E2: Older Adults Flashcards

1
Q

What age is OA?

A

65+

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Most OA are still…

A

active and contributing to society; very few live in long-term care facilities

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is the key to OA?

A

Help them live longer but fulfilled lives with dignity and independence

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Why are there so many older adults?

A
  1. Improved standard of living
  2. Improved nutrition
  3. Progress in medical care
  4. Increased health consciousness
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What are examples of how medical care has progress?

A

-Prevention and treatment of diseases like Influenza
-Medications
-Chemo and radiation
-Insulin
-Medical Technology like heart and lung machines used for bypass surgeries
-Catheters
-Stints
-Organ transplant

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

___% of men and __% of women are 65+

A

23% men
15% women

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

________ are the fastest growing segment in 85+ group

A

Centenarians
By, 2050, 1 million will be 100 years or older

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Use most health care dollars __________

A

in last 7 years of life

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What does the phrase “Graying of America” mean and its goal?

A

Care will continue to shift from hospitals to community

Goal: To maintain functional independence and delay entry into more formalized healthcare settings
-assisted living
-long term care

instead use daycares, at home care, aging in place, nonprofessional caregivers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Common chronic conditions in OA?

A

HTN
Arthritis
Heart disease
Cancer
Diabetes
Asthma
Chronic respiratory
stroke

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What is the continuing Erikson developmental stage from MA to OA? Positive end results?

A

Generativity vs stagnation
-active involvement
-other absorption
-promotion of next generation
-capacity of care

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is the final stage of Erikson’s developmental stage in OA?

A

Integrity vs Despair
-acceptance of past life and life as it is now
-reconciliation for what was hoped for and what is now
-openness to life
-serenity, wisdom
-acceptance of death
-reflection and closeure

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What is the roles and relationships of OA?

A

-children independent
-death or illness of loved ones
-retirement
-changes in health status
-becoming a grandparent or great

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What are misconceptions of OA?

A
  1. Disease is normal and unavoidable (it is not normal and can be avoided)
  2. Health promotion is not important for OA since their lives are almost over (just as important and can gain same benefits as YA or MA)
  3. Damage to health resulting from inactivity or poor nutrition is irreversible (never too old to relinquish bad habits or develop healthier habits)
  4. Ageist beliefs about older adults (prevents older adults from living longer, healthier, & independent lives)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

We can have an impact on morbidity by decreasing risk factors and improving health care, it would be possible to postpone the onset of chronic disease until an age is closer to death by:

A
  1. Exercise and diet
  2. Quit smoking
  3. Prevent falls
  4. Preventive care
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

The decline in health is in old age is primarily due to

A

unhealthy lifestyle choices in earlier years

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Coping and stress in OA

A

-Decreasing physical strength
-Retirement and lower/fixed income
-Death of parents, spouse, friends
-New relationship with adult children
-Slower physical and cognitive responses
-Keeping active and involved
-Making satisfying loving arrangements

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What are interventions for stress in OA

A

Support during coping & address spirituality

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Older adult assessment:

A

A functional, physical, social and mental assessment of patient, caregivers, environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What is the goals of older adult assessment?

A

-Minimize hospitalizations
-decrease over-prescription of meds
-maintain health
-Establish complete diagnosis that are frequently over looked (dementia, depression, hearing/ vision deficet, falls, poor nutrition)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Key principles of older adult assessment:

A

-Holistic view
-Individualized patient centered care
-Client/caregiver as an active partner
-Focus on functional ability (How you frame Q’s: “How do you manage stairs at home” not “Can you do stairs”
-Multidisciplinary
-Specialized knowledge (normal age related changes & appropriate lab values)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Health promotion in older adults includes

A

-Healthy weight
-Healthy diet
-Staying active
-Fall prevention
-Maintaining relationships
-regular medical checkups
-flu shot, pneumonia shot
-screenings

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Important key to successful older adult assessment:

A

Use of special tools tailored for seniors
-allows for early detection
-predicts service needs
-instruments should always be evidence based with good validity and reliability

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Describe the SPICES assessment

A

S leep Disorders
P roblems with eating and feeding
I ncontinence
C onfusion
E vidence of falls
S kin breakdown

We can make complex connections btwn things that may seem unrelated at first in older adults. This can make things clearer and help guide plans of care

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Nursing strategies to help with respiratory changes

A

-Immunizations
-Smoking cessation
-Daily Exercise
-See HCP if short of breath, respiratory infection last >3 days, or can’t tolerate fluid for >1 day

26
Q

Nursing strategies to help with cardiovascular changes

A

-Rest when feel tired or short of breath
-Daily exercise
-Wear socks to bed
-Check for orthostatic changes, instruct to change positions slowly
-Elastic socks for edema

27
Q

Proper nutrition prevents

A

Cancer
Obesity
GI disorders

28
Q

Nutrition provides _______ and should be _____

A

energy for activities of daily living

individualized plans

29
Q

What are risk facts for poor nutrition?

A

Low income and Low social support (maybe wife died and always made the meals)

30
Q

What are potential problems that could be affecting nutritional patterns

A

-GI function
-Decreased smell
-Vision
-Taste
-Oral and dental issues
-Swallowing problems
-Medications

31
Q

What are nutrition interventions?

A
  1. Assess contributing factors
  2. Education about nutrition
  3. Food assistance programs
32
Q

What are the changes in elimination patterns?

A

-Bladder retains tone but capacity decreases
-incontinence (leads to depression, UTI, skin breakdown, embarrassment, social isolation, NOT NORMAL)
-Constipation (decreased mobility, sedentary lifestyle, medications)

33
Q

Management for incontinence

A

-kegel exercise
-Pilates
-Scheduling
-Intake management (don’t drink right before bed)
-decrease caffeine
-disposable undergarments

34
Q

Management for constipation

A

Exercise
increase fiber
increase fluid
caution against daily laxatives

35
Q

What are the benefits of exercise?

A

-Decrease falls
-increase strength
-reduce arthritis pain
-reduce depression
-improve longevity
-reduce risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease
-maintain weight
-lowers blood pressure
-lower cholesterol
-decreases constipation
-sleep better
-better digestion
-increase muscle tone
-increase flexibility and balance
-Opportunity for socialization
-Stress management

36
Q

What advice should you give to a older person to start exercising?

A

-Pre-exercise evaluation
-Start off slow and gradually increase

37
Q

What are the changes in sleep patterns?

A

-common complaint of not sleeping well
-less time in REM sleep
-Difficulty staying & falling asleep
-commonly due to stress, meds, poor habits, or sleep disorder

38
Q

Are cognitive problems a normal part of the aging process?

A

NO

39
Q

Confusion is normally associated with ______

A

physiological problems like UTI or pneumonia
-meds
-dehydration
-electrolyte imbalance
-stress
-disease state
-unfamiliar environment

40
Q

How should you care for someone who has dementia?

A

Goal is to increase quality of life and decrease morbidity and cost
-keep routine
-calm and gentle
-encourage self care
-reduce sensory over load
-reminiscence and life review

41
Q

Is benign forgetfulness a normal part of aging?

A

YES, little impact on day to day life

42
Q

What are characteristics of normal short term memory loss?

A

-Forgets, then remembers
-Forgets unimportant events
-May repeat stories over time
-uses mental retracing
-reminders
-notes to compensate
-some decline in abstraction, calculation, word fluency, spatial orientation, inductive reasoning

43
Q

What cognitive changes are NOT normal?

A

-confusion
-disorientation
-inappropriate behavior
-loss of ability to follow directions
-can’t concentrate

44
Q

What assessment findings indicate impaired hearing?

A

-leaning forward
-cupping ear
-turning 1 certain ear
-misunderstanding

45
Q

What are communication techniques for hearing impairment

A

-reduce background noise
-do not shout (loud and clear)
-Face speaker directly

46
Q

What assessment findings indicate visual changes?

A

-mismatched clothing
- bruising
-increased car accidents

47
Q

Describe the sexual and reproductive patterns of OA?

A

-OA need intimacy, love, touch, as an expression of closeness and is an integral part of sexuality
-susceptible to STIs
-normal and healthy aspect of life

48
Q

What an cause depression in OA?

A

-chronic illness
-impaired functional ability
-losses

49
Q

Depression if not treated can lead to

A

suicide

50
Q

The highest rate of suicide is seen in

A

men >75 years

51
Q

__ in ___ older adults fall each year

A

1 in 3

52
Q

What are causes of falls?

A

-Neurological
-Osteoporosis
-stroke
-sensory impairment (vision)

53
Q

What should you do if a patient falls?

A

Evaluate why it happened
Ask pt how it happened
Look at injury
Tell HCP
Incident report

54
Q

A face injury is usually due to

A

vertigo or syncope

55
Q

A broken wrist is usually do to

A

losing balance

56
Q

What are biological agents common in OA?

A

Influenza
Pneumonia
Cancer (more than half of cancers in this age group)

57
Q

Define Polypharmacy

A

-Use of multiple medications
-Often duplicate for same health problem
-1/3 of all older adults take 5 or more prescriptions
-Substance abuse is a growing problem

58
Q

How is alcohol intake in OA?

A

-use underestimated/ hidden
-underdiagnosed
-Elderly more vulnerable to effetcs of alcohol

59
Q

What is older adult abuse?

A

-Intentional or neglect that leads to harm
-Physical, emotional, verbal, sexual, financial and abandonment

60
Q

Who is at highest risk for older adult abuse?

A

older women dependent on a caregiver

61
Q

As a nurse to prevent older adult abuse we need to make sure we are

A

Turning our pts Q2, ambulating, offer toileting often, hourly rounding