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Health Promotion and Disease Prevention in Older Adults
Paula, Lynette
St. Thomas University
January 19, 2022
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention in Older Adults
Role of Nurses in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention in Older Adults
The aging population especially in the developed countries has seen great changes in the roles and responsibilities of nurses. The increasingly aging population affects not only the demographic patterns abut also delivery of health care services. Nurses’ role keeps on changing to promote health promotion and disease prevention interventions among the elderly population who are vulnerable to many diseases including chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cancer, heart disease among many others.
The role of nurses in provision of care to elderly patients is important for enhancement of the quality of life and overall health of older adults. Roles of nurses in preventative health is to apply evidence-based recommendations and research to enhance the health of the elderly patients (Arnold & Boggs, 2019). Older people are vulnerable to many age-related diseases. Nurses must be aware about these changes and common diseases so that they can provide preventive care to elderly patients.
The nursing workforce is responsible for healthier lifestyle among the older population through provision of patient education, encouragement, helping them to receive preventive services such as screenings, counselling, precautionary medications and procedures (Arnold & Boggs, 2019). Nurses can ensure these practices to help older adults practice healthy lifestyle through mentorship, education and leadership.
Nurses can work as educators to promote health promotion and disease prevention. They should educate the older adults on preventive measures to prevent risk factors of various diseases. As an RN, I have assumed the role of nurse educator to very patient that I provide care to, especially the older adults. I always provide anticipatory guidance about nutrition, screenings, immunizations, home safety, medications and healthy lifestyles. The education also involves risk factor prevention and assessment of safety hazards of the communities and homes of elderly adults.
Screening/Preventive Procedures in Older Adults
Screening is a secondary prevention intervention that helps in detecting diseases before they reach advanced levels. Older adults are more likely to experience falls. It is important to provide patient education on fall-risk screenings, home safety and encourage them to use assistive devices while walking to prevent falls (Olij, et al., 2021). Older adults are more likely to suffer from chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. It is necessary to encourage them have a regular screening for high blood sugar, high blood pressure, prostate, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, cervical cancer and breast cancer. To prevent them from mental and emotional disorders due to reduction in cognitive health, it is important to check for depression, alcohol and tobacco use and signs of cognitive impairment.
Three common end-of-life documents that a nurse should be familiar with in educating older adults include a living will, medical power of attorney and Do Not Resuscitate(DNR) order. A living will allow the patient to state preferable types of medical care when they cannot speak for themselves (Cipolletta & Reggiani, 2021). Types of care addressed in this directive include tube feeding, tissue and organ donation, withholding of fluids and foods, DNR orders and use of life sustenance machines. A medical power of attorney helps the patients to authorize a person who can make medical care decisions on their behalf. A DNR order directs health care staff not to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation if breathing or heart stops.
Reference
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Arnold, E. C., & Boggs, K. U. (2019). Interpersonal relationships e-book: professional communication skills for nurses. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Cipolletta, S., & Reggiani, M. (2021). End-of-life care after the legal introduction of advance directives: A qualitative study involving healthcare professionals and family caregivers of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Palliative Medicine, 35(1), 209-218.
Olij, B. B., Mackenbach, J. J., Nagelvoort-Schuit, S. S. K., & van der Velde, N. (2021). Can Fall Risk Screening and Fall Prevention Advice in Hospital Settings Motivate Older Adult Patients to Take Action to Reduce Fall Risk?.
Health Promotion & Disease Prevention in Older Adults
Borys Jimenez
St Thomas University
NUR-417 Aging and End of life
Instructor: Coll, Ruben D.
20/01/2022
Describe and discuss the nurse’s role in health promotion and disease prevention in older adults. Share an example from your personal experience as an RN.
The primary intent of developing health promotion concepts was to accentuate the role of nurses in promoting the community-based practice in the field of healthcare. Nurses’ responsibilities in providing healthcare services are focused on the common clinical nursing practices such as patient education, patient follow-up, and patient education. On the other hand, the aging population is susceptible to different kinds of health problems, requiring a lot of care to ensure they receive the quality care they need. Nurses play a vital role in promoting health among the aging population by enhancing the independence of aged patients. the nurses are actively involved in teaching the elderly how to take care of themselves. They can bathe themselves, take their medicines, and live a healthy life.
Health promotion will also promote a healthy lifestyle in the aging community (Yeager & Meiner, 2019). This can contribute to positive health outcomes such as improved quality of life for the elderly. For example, as an RN, I worked with the aged in a community care unit. My responsibilities were teaching my patients how to cope with their daily activities, such as taking food and their drugs to ensure they do not skip any time. This was a way of promoting independence in this community and improving the elderly’s quality of life for the elderly.
Name and elaborate on at least three screening/preventive procedures that must be done in older adults.
For older adults, chronic illnesses screening services are essential to ensure that any diagnosis is done early and promote the management of diseases. Breast cancer screening mammography is necessary, and it should be done every one to two years. This will help detect any abnormal growth in the breast area, and if any tumors are detected, the patient can be subjected to early treatment. There is an increased risk of high blood pressure at this age, so the procedures for checking high blood pressure are vital for older adults to prevent any health complications (Epstein & Turner, 2015). Mental health is also essential. So depression screening is necessary so that those diagnosed can be subjected to treatment and counseling, therefore improving the quality of life and well-being.
Define and discuss three standard End-of-life documents that you as a nurse must be familiar with to be able to educate older adults
During the end of life care, as nurses, we must provide support to both the family and the patient. Also, conversation with the patient is vital to ensure that they are doing well and, in some cases, sensitive information can be discussed in this process. I should be familiar with the three documents: the living will, Durable Healthcare Power of Attorney, and Durable Power of Attorney. These documents are essential to ensure that patients receive the best care they want. A living will include the decisions that the patient should make on how she wants to be handled during this period. The patient should give specifications such as how to be fed, maybe on tubes, or if he/she is going be put in a life support machine. DHPA includes the healthcare proxy appointed by the patient to make healthcare decisions if the patient is unable to, and DPA includes the person appointed by the patient to make financial and personal decisions if the patient cannot do so (Yeager & Meiner, 2019).
Reference
Epstein, B. & Turner, M. (2015). The Nursing Code of Ethics: Its value, its history. Online Journal of Nursing Issues, 20(2), 33-41.
Yeage J. & Meiner S. (2019). Gerontologic Nursing. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330242982_Crogan_NL_2019_Nutrition_In_S_Meiner_J_Yeager_Ed_Gerontologic_nursing_6th_ed_Elsevier