Study Guide Care of Older Adult Exam 1.
Study Guide Care of Older Adult Exam
1 Chapter 1: Health and Wellness in an Aging Society
What is Health?
• Measuring health in terms of illness does not reflect the life of persons
with functional limitations, their ability to contribute to the community or
their movement to self-actualization.
• Health means more than the absence of disease.
Healthy people 2020
• A wellness model based on a holistic paradigm is changing the perceptions of
health and health care.
• New areas focus on quality of life and wellness of the older adult.
• Social well-being is recognized as an important aspect of mental health.
• A state of wellness can be uniquely defined anywhere along the continuum of
health.
• Age and illness influence the ease at which one moves along the continuum
but do not define the individual.
Gerontological Nurses
• Can shape the world of persons where they can thrive and grow old, not
merely survive.
• They have unique opportunities to facilitate wellness in those who are
recipients of care.
• Wellness- based models whether acute or chronic:
➢ Maximize strengths
➢ Minimize limitations
➢ Facilitate adaptation
➢ Encourage growth
Health Perspectives
• The years ahead
➢ While countries vary, persons over the age of 60 worldwide will
double in 2050
➢ The majority will be women
➢ Most of the elders worldwide will be poor and in need of support
➢ How can global conditions be changed to maximize and enrich the
lives of elders across the world?
• Locally, political activism helps to advocate for healthy living
spaces and nutrition (meals on wheels) for the older adults.
• Aging
,Study Guide Care of Older Adult Exam 1.
➢ The terms Geriatrics was coined to recognize that medical care of
persons in later life differed from other groups in the population.
➢ The first medical textbook about the “old’ was published in 1914 with
the focus that it must be reversed, eradicated or delayed.
➢ Gerontology considers the nexus of time and human development.
• How Old is Old?
➢ Each culture is different and a variety of terms are used to refer to the
aging person: elder, senior citizen, granny, older adult, etc.
➢ From a functional perspective its when the person is no longer able to
perform usual activities
➢ Social aging: is often determined by changes in roles, such as
retirement, appointment as a wise woman/man of the community or
the birth of a grandchild.
➢ Biological aging: Continuous process involving every cell in the body
from birth to death. The physical traits by which we identify one as
older.
➢ Chronological Aging: varies around the world, but generally around
50-65 years.
➢ As the average life expectancy rises this may change.
• Super- Centenarians
➢ Those that are still alive at 110 years of age
➢ There are 200-300 world wide, with 60 of those in the US
➢ Survived outbreaks in pandemic diseases ex: influenza
➢ It is theorized that the reason these individuals have survived to this
point is “rare and unpredictable”
• Centenarians
➢ Those between the ages of 100 and 109 years
➢ Many people who would be of that age today died in WWII, were part
of the Great Depression and lived during the smallpox epidemics and
other childhood diseases (measles, mumps, whooping cough)
➢ This age group is rising rapidly
➢ New research is identifying that genetic markers for disease are not
activated until later in life for this group
• Those In-Between
➢ Those between the centenarians and the baby boomers, born between
1915 and 1945
➢ Include holocaust survivors
➢ Came of age during the civil rights movement, assassination of
president Kennedy, the Cold war and part of the depression.
, Study Guide Care of Older Adult Exam 1.
➢ Polio was a major fear for this group. Either they or friends were
affected.
➢ This group is growing at the exponential rate with the greatest
increase in Hispanics.
• The Baby Boomers
➢ Youngest of the older generation, born between 1946 and 1964
➢ The greatest number were born in 1946, when WWII ended
➢ Great variation in life expectancies amongst this group
➢ Better access to medication and treatment
➢ Immunizations became a standard of care from 1960 on, when the
eldest boomer was 13 years old.
➢ This Group is going to live longer with chronic diseases (obesity,
diabetes, arthritis, congestive heart failure and dementia) because of
better medical care
Wellness Based Model
• Encompasses the idea that health is
composed of multiple dimensions
• Wellness is expressed in the following
dimensions of human experience within the
context of culture:
➢ Functional
➢ Environmental
➢ Intellectual
➢ Psychological
➢ Spiritual
➢ Social
➢ Biological
Wellness- Based Model for Healthy Aging
• Health is viewed on a continuum
• Healthy aging must be viewed from prenatal period to death
• Epigenetics is leading to a new understanding of the impact of environment
factors
• Health promoting strategies are important in achieving and maintaining the
highest level of wellness on a continuum
• The subcomponents within the wellness model particularly applicable to
healthy aging are functional independence, self care management of chronic
illness and disability, positive outlook, personal growth, social contribution
and activities that promote one’s health
• Preventative services are highly underutilized
Disease Prevention and Health Promotion for Older Adults
Study Guide Care of Older Adult Exam
1 Chapter 1: Health and Wellness in an Aging Society
What is Health?
• Measuring health in terms of illness does not reflect the life of persons
with functional limitations, their ability to contribute to the community or
their movement to self-actualization.
• Health means more than the absence of disease.
Healthy people 2020
• A wellness model based on a holistic paradigm is changing the perceptions of
health and health care.
• New areas focus on quality of life and wellness of the older adult.
• Social well-being is recognized as an important aspect of mental health.
• A state of wellness can be uniquely defined anywhere along the continuum of
health.
• Age and illness influence the ease at which one moves along the continuum
but do not define the individual.
Gerontological Nurses
• Can shape the world of persons where they can thrive and grow old, not
merely survive.
• They have unique opportunities to facilitate wellness in those who are
recipients of care.
• Wellness- based models whether acute or chronic:
➢ Maximize strengths
➢ Minimize limitations
➢ Facilitate adaptation
➢ Encourage growth
Health Perspectives
• The years ahead
➢ While countries vary, persons over the age of 60 worldwide will
double in 2050
➢ The majority will be women
➢ Most of the elders worldwide will be poor and in need of support
➢ How can global conditions be changed to maximize and enrich the
lives of elders across the world?
• Locally, political activism helps to advocate for healthy living
spaces and nutrition (meals on wheels) for the older adults.
• Aging
,Study Guide Care of Older Adult Exam 1.
➢ The terms Geriatrics was coined to recognize that medical care of
persons in later life differed from other groups in the population.
➢ The first medical textbook about the “old’ was published in 1914 with
the focus that it must be reversed, eradicated or delayed.
➢ Gerontology considers the nexus of time and human development.
• How Old is Old?
➢ Each culture is different and a variety of terms are used to refer to the
aging person: elder, senior citizen, granny, older adult, etc.
➢ From a functional perspective its when the person is no longer able to
perform usual activities
➢ Social aging: is often determined by changes in roles, such as
retirement, appointment as a wise woman/man of the community or
the birth of a grandchild.
➢ Biological aging: Continuous process involving every cell in the body
from birth to death. The physical traits by which we identify one as
older.
➢ Chronological Aging: varies around the world, but generally around
50-65 years.
➢ As the average life expectancy rises this may change.
• Super- Centenarians
➢ Those that are still alive at 110 years of age
➢ There are 200-300 world wide, with 60 of those in the US
➢ Survived outbreaks in pandemic diseases ex: influenza
➢ It is theorized that the reason these individuals have survived to this
point is “rare and unpredictable”
• Centenarians
➢ Those between the ages of 100 and 109 years
➢ Many people who would be of that age today died in WWII, were part
of the Great Depression and lived during the smallpox epidemics and
other childhood diseases (measles, mumps, whooping cough)
➢ This age group is rising rapidly
➢ New research is identifying that genetic markers for disease are not
activated until later in life for this group
• Those In-Between
➢ Those between the centenarians and the baby boomers, born between
1915 and 1945
➢ Include holocaust survivors
➢ Came of age during the civil rights movement, assassination of
president Kennedy, the Cold war and part of the depression.
, Study Guide Care of Older Adult Exam 1.
➢ Polio was a major fear for this group. Either they or friends were
affected.
➢ This group is growing at the exponential rate with the greatest
increase in Hispanics.
• The Baby Boomers
➢ Youngest of the older generation, born between 1946 and 1964
➢ The greatest number were born in 1946, when WWII ended
➢ Great variation in life expectancies amongst this group
➢ Better access to medication and treatment
➢ Immunizations became a standard of care from 1960 on, when the
eldest boomer was 13 years old.
➢ This Group is going to live longer with chronic diseases (obesity,
diabetes, arthritis, congestive heart failure and dementia) because of
better medical care
Wellness Based Model
• Encompasses the idea that health is
composed of multiple dimensions
• Wellness is expressed in the following
dimensions of human experience within the
context of culture:
➢ Functional
➢ Environmental
➢ Intellectual
➢ Psychological
➢ Spiritual
➢ Social
➢ Biological
Wellness- Based Model for Healthy Aging
• Health is viewed on a continuum
• Healthy aging must be viewed from prenatal period to death
• Epigenetics is leading to a new understanding of the impact of environment
factors
• Health promoting strategies are important in achieving and maintaining the
highest level of wellness on a continuum
• The subcomponents within the wellness model particularly applicable to
healthy aging are functional independence, self care management of chronic
illness and disability, positive outlook, personal growth, social contribution
and activities that promote one’s health
• Preventative services are highly underutilized
Disease Prevention and Health Promotion for Older Adults
