Week 1- A PORTRAIT OF AGING WHAT IS HEALTHY AGING? BUSTING MYTHS

Nurses are responsible for what? Through what?

• Assisting older adults with achieving the highest level of wellness possible in a given situation.

• Through knowledge and affirmation, the nurse can empower, enhance and support the older adult's movement toward the highest level of wellness possible.

Greatest Generation

people aged 94 or older (born before 1928)

Interwar Generation

people aged 76 to 93 (born between 1928 and 1945)

Baby Boomer Generation

people aged 56 to 75 (born between 1946 and 1965)

Generation X

people aged 41 to 55 (born between 1966 and 1980)

Generation Y (millennials)

people aged 25 to 40 (born between 1981 and 1996)

Generation Z

people aged 9 to 24 (born between 1997 and 2012)

Generation Alpha

people aged 8 or younger (born between 2013 and 2021)

Elder

indigenous 65+

for higher standing indigenous leaders

Young old age

65-74

Middle old age

75-84

Old old age

85+

Male life expectency

79

Female life expectency

83-84

In Canada, you collect your pension (CPP) at what age?

65

How many Canadians are over 100 yo?

1.5% and is growing

As of 2019, seniors account for what percentage of the canadian population? and by 2031 what percentage will this increase to?

20%

25%

What fraction of people are expected to reach 65?

9/10

What contributes to lower birth rates?

cost of living, longer education

What contributes to longer life expectancy?

• better health care

• better quality of life

WHO definition of health

"a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity" (WHO, 1946)

What is positive health?

Is a related concept that has been defined as "the empirical study of health assets. A health asset is an individual factor that produces longer life, lower morbidity, lower health care expenditure, better prognosis when illness does strike, and/or higher quality of life"

• still able to function

The concept of positive health is directly linked to what?

to the concepts of positive aging and positive gerontology

Examples of positive ageing

• environment

• wealth

• education

• support system

• 
  

what is quality of life?

not the lack of disease, could be being able to achieve a goal that they want

What effects how you age?

social determinate of health?

• location

• the year you wer born in

• gender

• ethnicity

• education

• access to health care

• income

• immigrants face more barriers in healthcare

• a lot of older people live under the poverty line

• gender income disparities

WHAT IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH FOR OLDER ADULTS?

Cancer

Ischemic heart disease

Dementia

Obstructive pulmonary disease

Stroke

2/3 live with chronic illness

Health promotion and prevention is essential at what stage of life?

all stages of life

OPPORTUNITIES IN GERONTOLOGY

• Direct care provider

• Care coordinator

• Educator

• Discharge planner

• Leadership

• Research

• Quality improvement

• Management position

FRAMEWORK UNDERPINNING GERONTOLOGICAL NURSING

• Gerontological nurses base their practice on the inter-relationships between

  • Person (individuals, care partners, families, groups, communities, populations, society and the national landscape)

  • Health (individuals and populations)

  • Nursing (registered practical nurses, licensed practical nurses, registered psychiatric nurses, registered nurses and nurse practitioners-adult)

  • Environment (cultural context of the organizations, communities, facilities, sectors, networks and partnerships; and socio-economic-political landscape within which care is delivered)

STANDARD I: RELATIONAL CARE

Gerontological nurses address:

• Relationships of older persons and their care partners to optimize health and well-being

• Preferences of older persons and their care partners to reflect unique experiences, cultural contexts, and social determinants of health

• All aspects of care as part of an inter-professional collaborative team

STANDARD 2: ETHICAL CARE

Gerontological nurses address:

• Older persons and care partners as their advocates

• Human rights for autonomy, diversity, inclusion

• Self-determination and freedom of expression

• Ethical, moral and legal contexts of nursing practice

• Collaborative decision-making (e.g. beginning and ending treatments, end-of-life care, medical assistance in dying)

• Access to and provision of care reflecting the person's preferences and cultural requirements

• Promotion and support of autonomy and independence

STANDARD 3: EVIDENCE-INFORMED CARE

Gerontological nurses address:

• All aspects of health and well-being

• Information and educational needs

• Assessment of health, functional and cognitive capacities

• Geriatric syndromes

• Pain and symptom management

• Acute illness and chronic health conditions management

• Medication management,

• Behaviour and cognitive therapy

• Adaptive communication needs

• Advance care planning

• Coping and grieving

• End-of-life care (EoLC) and Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD)

STANDARD 4: AESTHETIC/ARTFUL CARE

Gerontological nurses address:

• Needs of older persons to share experiences and their meanings

• Aesthetics of living/caring spaces

• Environmental design

• Need for music, warmth, comfort, food, artistic elements, presence of familiar people or objects

• Access to activities that address the need for cultural, creative and spiritual expressions through social/health resources such as worship, prayer, art, music, mindfulness, yoga, dance, massage, movement, art therapy, interaction with living organisms such as plants, animals, pets, nature

• Appropriate skill mix, shared decision-making, shared power, effective staff relationships and supportive organizational systems

STANDARD 5: SAFE CARE

Gerontological nurses address:

• Health literacy

• Culturally competent, safe and sensitive care

• Equipment requirements for maintaining safety

• Risk reduction and monitoring of risk over time

• Assessment, prevention and mitigation of all forms of abuse

• Safe interpersonal relationships, including relationships of intimacy

• Assessment of risk; reduction, mitigation, and monitoring of risk over time

• Food safety and security

• Access to safe and affordable housing

STANDARD 6: SOCIO-POLITICALLY ENGAGED CARE

Gerontological nurses address:

• Ageism that limits health care delivery and stigmatizes older persons within society

• Care inequities across all sectors of health care delivery

• Health policy at the local, provincial and national levels

• Advocacy needs of older persons within the healthcare system

Myths about older people

• Older people are a burden and fail to make significant contributions to society

• Older people are over the hill, they are too old to engage in civic life, or take on leadership roles

• It is inevitable that older adults will get dementia

• Depression and loneliness in older adults is normal

• Older adults cannot learn new things

• Mental and physical deterioration is inevitable

• Seniors should avoid strenuous exercise and activity to avoid injury

WHY CONSIDER YOUR BELIEFS ABOUT OLDER ADULTS?

Ageist attitudes, myths and stereotypical ideas about older adults can interfere with the nurse's ability to communicate with them effectively

Positive beliefs about aging can

• promote longevity

• Wisdom grows

• Negative emotions decline as we get older

• Happiness increases

• have become kinder to myself

• Many seniors find work a fulfilling pass time

Beliefs

• We believe each older person is unique. Each person has values, goals, strengths, limitations, rights and responsibilities. Each person develops within a society; and influences and is influenced by societal attitudes, culture, spiritual beliefs and the environment.

• We believe in the older person's human right to autonomy, dignity, equity and privacy.

• We believe that the older person has a range of abilities that influence expectations, life satisfaction and needs.

• We believe in the older person's right to make informed choices.

• We believe that families and friends play a central role in the life of the older person.

• We believe that gerontological nursing is an area of specialized knowledge and practice.

• We believe that gerontological nurses practice in collaboration with inter-professional team members to co-design care.

• We believe that evidence should inform gerontological nursing care.

• We believe that a conceptual framework is the foundation for gerontological nursing standards.

• We believe that registered practical nurses, licensed practical nurses, registered psychiatric nurses and registered nurses, and specifically gerontological nurses, practice in accordance with the provincial, territorial, and national standards of nursing practice and the Canadian Nurses Association Code of Ethics 2017.

• We believe that the health care system, within which gerontological nursing is practiced, contributes to outcomes that can support quality care for all older persons.