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MEDICAL CARE FOR OLDER WOMEN.   Term Paper ID:23179 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Special health problems & need for medical assessment of older women living alone.... More...

6 Pages / 1350 Words 12 sources, 19 Citations, APA Format $24.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Special health problems & need for medical assessment of older women living alone. Paper Introduction: This paper discusses the importance of taking a health history and doing a complete physical exam for older (65+) females who have no acute signs of distress and whom are living alone. First, it can be noted that, according to Ebersole and Hess (1990), health history and physical exam information has two primary functions. First, this information can alert health care professionals to the presence of undetected disease or to the likelihood that certain diseases are at risk of being developed. Second, these assessment data provide health care professionals with the kind of baseline data needed to develop an individualized program of health promotion which Ebersole and Hess (1990) define as behaviors and activities designed to increase health and well-being. Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Implementing annual cancer screenings for elderlywomen. The importance of lifestyle factors can be seen in terms of olderwomen's susceptibility to osteoporosis. The examined studies have shown that women living alone in relativelygood health have a number of unique health care concerns which are perhapsmost easily tapped through the collection of health history data andthrough conducting a complete and comprehensive physical exam. This paper discusses the importance of taking a health history anddoing a complete physical exam for older (65+) females who have no acutesigns of distress and whom are living alone. (1995). Oliver, M., Laurin, D., Brodeur, J.M., Boivin, M. St. Fooken, I. Skipwith (1994) reports that the physical exam is particularlyimportant because it allows health care personnel to determine: a) whetherthe older patient is evidencing normal or non-normal signs of aging, and b)whether patients are evidencing signs of one or more of those diseases andconditions to which older people are particularly susceptible. First, it can be noted that,according to Ebersole and Hess (199 ), health history and physical examinformation has two primary functions. In this regard, Fooken (1994) conducted a study on sexuality andageing using a sample of sixty West German women born between 19 7 and1936. It is the latter conditions which are particularly relevant for theolder female living alone. (199 ). NAACOGS: Clinical Issues in Women's Health Nursing, 2(4), 5 9-525. San Diego: Academic Press. Ebersole, P. (1995). Older women and alcohol. Psychopathology and mental health in the matureand elderly adult. (199 ). As part ofhealth promotion efforts, Smith recommends that health care professionalsremind older women to have yearly have pap smears, and mammograms; also,they should be instructed in how to conduct breast self-examinations. Any discussion of estrogen replacement therapy (HRT) must also notethat this medical practice itself can affect the health of older women.For example, Laurence (1994) reports that side-effects include heartdisease and breast cancer and that these effects are often not wellmarketed for consumers. Also, it is normal for an exam to show slower reflexes and someatrophy of brain cells. Outrageous practices: The alarming truth abouthow medicine mistreats women. As to diseases for which older people are susceptible, Skipwith(1994) recommends that the exam include assessments for hypertension,cancer, arthritis, visual and hearing impairments beyond those normallyexpected, confusional states, Alzheimer's disease, dental problems, andsubstance abuse problems. Public policy, health care and older women.Journal of Women and Aging, 5(3-4), 2 1-22 . (1994). & Olds, S.W. A more complete picture of alcohol and drug use among older women isprovided by Gomberg (1995) who reports that the rate of alcohol abuse isactually falling in the population of older women, but that the use ofprescribed psychoactive drugs is increasing. The older person, according to the authors, can maintain andpromote good health only to the extent that her lifestyle includes propernutrition, regular exercise, the use of important safety devices such asseat belts, avoidance of drugs and/or nicotine, and the use of a effectivecoping strategies. Due todental problems, many older women reduce their consumption of hard-texturedfibrous foods which, in turn, promotes the development of digestivedisturbances; in other cases it can result in health conditions as a resultof malnutrition. However, itmust be noted that the data provided by these efforts will only be as goodas those charged with interpreting them. NY: Fawcett. Sexuality in the later years--the impact of healthand body-image in a sample of older women. & Hess, P. The foregoing point has been discussed by Jorgensen (1993) in herexamination of recent trends in public policy for health care for olderwomen in the United States. Skipwith, D.H. Regarding alcohol use,Gomberg states that among problem drinkers, older men are more likely to bemarried, divorced, or separated, but older women problem drinkers show ahigh rate of widowhood. St. Inthis regard, health history information is said to be very important. Therefore such conditions should be lookedfor in any conducted assessment of the older female living alone. The Leisure World cohort. Paganini-Hill, A. Stanhope and J.Lancaster (eds.), Community health nursing: Process and practice forpromoting health (pp. Papalia and Olds (1992) state that any medical assessment of olderpeople must include some acknowledgement of the influence of lifestyle onhealth. Interestingly, Paganini-Hill (1995) relates dental problems topostmenopausal osteoporosis. Archives of InternalMedicine, 155(21), 2325-2329. In this regard, she reports that the LeisureWorld Cohort Study found that estrogen replacement therapy not onlyassisted in older women in combating osteoporosis but also contributed totheir dental health. (1992). Dental assessment is very important for older women according toOlivier, Laurin, Brodeur, Boivin, Leduc, Levy and Tache (1995). According to Cohen (199 ), any change insexual interest or capacity could be symptomatic of a number of problemsincluding: drug side effects, metabolic and neurologic problems (e.g.diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, malnutrition, Parkinson's disease); orpsychopathological conditions, especially those related to depression andanxiety. Patient Education Counseling,23(3), 227-233. Results were said to show that health variables are of rather littlesignificance in explaining the development and/or maintenance of sexualinterest and activity in old age. (1991). Louis: Mosby-Year Book. In her examination of these efforts, Jorgensen has noted that: Some of these proposals (health care) acknowledge the unique health problems of older women, while others are discriminatory to the aged in general and to women in particular. Ingram-Fogel (1991) emphasizes that health promotion as it relates tolifestyle changes can be important for older women not only in generalillness prevention but also with a number of additional problems such asobesity and other eating disorders. She notes thatresearch has shown that women over 63 years of age are often under-represented in screenings for breast and cervical cancer. Ingram-Fogel, C. The benefits of estrogen replacementtherapy on oral health. According to Papalia and Olds(1992), post-menopausal women who exercise, and take calcium supplements aspart of their routine lifestyle are far less susceptible to this conditionthan are older women who do not engage in these lifestyle practices. Human development (5th ed) NY:McGraw-Hill. Byreviewing health history with these women, Ingram-Fogel notes that manyconditions can be pointed out as, at least in part, attributable to poorhealth habits associated with lifestyle. Birren & K.W. Laurence, L. (1995). Gomberg, E.S. (1994). Leduc, N., Levy, M.& Tache, R.H. In addition, Laurence lists a number of otheraspects of women's aging that can be negatively affected by medicalpractices. Toward health: Aging and human needsand nursing response. All subjects were interviewed on their psychosexual development inthe context of their life-history and health history information. Smith (1995) reports that another very important aspect of assessmentregarding older women concerns breast and cervical cancer. In M. Louis: Mosby-Year Book. In J.E. RecentDevelopments in Alcoholism, 12, 61-79. The older adult. In other words, health carepersonnel must be free of any bias against women in general and older womenin particular in order to maximally utilize data. Regarding assessment as it applies to normal aging, Skipwith (1994)notes that the exam should be expected to show, in varying degrees, anumber of normal debilitations in the integumentary, sensory, andmusculoskeletal system. It was concluded that the generalaspects of body-image were more valid in shedding some more light on thedeterminants of psychological well-being and of keeping sexuality alive inold age. First, this information can alert health care professionals to thepresence of undetected disease or to the likelihood that certain diseasesare at risk of being developed. (1994). Especially vulnerable to problematicassessment are older women who are poor and must rely on the governmentefforts. Schaie (eds.), Handbook of thepsychology of aging (3rd ed.) (pp. Jorgensen concluded that for older women, especially poor olderwomen, to receive maximal care it is insufficient to rely on good and eventhorough assessment practices such as taking health history information andconducting a comprehensive physical exam. Jorgensen, L.A.B. Further, there should be some normal lowering ofvital capacity in the cardio-vascular-respiratory trait system and acertain lessening of function with respect to the gastrointestinal-genitourinary tract system. The fist ofthese relates to sexuality. She feels that women must becomeinvolved in political efforts as they relate to health care activity andassert their special concerns; in other words, they need to take action tocontrol their health care and improve their health. Journal of the Canadian Dental Association, 61(1 ), 882-886. 2 1). References Cohen, G.D. Smith, M.K. Prosthetic relining and dietary counselling inelderly women. There are, in addition to the foregoing, a number of conditions thatare particularly relevant for the older female population. Thus, to be complete, the physical exam mustinclude an assessment of all of these systems. 545-559). Nutrition and health patterns in midlifewomen. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 2, 17-23.----------------------- 6 According to Papalia and Olds (1992), olderwomen living alone are especially vulnerable to depression or anxietydisorders, and frequently they will attempt to handle these feelings byover-medicating themselves (e.g., excessive use of tranquilizers) and/or byexcessive intake of alcohol. (1995). These include: the ageism and sexism encountered by older womenin their interactions with health care personnel and the over-dependence ondrugs, particularly antidepressants. Use and abuse. Second, these assessment data providehealth care professionals with the kind of baseline data needed to developan individualized program of health promotion which Ebersole and Hess(199 ) define as behaviors and activities designed to increase health andwell-being. Correcting existing dental conditions and dietarycounseling can do much to remediate these conditions and should beconsidered part of health promotion activities for older women. It can be noted here that some researchers challenge the notion thathealth problems function as main constraints against sexuality in the lateryears. Papalia, D.E. Ingram-Fogel (1991) states that one way to promote the health ofmiddle aged and older women is to assist them with lifestyle changes. 359-368). (p. (1993). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.