Essay Example on Caring for the Elderly: The Impact of Ageing on Personal Care

Ageing is a process incurred by each individual in lifespan development. This is common and instils the young members of the society with the responsibility of deliberating care to the elders. In the early stages of ageing, the seniors are in good health conditions and therefore, can provide personal care. However, over time the changes become dramatic, affecting their abilities to provide personal care. The health care system is not left out in devising care plans to meet the needs of the elders in the society. According to Salmond and Echevarria, (2017), each individual may require person-centred care which makes it crucial to assess each elder personally and devise personalized care for the patient. The health requirements vary based on gender, mobility, and age. Long term ageing calls for more dependency rate as care requirements are increased coupled by a general decline in the physical activity along with the vitality of the mental effectiveness. As pointed out by Richards and Cai (2016), the health care system evaluates the drastic changes in the patients' appearance, quality of life as well as the mental, emotional and general wellbeing provide the basis of consideration on the approaches to be adopted in the provision of care. Understanding the general effects of ageing and the areas affected in an individual's life gives a clear framework on which care strategy is built. It is imperative for the care deliberated to facilitate improved standard of living of the patient as well as deploy the minimum resources available. Family is crucial in the care provided to the elders. In this case, care approaches devised should involve the use of family members. The use of family members reduces tension and allows the patient to take part in the personal care as in most cases the family members are familiar with the patient's needs, values and way of life before immobilization.

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Care for the elderly may be a difficult task in some cases. This is reflected in the resistance to accept help and therefore influencing the deterioration of their health. The patient may tend to believe they can meet their care requirements and resist any further support extended to them. This makes it crucial for early planning which involves conversation among loved ones based on the care they would like in their old age. In the process of the discuss, personal wishes are expressed and can be adhered to in the process of giving personalized care. A situation such dreading of care homes come up, or the need to stay in their homes. In the case study provided, Mr. Tom Heady seems to struggle with the fact that he cannot meet his care needs. His life has been coiled along with a large composition of family members. Besides, he is used to his house from where he can transverse easily without help. His increased need for care reflects the loss of the ability to take part in community services. In addition, the change in behavior reflects the impairment in the cognitive functionality of Mr. Heady, which necessitates close monitoring and supporting in caring out essential duties. The loss in memory and cognitive functioning is crucial in his health and mental wellbeing. Therefore, it is justifiable for his son to move him to his home where he can be exposed to close monitoring. However, the denial in the change in the mental and physical health can be attributed to the increased agitation and difficulties in establishing personal orientation (Jack, 2016). The agitation impacts to self-harm from frequent bumping into furniture and other things around the house. However, Mr. Heady may have problems traversing the new environment, which makes his life lonely and boring.

Resistance to care and change as experienced by Mr. Heady is shared among the elderly. However, this is attributed to inadequate preparation for old age care. According to Baumbusch, Leblanc, Shaw and Kjorven (2016), it is imperative to establish the significant cause of the resistance and to come up with strategies to enhance cooperation with resistant patients. Loss of personal independence, physical impairment and mental loss are cited as the key reasons for the resistance to care. This can be cited in Mr. Heady's condition. With his relocation from his house to his son's home, he experiences physical loss as well as the loss of independence to take part in the community functions. He is restricted to sitting in his chair the whole day. Loss in memory impairment in his cognitive functions also amounts in the mental loss limiting his effectiveness in meeting personal care (Baumbusch, Leblanc, Shaw, & Kjorven, 2016). This also serves as the fundamental reasons for his denial and resistance to care. The loss experienced in old age results into fear, anger and guiltiness of becoming a burden. In this case, Heady experiences frequent memory loss which affects his ability to understand why he needs help.

In such situations, the family members play a crucial role in establishing a conducive environment that meets the patient's needs. This includes a conclusive assessment of the individual patient's needs (Bodenheimer & Bauer, 2016). The evaluation process involves discussion which should be implemented at the time when the patient and the family members are relaxed. The elder patient should lay down his preferences following what is expected in meeting personal needs. However, the older person should also take into account the preferences of the family members and loved ones. The essence of the discussion is to create a mutual understanding and deliberate on the type of care for the elderly.

The rationale for the Intervention

The patient needs can be met through a significant process that entails establishing an understanding of the patient needs and creating a mutual understanding with the patient for care delivery. According to Ellis & Rawson (2015), planning is crucial in the choice of the care strategy, which is acceptable to the elderly. In addition, independence and dignity can be attained through improving the safety of the surrounding, activities of daily living and instrumental activities of everyday life (Kagan & MelendezTorres, 2015). The home safety can be enhanced rails and clearing the common paths used by the elders. This can work in reducing accidents such as falls. The ability to carry out essential activities for their daily living functions such as self-feeding, dressing, maintaining personal hygiene, toilet hygiene and functional mobility are evaluated to give a clear image on the elder's care needs (Lor, Crooks & Tluczek, 2016). Participation in common activities such as community functions and running errands are factors of consideration in the provision of care. Reduced mobility can lead to agitation among patients with reduced self-esteem with the ability to take part in community activities reduced.

Role of RN in Assessment, Planning, implementation and Evaluation of Nursing Care

According to Dahlke, Phinney, Hall, Rodney & Baumbusch (2015), patients aged over 65 years form 30% of the population in acute care. Hospitalization of the elders increases the risk of mortality, higher readmission rates, the decline in the placement of skilled nursing services and potential decline in functionality. The nurse plays several roles in laying out care strategies for the elders in hospital units, care homes and their homes. Some of the functions of the nurses include the assessment of the elders' needs, planning for their future interactions and type of care that will be effective to their needs, implementation and evaluation of the outcomes of the nursing care. The assessment outlines the basic requirements and areas of concern. Planning considers the abilities of the elder and the available resources that can significantly improve the participation in care delivery (Dahlke et al., 2015). The resources can also be influenced by the ability of the elder to maintain self-care and implement some of the activities of daily living. Planning also involves key players in care delivery. RNs have the responsibility of enlightening the family members, loved ones and other caregivers the essential approaches to adhere to while handling the elder (Davidson, & Everett, 2015). Suggesting some of the best methods such as safety, security and vital areas to monitor in care delivery. This enhances the understanding and adjustment of the care services allocated to the patient based on needs. Implementation strategies, such as providing an enabling environment that allows participation during interactions. This can be boosted through the elimination of distractions and promoting independence which many elders try to maintain. During hospitalization, the RN directly implements care to the patient. In this case, assessment, planning and implementation are spearheaded by the RN. However, the participation of the elder and the loved ones is also allowed to eliminate loneliness and anxiety. The RN nurses streamline the living environment by reducing background noise, speaking clearly and loud enough improving the hearing capacity. In some case, the RN try to seek the attention of the patient before communicating. Movements of the patient are guided by the RN to avoid falls and bumping items around.

Understanding of the common diagnoses among the elders is vital in the care delivery process. The side effects and the common presentation of the elderly diagnoses reduce the quality of life and therefore care accorded to the patients should aim at reducing the side effects. Some of the common diagnoses that require a good understanding include coronary heart disease, hypertension, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure and fatigue from physical inactivity. The RN nurse needs to identify these diagnoses in assessment to allow planning for care meets its objectives of improving the patient's wellbeing. Dementia, delirium and depression are also common among the elders (Pinkert et al., 2018).

It is the role of the RN to come up with reliable care that addresses patient needs. In the case of Mr. Heady, the reduced participation in community activities and the relocation needs to be communicated to reduce the agitation. It is most likely that Heady is showing agitation due to anger for being a burden or denial of the health status. The loss of memory and agitation can also be attributed to the onset of dementia. Therefore, the care aligned for Mr. Heady should focus on memory enhancement techniques as well as improvement in patient independence, especially in performing some self-care roles.

Evaluation determines the effectiveness of the care approaches in meeting patient needs. In this case, evaluation should be based on the influence of the care approaches in reducing patient agitation, decreasing injuries and reducing the effects of memory loss by identifying memory triggering functions and objects. The RN also evaluates the adaptability of the patient to the care and the rigidity in accepting the care plans. The efficiency of the care plan is also assessed by the RN and therefore design a new plan or maintain the approach deployed.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the care for the elderly involves the process of assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of the care outcomes. The RN is tasked with the role of coming up with care rationale, assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of the outcome. The care approach adopted should be personalized to meet the patient's needs. The RN should also empower loved ones to participate in nursing care. An RN guides the general process of care for the elderly from the assessment to evaluation of care efficiency.

References

Baumbusch, J., Leblanc, M. E., Shaw, M., & Kjorven, M. (2016). Factors influencing nurses' readiness to care for hospita...