Question

Answer 3 of the following questions:

1- Summarize the growth and development in late adulthood

2- Summarize the growth and development in advanced old age and geriatrics

3- How would a nurse help a patient plan for end of life care?

4- Discuss how a patient deals with loss, grief, and bereavement

DO NOT PRESENT YOUR ANSWERS AS A LIST.

Discuss them in a textual format. #1 & 2_

Define the age group and name at least 2 theorists that study that age group Paragraph make mention of specific tasks, milestones, growth patterns, social development cognitive development patterns, play, exercise at least one other pertinent element not mentioned above

Answer 1

Question no 1

During late adulthood the skin continues to lose elasticity, reaction time slows further, muscle strength and mobility diminishes, hearing and vision decline, and the immune system weakens.

The aging process generally results in changes and lower functioning in the brain, leading to problems like decreased intellectual function and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Many of the changes in the bodies and minds of older adults are due in part to a reduction in the size of the brain as well as loss of brain plasticity.

Memory degenerates in old age, so older adults have a harder time remembering and attending to information. In general, an older person’s procedural memory tends to remain stable, while working memory declines.

Question no 2

The distinguishing characteristics of old age are both physical and mental. The marks of old age are so unlike the marks of middle age that legal scholar Richard Posner suggests that, as an individual transitions into old age, he/she can be thought of as different persons "time-sharing" the same identity

These marks do not occur at the same chronological age for everyone. Also, they occur at different rates and order for different people.Marks of old age can easily vary between people of the same chronological age.

A basic mark of old age that affects both body and mind is "slowness of behavior".This "slowing down principle" finds a correlation between advancing age and slowness of reaction and physical and mental task performance. However, studies from Buffalo University and Northwestern University have shown that the elderly are a happier age group than their younger counterparts.

Physical

Physical marks of old age include the following:

Bone and joint. Old bones are marked by "thinning and shrinkage". This might result in a loss of height (about two inches (5 cm) by age 80), a stooping posture in many people, and a greater susceptibility to bone and joint diseases such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.

Chronic diseases. Some older persons have at least one chronic condition and many have multiple conditions. In 2007–2009, the most frequently occurring conditions among older persons in the United States were uncontrolled hypertension (34%), diagnosed arthritis (50%), and heart disease (32%).

Chronic mucus hypersecretion (CMH) "defined as coughing and bringing up sputum . . . is a common respiratory symptom in elderly persons

Dental problems. May have less saliva and less ability for oral hygiene in old age which increases the chance of tooth decay and infection.

Digestive system. About 40% of the time, old age is marked by digestive disorders such as difficulty in swallowing, inability to eat enough and to absorb nutrition, constipation and bleeding.

Essential tremor (ET) is an uncontrollable shaking in a part of the upper body. It is more common in the elderly and symptoms worsen with age.

Eyesight. Presbyopia can occur by age 50 and it hinders reading especially of small print in low lighting. Speed with which an individual reads and the ability to locate objects may also be impaired. By age 80, more than half of all Americans either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery.

Falls. Old age spells risk for injury from falls that might not cause injury to a younger person.Every year, about one-third of those 65 years old and over half of those 80 years old fall. Falls are the leading cause of injury and death for old people.

Gait change. Some aspects of gait normally change with old age. Gait velocity slows after age 70. Double stance time (i.e., time with both feet on the ground) also increases with age. Because of gait change, old people sometimes appear to be walking on ice.

Hair usually becomes grayer and also might become thinner.As a rule of thumb, around age 50, about 50% of Europeans have 50% grey hair.Many men are affected by balding, and women enter menopause.

Hearing. By age 75 and older, 48% of men and 37% of women encounter impairments in hearing. Of the 26.7 million people over age 50 with a hearing impairment, only one in seven uses a hearing aid In the 70–79 age range, the incidence of partial hearing loss affecting communication rises to 65%, predominantly among low-income males.

Hearts can become less efficient in old age with a resulting loss of stamina. In addition, atherosclerosis can constrict blood flow.

Immune function. Less efficient immune function (Immunosenescence) is a mark of old age.

Lungs might expand less well; thus, they provide less oxygen.

Mobility impairment or loss. "Impairment in mobility affects 14% of those between 65 and 74, but half of those over 85."Loss of mobility is common in old people. This inability to get around has serious "social, psychological, and physical consequences".

Pain afflicts old people at least 25% of the time, increasing with age up to 80% for those in nursing homes.Most pains are rheumatological or malignant.