Essay Sample on Older Adults in California: Challenges & Necessary Support

Introduction

Older members of society face a daunting task in society. According to Bliss et al. (2017), America has over 14 percent of its adults above the age of 65. California approximates that by the year 2030, persons above the age of 65 will hit the four million mark. Senior members of California society require assistance that includes self-care; including nursing-home care (Aliberti et al., 2019). Senior members need specialized training on life necessary skills, restorative and maintenance strategies, support and coordination services, and information.

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Primary Health Concerns

Senior California members face multiple challenges that include opportunistic infections, feeding and hydration, medication, and falls. Major health concerns faced by the older members of California State include diabetes, dementia, stroke, heart complication, and cancer (Bliss et al., 2017). In most cases, they face these challenges due to their weakened immunity and deteriorating health status.The paper investigates into the presence of senior members within California.

Aliberti et al. (2019) argued that the care given to senior members of California significantly differs from other populations due to their unique health needs. An older member of society faces numerous challenges, mainly due to their deteriorating health condition, reduced immunity, weakened mental and physical ability. Although all populations need personalized care aligned to their unique needs, senior members require keen attention and follow-ups primarily due to their many challenges.

Zhao et al. (2016) stated that health inequalities entail avoidable and unjust differences in a population or between diverse groups. Unfair differences often lead to high insecurity levels among the aged, fear, stress, and increased chances of opportunistic infection. The overall result is early premature death among the aged.

Challenge Posed by the Population on Healthcare System

Older members of California society continue putting a strain on the California healthcare system with the need to expand home care services, increase healthcare nurses, and improve on personalized care services (Aliberti et al., 2019). For the past five years, California has tremendously increased its residential care facilities. The facilities have well-equipped laundry, leaning, food services continue putting pressure on local social amenities forcing the state government to channel more funds for their yearly maintenance.

Impact on Nursing Practice

The overall impact on nursing practice is the need for exclusive dedication for more training on the same for excellent service provision (Zhao et al., 2016). More training may also affect the number of course units offered in training with the need to expand and have a more comprehensive course outline.

Conclusion

With the probability of senior members increasing in California, the probability of their needs impacting on the healthcare system remains high. Senior members of society face numerous challenges that include opportunistic infections, high risk factors, and reduced immunity. Due to their increasing number, the nursing practice may soon face numerous challenges and the need to align training practices to the unique needs of senior adults.

References

Aliberti, M. J., Cenzer, I. S., Smith, A. K., Lee, S. J., Yaffe, K., &Covinsky, K. E. (2019). Assessing risk for adverse outcomes in older adults: The need to include both physical frailty and cognition. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 67(3), 477-483.https://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC6510389&blobtype=pdf

Bliss, D. Z., Gurvich, O. V., Eberly, L. E., Savik, K., Harms, S., Wyman, J. F., ... &Wiltzen, K. (2017). Racial disparities in primary prevention of incontinence among older adults at nursing home admission. Neurourology and urodynamics, 36(4), 1124-1130.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6066999/pdf/nihms938833.pdf

Zhao, Y., Delaney, J. A., Quek, R. G., Gardin, J. M., Hirsch, C. H., Gandra, S. R., & Wong, N. D. (2016). Cardiovascular disease, mortality risk, and healthcare costs by lipoprotein (a) levels according to lowdensity lipoprotein cholesterol levels in older highrisk adults. Clinical cardiology, 39(7), 413-420. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/clc.22546