Older Adults Patient Education Issues Essay and Interview

This essay aims to represent an argument between two view points: to remain in their own homes with ongoing support from families and the health system or going to residential aged care of elderly in Australia. Especially, it deals with the issue of increasing ageing population in Australia includes statistical information highlighting some causes and telltales. The context presented is economic and social. It also looks at the effects that increasing of the ageing population has on society, the individual and the Australian economy.

Long-term care can be defined as a broad set of paid and unpaid services for people who are mentally or physically disabled, or whose chronic illness places them in need of medical or personal assistance for long periods of time. “It is estimated that there are more than twelve million Americans of all ages whose mix of serious disability and chronic illness places them at the high risk for functional decline, hospitalization, or nursing home placement.” (Benjamin) Several different populations require long-term care services, and the needs of these populations vary. In addition to the elderly, many of the long-term care users are younger persons with physical disabilities; persons with developmental disabilities; and persons with chronic

Alzheimer is a dangerous disease that mostly affects the brain. Alzheimer disease associates itself with a set of symptoms including memory loss as well as talking and thinking challenges. These side effects happen when harm occurs in the cerebrum. The decision to pick between a nursing home care and assisted living for a close person who requires special help is a troublesome dilemma that face numerous families who have Alzheimer patients. Families are often feel poorly prepared to settle on the right choice. The research aims at helping families by looking at the advantages and shortcomings of every sort of consideration. The reason is that before making a decision on that topic, it is important

The long-term care services delivery system in the United States has changed substantially over the last 30 years . There are approximately 17,000 elderly and disabled persons are receiving care in nursing homes (NNHS, 2004). The number of people using nursing facilities, alternative residential care places, or home care services are projected to increase from 15 million in 2000 to 27 million in 2050 (HHS, 2003). Identifying the best nursing home that would fit their needs can be difficult and time-consuming. Although nursing homes usually provide certain basic care that patients need, some nursing home facilities provides special care for certain types of individuals with special needs. For example, people with dementia, AIDS, ventilator-dependents,

Bonney, A., Jones, S. C., & Iverson, D. (2012). The older patient, the general practitioner and the trainee: patients' attitudes and implications for training.Education for Primary Care, 23(3), 186-195.

Hospital is an institution providing medical care and other services for sick and injured persons. The modern hospital has three major functions: patient care, education and medical research. The total number of hospitals around the world is estimated to be about 1,25,000. In the United States there are about 10,000 hospitals providing services and facilities for the humanity. There are also more than 10,000 nursing homes providing care to the chronically ill and the aged. Thus hospital provide a great service to the society.

Long-Term Care is the retirement crisis that no one is talking about. There is an increasing demand for long-term care services because Americans are living longer with chronic health conditions. For Example, Veterans may live with family or alone and need services that their caregiver can no longer provide or may outlive their primary caregiver. Nursing home placement seems like the only option.

Many organizations, particularly those working with Alzheimer’s has been committed to advancing Alzheimer education, research, enhancing care and support individuals affected by the disease. I liked the concept when Murna Downs, was talking about educating dementia care skills and knowledge to improve dementia care. It is not only important to integrate dementia care skills for medical professionals but also equally important for non-medical professionals in order to develop the dementia education. I believe it will be great if the organizations like universities help to ensure that their courses address the skills and knowledge which health and social care staff need in order to care for people who are living with dementia.

By 2060, ¼ of the United States population will be 65 years and older. To put this in a numbers perspective, the population of Americans 65 and older will double from around 46 million today to 98 million by 2060 (Mather, Jacobsen, & Pollard, 2015). With direct correlation to population trends, the number of individuals using long term care services will also double from 13 million in 2000, to 27 million people in 2050. 35% of the population 65 and plus will eventually enter a nursing home (Friedman, 2015). The average annual rate for a private room in a nursing home is around $90,000 (Effros, Hsu, & Levy- Storms 2017). These high costs place an significantly large burden on the older population who must

There may come a time in your loved one's life when they are no longer able to perform all of the tasks they used to without assistance. Despite their need for support, your senior loved one may decide they want to remain at home and enjoy their independence and freedom. While nursing homes and assisted living facilities serve a certain segment of the population quite well, others enjoy the quality of life that comes from living in their own home. For families that are able to provide the necessary care, arrangements can be made to make this work. Others, however, are left wondering how their senior loved one is going to receive the service and support they require to remain safe. Thankfully,

There are two main measures of medical underservice in the U.S., health professional shortage areas and medically underserved areas and some special need populations. Both measures require communities to apply for designation. These designations allow the government to target resources to those determined to be most in need (Colwill and Cultice, 2003).

During the home health observation day, there were several opportunities to observe a variety of patients with varying levels of functioning ability, different illnesses, and different needs and levels of interaction with the nurse. The first patient seen was a seventy-three year old Caucasian female with an ulcer on her right heel. Several weeks prior, she had scratched her left leg and she also had several small wounds on her left leg. The orders were to clean and redress the ulcer. She has a history of end stage renal disease, pneumonia, weakness, diabetes, dialysis, and right hip fracture. Upon entering the home, the patient was found to be sitting in a wheel chair in the living room watching television with her husband close by her side. She greeted the nurse with a smile and began to update her on her current condition. Her heel was “hurting” and she rated her pain an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. She also had some “swelling” that she could not “get to go away; because, she could not get up and walk. They need to fix my foot so that I can get up and get around.” She told the nurse that she had been to see the doctor “yesterday” and the doctor had given her a written order that she wanted her to see. The order was written for an evaluation for a soft pressure shoe fitting. The nurse read the order to

According to Healthy People 2012 there are more then 800,000 new cases of diabetes each year, with the numbers on the rise. With this in mind, Healthy People 2012 has identified diabetes as their number five focus area. In order to reach their goal of improving the quality of life for people with diabetes they have identified diabetes teaching as their number one objective. Furthermore, in order to reduce the number of complications of diabetes, Healthy People 2012 has identified foot ulcers as their ninth objective. Through patient education Healthy People 2012 hopes to reduce the number of foot ulcers in people with diabetes, as diabetes is the number one cause of nontraumatic amputations in the United States. In order to

Mr. Trosack is a 72 year old man who fell down a long flight of stairs a month ago, underwent a total hip replacement and is in need of a discharge plan. He completed two weeks of rehabilitation in the hospital for his hip as well as diabetic teaching for his new onset of Diabetes. It was also discovered during this hospitalization that he needed to start taking medication for hypertension. Both he and his family are in denial about what it will take to get him home and deliver the care that is needed.

How can nurses ensure that older people are treated with respect and dignity whist being cared for in hospital or in the community?