The Aging Population On The Delivery Of Healthcare

With the generation of baby boomers approaching senior age by 2025, it may be difficult for them to adjust to the new technology and implement it in their everyday activities. Baby boomers are commonly known for the rejection of modern conveniences in exchange for traditional technology and for traditional values. So how will this cripple the changing trend of life for the aging population and there to decisions of living at home alone and last but not lease Medicare and the risk factors of making such a life changing decision? These issues create a group who are underserved and vulnerable. Underserved because of the barriers they encounter when caring for themselves by trying to eat healthy and the inadequate health care cost. Vulnerable because of the economic disadvantages and the health conditions they may face while dealing with this financial burden. If these problems are not address we will a heavy burden in our healthcare system.

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

Experience working in the field of health care lends insight to the growing needs of the older adult population, and the barriers which impede our capacity to meet them. As the Baby Boomer age is approaching older adulthood, the rise for financial,

Nurses help to ensure patient safety, which includes preventing falls and fall-related injuries (Quigley, Neily, Watson, Wright, & Strobel, 2017). The general population is at risk for falls and fall-related injuries, more specifically the elderly, 65 and over (Quigley, Neily, Watson, Wright, & Strobel, 2017). Patient falls are one of the top events for hospitals and long-term care facilities due to loss of physical function or cognition (Quigley, Neily, Watson, Wright, & Strobel, 2017). Fall-related injuries are a serious health issue for the elderly population (Quigley, Neily, Watson, Wright, & Strobel, 2017). Nurses make a major contribution to patient safety by assessing fall risk and designing patient-specific fall prevention

Aging is a normal part of life. In 2015, the elderly population has increased to 47.8 million and is expected to be 98 million in the year of 2060 (Administration on Aging (AoA), Administration for Community Living, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2016). This will lead to a greater demand of gerontological nurses. Gerontological nursing is important to meet the health needs of the elderly. The purpose of this post is to discuss the reasons why gerontological nursing is an under-served area of practice and why we need more gerontological nurses.

Brittany Nix- This writer believes a key point or concern for health care professionals is how to keep the middle age group safe while maintaining privacy and independence. In comparing the first research to the current, data findings revealed the incidence of falls in middle-aged inpatients were similar to older inpatients. Far too often this writer feels the nursing profession stereotypes the older population while overlooking the risk in middle aged adults. This writer believes this research challenges nursing professionals to implement individualized fall prevention for patients, regardless of

Falls are considered a leading cause of mortality and injury among older adults and majority of the falls occurs while hospitalized. One would think being in the hospital would be one of the safest places for older adults as far as fall prevention is concern due to the fact that hospitals provide staffing around the clock for patients but more and more falls have been occurring in the hospital especially in the older adult population. Fall is an unintended descent to the ground. It raises public and family care liability; it also decreases patient’s functioning because it causes pain and suffering, and increases medical costs (Saverino et al, 2015). The Center for Disease Control

Not only are the individual healthcare needs of each generation significantly different, but so too are the ways they participate in healthcare. According to Berkowitz (2011), the baby boomers take direction from physicians regarding care and medication, whereas, the other generations tend to ask more questions regarding their care, and may forgo care if they determine the cost is more than their perceived benefit. For the physicians group, embracing the differences each generation presents will be key to the long term survival of the

The rate at which our population is aging is one of the most demographic trends that will changes the face of the future workforce of healthcare. The demand for services and they type of services offered will change as well. The impact will be felt on a economic level

As members of the baby boom generation get older and reach retirement age, they present an increasing challenge and opportunity for health care, particularly nursing. The growth in the number of elderly patients from the boomer generation coupled with a loss of boomer-age providers will pressure an already-stressed health care system (Hospitals and Health Networks, 2014). Nursing must take on the responsibility of not only meeting this burden, but improving life for the older American. There are several different ways in which this can be done.

196-199), Older Adult Inpatient Falls in Acute Care Hospitals: Intrinsic, Extrinsic, and Environmental Factors used a varying sample size of 71 to 34,972 acute care hospital patients, including the ages of 17 to 104 years old (Zhao, Kim, 2015, pp. 29-43), Hospital Fall Prevention: A Systematic Review of Implementation, Components, Adherence, and Effectiveness met the criteria of a study due to the inclusion of studies that report in-hospital falls in acute care hospital setting, however this study wasn’t age specific (Hempel et al., 2013, pp. 483-493), An Analysis of Patient Falls and Fall Prevention Programs across Academic Medical Centers analyzed 154,618 inpatient falls, this study did not specifically focus on this groups’ targeted age population (Williams, Szekendi, Thomas, 2014, pp 19-29). Evidence-Based Falls Prevention in Critical Access Hospitals was another study that focused on inpatients but wasn’t specific to the 65 year old or older

As Healthcare systems are improving the number of people who are living longer is increasing. As a result, the number of older people living with multiple morbidities is on the rise. The medical care system must adapt a broader approach to manage such complex conditions due to the interactions between conditions and higher risks associated with polypharmacy.

The aging of baby boomers will have a major impact on the society as a whole and preparing for the shift in health care is not limited to the aging population alone, thus identifying who these stakeholders are is essential for initiating a safety net that protects all members involved. The major stakeholders that are directly impacted are baby boomers themselves, the healthcare system, long-term care facilities and the economy. With the stakeholders emanating such a heavy involvement in the aging of baby boomers, precautions regarding chronic diseases and conditions that affect the stakeholders also need to be addressed in detail. Identifying the concerns that are growing in the aging population should prioritize over conditions that have been

In older adults, many people take precaution so a grandmother or grandfather does not fall. People do not understand how many people actually do fall. Each year, about 3.1 million older adults fall (Linda, 2015). This is important precaution to take because many other factors can result from a fall. There are also many ways to prevent a fall. Nurses need to inform patients on the risk of falling by explaining statistics of falling, consequences of falling, and what measures can be taken to prevent a fall. While there are many statistics on falling risk, some should stick out more than others.

As the human body ages, a series of physiological changes begin to take place in a common series of events which may be a precursor to falling and falling related injuries. One of these physical degradations relates to the loss of bone density in the skeletal system. Among other numerous changes occurring that could help facilitate in a fall include loss of vision, impaired mobility as well as overall cognitive function. When providing care to a patient who presents a fall risk status, there are measures that can be taken to prevent injuries. Such measures include utilizing bed-exit alarms; call lights for immediate assistance; color coded socks and arm bands for staff awareness. Various learning material provided to staff can educate them on how to recognize and address