The promotion of health standards among the elderly population is very crucial. Heal care professional including nurses need to ensure that the aging patients receive quality care services owing to the vulnerability of such a cohort (Goldberg & Saul, 2016). Therefore, this paper provides a reflection of caring for the aging population.
The aging people need to make decisions including writing wills and determining the durable powers of attorneys which could affect their health status owing to stressful circumstances involved (Goldberg & Saul, 2016). Further, the elderly face ethical dilemmas regarding end-of-life decisions that requires consideration by the health profession. The inadequacy of finances could also undermine the accessibility to quality health care provision.
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The prevalence of physiological pain syndromes among the elderly heightens as they age. Chronic geriatric pain, abdominal pain, neuralgias, and joint pain constitute the common types of pain affecting aging patients. The common interventions for pain include nerve blocks, chemical neurolysis, radiofrequency lesioning, neuraxial drug delivery, neuroaugmentation, and cryoneurolysis (Fleming, et al., 2016).
Further, elderly experience an array of pharmacological issues including urinary retention induced by antihistamines. The causes of such adverse issues related to drugs include negative drug-drug interactions, poor monitoring, wrong drug selection, over dosage, poor communication, lack of patience adherence, and under prescribing (Okura, 2016). Therefore, taking the necessary prevention before using a new drug, after starting a new drug, and ongoing is crucial.
Different patients from varying backgrounds hold different approaches to loss of life. Considering the cultural beliefs and practices of the parties involved in a loss, grief, or bereavement of an elderly person is crucial (Rowe, Fulmer, & Fried, 2016). In doing so, the health expert enables the affected patients to handle the bereavement experience with ease amid the strong emotions triggered.
The major theories of aging include the disengagement theory and the activity theory. The disengagement theory holds that elderly people engage in withdrawing themselves from the society through processes such as retiring. The activity theory underlines that effective aging should entail engagement in activities (Okura, 2016).
Moreover, the effective functioning of the elderly people gets affected negatively by injuries and chronic illnesses. Health services provided by government programs such as Medicare immunizations and screening play integral roles in improving the health of the elderly cohort (Fleming, et al., 2016). Since the aging patients are at a greater vulnerability, intervening for the promotion of their health is integral.
References
Fleming, J., Evans, R., Scheibl, F., Buck, J., Barclay, S., Farquhar, M., ... & Cambridge City over-75s Cohort (CC75C) study collaboration. (2016). Very old people dying–what would relatives like to have seen managed differently?. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care , 6 (3), 392-392.
Goldberg, T. H., & Saul, B. (2016). The aging population of the USA and West Virginia--the demographic imperative. West Virginia Medical Journal , 112 (3), 32-35.
Okura, T. (2016). The current situation of aging Japanese population with a focus on physical activity and physical function. 국제 스포츠과학 학술대회 , 2016 (1), 262-262.
Rowe, J. W., Fulmer, T., & Fried, L. (2016). Preparing for better health and health care for an aging population. Jama , 316 (16), 1643-1644.
