Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Concepts of Altered Health in Older Adults
What physiological factors would typically increase Joseph’s risk of falling while walking outdoors?
Considering Joseph's age, he is likely to suffer from fatigue when walking outdoors and this might increase his likelihood of falling. Walking is considered to be a tiring exercise and Joseph walks for a long period. This increases his chances of getting tired and with tiredness, fatigue will check in. Fatigue results in Joseph's reaction and they might not be able to respond appropriately. A person is most likely to lose balance control when they are tired and this increases for persons who are elderly (Morrison et al., 2016). Therefore, as Joseph walks for long distances when his body is getting fatigued, he might lose balance and this might result in him falling. The mechanisms that are related to balance control are impacted, which increases their risk of falling. It is not uncommon to find there are uneven walking surfaces outside, and as the body gets tired its reaction to such surfaces decreases and this makes it hard for elderly persons to control their balance (Morrison et al., 2016). This is because their balance is affected and they will react quite slowly when tired as compared to when they are relaxed. Cyclists and other joggers or people walking can bump into Joseph making him lose balance. Joseph is old and with age, his balance is affected and any slight bump or attempt to avoid hitting someone will have a considerable impact on his balance. This is because they have a reduced reaction to situations due to age. Therefore, any obstacle that they have to maneuver through becomes harder especially if they have to do this fast. When fatigued, an elderly person will have an increased postural sway, which will increase their risk of falling. With increased walking, Joseph is likely to increase his walking speed as he goes along and this might impact their gait.
Walking is a risk factor for falls in elderly people. Older people are likely to reduce their walking speed which comes with age. This means that they will not be able to evade obstacles as fast as others would. Depth perception does also increase the risk of falling. As one gets older, their vision might get impacted and this will, in turn, affect how they see outside. With poor depth perception, they are likely to not perceive the ground properly and this will result in them making a misjudging their steps, which can result in their fall. Vision being slightly impaired will make it hard for him to see obstacles on the road as he is walking (Nyman, Ballinger, Phillips, & Newton, 2013). He might also see the obstacles when they are too close making it hard for him to avoid them. Concentration can also be impacted and one can lose focus on their walking. This mostly happens when they have to perform dual tasks like watching for traffic and crossing the road. As one gets older, they lose focus on things and they find it hard to pay attention to multiple things at the same time. Therefore, concentrating on foot placement and watching out for...…direct impact on the functioning of the kidney. The walls of the small arteries that flow into the glomeruli will thicken. This will decrease the functioning of the remaining glomeruli. The nephrons are impacted in that their ability to excrete waste products declines.
Aging causes the bladder to hold less urine as compared to a younger person. This means that they will be frequently going to the toilet to urinate. Even with the increased urination, the amount of urine that is removed from the bladder is less and with each bathroom break, there is an increase in the residual urine (Frangeskou et al., 2015). This forces an elderly person to urinate even more. There is also an increased risk of urinary tract infections. For this reason, elderly people will prefer to reduce their urinary intake in order to reduce the urge to go to the toilet. For Joseph, considering that he does walk frequently he is likely to suffer from dehydration that is caused by sweating.
Changes in the renal system have a direct impact on Joseph’s body and his ability to recognize thirst. If the amount of juice that Joseph takes is not enough to hydrate his body, he is likely to suffer from dehydration. This is especially true considering that he likes taking long walks and he also does exercise in order for him to stay in shape. While the fruit juice does give him some fluid in his body, it might not be enough because he only takes it when walking. Therefore, his body might not have enough fluids and this could lead to…
Mental Health Treatment Approaches for Older AdultsOverview of mental health issues in the elderlyOld age is a natural occurrence for every human being, a stage in growth accompanied by several changes, which can be negative and identified as problems. Some of these problems are a rise in morbidity, mortality, hospitalization, and functional status loss. A large number of evidence associates these problems with common mental disorders to which the elderly
" (AAFP, nd) The Health Maintenance Organization further should "…negotiate with both public and private payers for adequate reimbursement or direct payment to cover the expenses of interpreter services so that they can establish services without burdening physicians…" and the private industry should be "…engaged by medical organizations, including the AAFP, and patient advocacy groups to consider innovative ways to provide interpreter services to both employees and the medically underserved." (AAFP,
Health Maintenance Issues Mrs. Gray is an 86-year-old woman who has been diagnosed with Type Two Diabetes. She has lived with the disease for three years. Mrs. Gray is single and lives in the area in a naturally occurring retirement community. Mrs. Gray, though 86, appears much younger than her stated age, which can be largely attributed to her active physical nature. Mrs. Gray boasts an exceedingly active social life, meeting
While sadness and grief are possibly the most commonly accepted and expected emotions, normal responses to bereavement can be varied, thus individual differences in response can make a diagnosis of pathological response to bereavement difficult (Pachana pp). Works Cited Cearlock, Dianne M.; Laude-Flaws, Maribeth. (1997 October). Stress, immune function, and the older adult - Successful Aging in America, Part 7 Medical Laboratory Observer. Retrieved July 22, 2005 at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3230/is_n10_v29/ai_20076531 Gray, Francine du Plessix.
Health Reform Act The work of Flanagan, Miller, Pagano, and Wood (2010) entitled "Employee Benefit Plan Review -- Meyerowitz, Health care Reform Is Here -- Now What?" states that health care reform laws are expected to have an impact that is significant in nature and this is on the health insurance industry as well as on employee benefit issues as well. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which was
To make the point Silverstein reiterates the history of psychiatric specialty nursing, a traditional role for specialty care in nursing. To deliver specialized care to those in mental institutions, mental nurses were required to possess specific qualities and demonstrate unique abilities, such as sympathy, intelligence, and trustworthiness (Church, 1982). Other essential attributes included knowing how to calm the nerves of an anxious or suicidal patient by using empathy and tact.