Getting Older And Caring For The Older Patient

Question 1

What is ageing

Answer 1

On a biological level ageing is the impact of accumulation of molecular and cellular damage over time with a decrease in physical and mental capacity, growing risk of disease and death

Question 2

What can ageing also be associated with not just age

Answer 2

Retirement
Relocation to appropriate housing
Bereavement

Question 3

What are the key challenges of an ageing population

Answer 3

Strains of pension
Strains on social security system
Increasing demand for healthcare
Bigger need for a trained-health workforce
Increase demand for long-term care
Pervasive ageism that Denies older people rights and opportunities for others

Question 4

Cause of populations living longer

Answer 4

Improvements in sanitation, housing, nutrition and medical interventions
Life expectancy is rising
Falls in fertility
Decline in premature mortality
More people reaching older age compared to babies born

Question 5

What are the two different types of ageing

Answer 5

Intrinsic and extrinsic

Question 6

What is intrinsic ageing

Answer 6

Natural, universal and inevitable ageing

Question 7

What is extrinsic ageing

Answer 7

Dependent on external factors such as exposure to UV rays, smoking, air pollution

Question 8

What are the physical changes which occur in later life

Answer 8

Loss of skin elasticity
Loss of hair and hair colour
Decrease in size and weight
Loss of joint flexibility
Increase susceptibility to illness and disease
Decline in learning ability
Less efficient memory

Question 9

What are the declines in sensory effectiveness

Answer 9

Visual- need more light, narrowing visual fields
Hearing- high frequency loss
Taste and smell- loss of 50% of taste buds

Question 10

What is the gender bias in longevity

Answer 10

Traditionally women have lived longer than men

20% biological- until menopause women are protected from heart disease
80% environmental - men mire likely to take lifestyle risks than women

Question 11

What are the consequences of higher life expectancy

Answer 11

Pensions have larger payouts
Health and social car have to serve the older population with chronic and comorbid conditions
Rasing inequalities

Question 12

At what age does most mortality occur

Answer 12

80% of mortality occurs in those 65+

Question 13

What are the main causes of death

Answer 13

Circulatory diseases
Cancers
Respiratory diseases

Question 14

Why does mental health illness and social isolation increase with a ageing population

Answer 14

Mental health support reduced
Increase loneliness due to ill health, bereavement and poverty

Question 15

What is the relationship with chronic illness and inequalities

Answer 15

The poorer you are the more likely you are to die young

Question 16

What are the implications for medicine due to higher life expectancy

Answer 16

The older people are the largest single patient groups
Lengths of hospital stays are longer for the older patients which causes a reduction in stays for patients over 25yrs
Patients return home with higher dependancy of which social care services cannot cope leading to readmission

Question 17

How can you help to reduce the readmission to hospital for the older population

Answer 17

Support discharge from inpatient care to social care
Provide alternative in community support and care
Support chronic disease management in community

Question 18

What are the principles for good primary health care for older people

Answer 18

Prevent loss of function
Prevent and treat health problems which could affect quality of life in old age
Prevent breakdown of informal care
Give older people a good death as well as a good life

Question 19

What is informal care

Answer 19

Main support of care for the older people given by family members