by society in which they end up being dependent, inactive, and unfulfilled. Those who want to work can work either full-time or part-time even past the ages of 65 or 70. For those who are retired can be the role of a consultant with the expertise and knowledge they have in specific areas. Programs are also brought up in order to help older adults find hobbies, interests, and sources of income. If older adults worked longer, they would combat the stereotypes and also continue to contribute to society. This also brings a higher self-esteem to them and continue being physically and mentally active. Instead of taking social security, older adults would be paying into it. The main goal is to keep the older adults contributing to society whether as volunteers or in the working area. How are...
Words: 1220 - Pages: 5
