Chronic Conditions Are Associated With Aging

Although the largest profession in the health care industry is nursing, a larger number of people are getting older and living longer. This means that more people will need nursing care, whether it’s in a hospital, a long-term care facility or at home. It is projected that long-term care facilities will need 66% more RNs by 2020 (Addressing the Nursing). The increase in life expectancy has amplified the complexity of health care because more people are living with chronic conditions. The American Nurses Association reported that “a large cross-sectional study of over 1,000,000 adults revealed that 82% had one or more chronic conditions” and we are seeing an increase of those age 65 and older living with multiple chronic conditions (Mion). Now, more than ever, there is a high demand for the best delivery of medical care.

It is incredible the change that can come with proper education on management for chronic illnesses. As an emergency nurse, we see patients who come to us when those steps have failed. It is frustrating to see patients deteriorate when a healthy, full life is possible if appropriate steps are taken earlier. Education has provided me this privilege to serve and educate my community as a nurse over the last two years. I am certain advancing my education will allow me the opportunity to assist in the continuing positive changes for the people of my

More people are living much longer lives than in years past. People are very surprised to be living much longer lives than they thought they would. Health care has played a large part in patient longevity. There are many normal changes that come along with aging, however, because people are living longer these normal changes can become chronic problems. Common aging problems that can make the older adult a vulnerable population are reviewed in Gerontological Nursing (Tabloski, 2014) and can include nutritional needs, medication management, sleep changes, oral or mouth care, renal problems and musculoskeletal concerns. According to A Profile of Older Americans: 2013 (http://www.hhs.gov), there are a large amount

The elderly population is growing with 35 million people who are age 65 years or older and half are between the ages of 65 to 74 and the other half are over the age of 75. The population age 85 years or older are the fastest growing population (Dubow, 2017). In 1991 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported that 8 out of 10 people over the age of 60 had one or more chronic diseases or impairments which included arthritis, hypertension, hearing impairment, heart disease, cataracts, deformity or orthopedic impairment, chronic sinusitis,

The National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) has conducted a series of studies that involved several groups of individuals who suffered from chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and pain, as well as behavioral issues. These studies have also included transitional care; especially post-surgical care for the elderly. A report titled “Changing Practice, Changing Lives” that was published by the NINR and the National Institute of Health (NIH) includes a list of ten landmark nursing studies (Web. ninr.nih.gov, 2016). These studies were primarily focused on educating the population on how to cope with different health issues, and especially how to manage

Diabetes is a metabolic disease where an individual’s blood glucose level is higher than normal standards. Diabetes is a long term condition that causes not only primary issues related to the disease but secondary problems as well. Diabetes also known and referred to by healthcare professionals as diabetes mellitus, which is a phrase used to describe a group of metabolic diseases in which a person’s body does not produce insulin at all, or a person’s body does not use insulin properly, which is called insulin resistance. Type I Diabetes also known as juvenile diabetes is when the body does not produce insulin, approximately 10% of all diabetes cases are type I. Type 2 diabetes is when the body does not use insulin properly and approximately 90% of all documented cases worldwide is of this type. (American Diabetes Association, 2014) All types of diabetes can be treated, type I has no known cure however there have been some cases where

Reminiscing to 2010, when I was faced with my grandmother 's illness during the adolescent years in my life I knew that I had a passion to care for the elderly (aging) population. From this passion, it ignited a fire so strong that I pursue my certified nursing assistant certification to gain a better understanding of working with the elderly population. By doing so, it has been a great benefit to my life; aging is an inevitable experience that we all will go through during our life. It is important to ensure that our elderly individuals are still able to enjoy the best quality of life after retirement. However, as we age, there will be a lifestyle change that the aging population must encounter.

Additionally, they provide care to support and achieve the optimum health of the residents of the community as well. Nurses goals and objectives are disease prevention and changing the behavior of the individual in respect to their health. Because nurses deal with the health and well-being of their patients, they continuously render a balance between performing their task and minimizing mistakes as much as possible. A bedside nurse, role is to protect the patient, that should be their priority. This is a primary role among healthcare team members so that they can achieve the best outcomes and wellbeing of their patients. The first and foremost nursing role and primary should first focus on protecting their patient because it has been the paramount since the beginning in the nursing profession. Additionally, going back to school to get updated and have intricate knowledgeable regarding their specialty amplifies the nursing role because it is a complex profession and evolves rapidly. Nurses across all settings, especially for frail elderly, should prepare themselves more for the future (Hassmiller, 2010). Nurses also need to have continuous professional development or annual training to be up to date on new policies, practices, and procedures. Furthermore, nurses continuing their education correlates to safer and higher quality patient care (Dickerson, 2010). By doing so, nurses can render the best practice and ensure that the guidelines are followed for the safety and optimum care for the patient and family members. Hassmiller (2010) states that nurse should participate to redesign nursing education because “All nurses need to possess basic competencies to meet the demands of an aging and diverse society with an emphasis on clinical training in multiple setting across the lifespan” (Hassmiller, 2010). Moreover, the education should

Diabetes is a very common chronic medial disorder and expected to be a big medical challenge of the twenty first century (Clark, 2004). It is a condition, in which the glucose level in the blood becomes so high that the body is unable to utilize it properly. This long-term condition results when the pancreas of the victim is either not able to produce enough insulin (sometimes even cannot produce any insulin) or the insulin produced cannot work properly. Diabetes is divided into two main types: Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1, also known as insulin dependent diabetes milletus (Masharani, 2008) cannot be prevent while Type 2 can be prevented but if the patient is at pre-diabetes stage.

“If someone has Type 2 Diabetes their pancreas may not produce enough insulin or their cells resist the effects of insulin, and in extreme cases it may be a combination of both”. (AuthorSTREAM) Currently there are about 29.1 million people in the United States that have diabetes; 8.1 million of whom may be undiagnosed and/or unaware of their condition. For adults twenty years old or older, statistics say one in every ten people suffers from diabetes; in age sixty-five and older, statistics say that figure rises to more than one in four.

This paper will discuss the relationship between the aging process and key diseases associated with aging. Examples of aging-associated diseases include cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative diseases (López-Otín, Blasco, Partridge, Serrano, & Kroemer, 2013, p. 1194). Of these, we will discuss in-depth recent studies that have linked aging with Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. These diseases affect a significant proportion of the population over the age of 65 and place a considerable burden on the American health care system. Therefore, a better understanding of how they are related to aging and each other can result in the adoption of innovative treatments and declined risk for older adults.

Despite technological and medical advances today, chronic disease and resultant co-morbidities are prevalent in the Australian Healthcare System. As a result, patients, especially in the acute care setting, have more complex care needs. The management and care of patients with these complex care needs present a challenge for the contemporary nursing professional. Positive patient outcomes will be dependent on a number of factors, such as the assessment of the patient’s condition, the identification of potential risks for the patient, the planning of appropriate care and the management of the subsequent interventions that may be required.

Also chronic conditions such as obesity are likely to give rise to increased morbidity in the older population. All these factors will lead into a requirement for substantial, ongoing, and continuous assistance from health care workforce usually involving residential, long term and skilled care. Furthermore, the advances of health care technologies and medicines with increasingly high expectations of health care have placed the Australian workforce under

Chronic disease and conditions are usually defined as those diseases which last for more than six months and which have a severe effect on the life of the individuals (Chronic Conditions and Injury, para.1). While chronic diseases can affect people of all ages and demographics, these types of diseases are very often found in the elderly. Chronic disease are also characterized by "…multiple risk factors, long latency periods, a prolonged course of illness and functional impairment or disability" (Key indicators of progress for chronic disease and associated determinants, 2011, p. 1). Chronic disease is also found to be more prevalent in the ageing demographic of most countries.

Although we all become old someday, how many people are aware of what are normal or abnormal processes of aging? It is very important for us as nursing students to learn about them in order to take care of older adults. As a part of geriatric clinical, I had an opportunity to interview one of the residents at the Continuing Care Center.