Comprehensive Gerontological Assessment - Paper Example

Introduction

Based on the feedback on the first part of the comprehensive gerontological assessment Part 2, a better plan of care needs to be established to cater to the needs of the clients. This part of the assessment will produce an improved aspect of assessment and evaluation to better understand the issues affecting clients and suggest proper interventional programs. The assessment and evaluation in question were in-depth in nature involving sufficient time with the clients just like the previous. However, this will go an extra mile to meet the clients more than once whereby the assessment activities will be informed by the nature of the previous one.

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The meeting with the older adult and the respective interviewing session this time was more focused since the specific needs of the clients had been known. To come up with an effective care plan for the elderly client, the assessments were conducted in two visits, in which the last one was scheduled two weeks after the other. The first meeting was conducted immediately after the feedbacks were received to ensure that all the aspects of the client's needs are taken care of in the final care plan. This part of the comprehensive gerontological assessment provides an improved plan of care and teaching and implementation of the amended plan.

The Plan of Care Updates and the Implementation Process

Considering care for her risk of the accident remains very important because she is not able to operate effectively on her own. As she tries to walk for whatever short distance without assistance poses a great risk of falling down. This would rather cause more harm to her (Leslie & Hankey, 2015). To take care of the risk, the family members with whom he lives should always be willing to pay close attention to her and her preferences for movements. Moreover, her brothers should be able to assist her to move for the distance she would wish.

Besides, the movements on preference bases, the family members are advised to move her around as a form of health tip. This is because PM is concerned about her weight that, if not attended to, may advance to serious health issues like the considerable cardiovascular disorders (Leslie & Hankey, 2015). Helping PM to walk on a regular basis will, therefore, serve as a form of exercise and she will, therefore, be able to burn calories appropriately to ensure that her weight remains just at the healthy level which is quite manageable.

Her dietary plans should also be adjusted to help her as a form of a significant healthcare strategy. For instance, having high cholesterol in her could be a way through which prior poor dietary programs have manifested out of the assessments done with her. Based on this current health problem, PM is advised to take meals that contain limited cholesterol that will subsequently reduce the risk of suffering from related disorders. With the assistance of family members, PM should be provided with fruits and vegetables as the major components of her meals. According to Reid, Eccleston, and Pillemer (2015), these should be included in the dietary program and she should consume the specified foods at least on daily basis. This will serve as a strategic approach through which she will be assisted towards achieving heart-healthy conditions.

It is important to note that the joint and back pains that she experiences could be directly associated with the time during which she is in contact with the wheelchair. This is because she is most likely to be using some specific muscles for longer. She can be provided with ice to the affected areas of the body and later applying a little amount of heat to ensure that heat-flow is not interrupted. Further, PM can be helped to rest the part of the body that is affected with the pain. This could be her back after sitting for longer in the wheelchair. These strategies will serve as a pain reliever if they are applied on regular basis (Reid, Eccleston & Pillemer, 2015). Application of all these approaches will contribute to the compliance of the plan of care and this will enable PM to experience great improvements.

Effect of Any Changes the Older Adult Experienced

The application of the plan of care enabled PM to experience great improvements as a result. For instance, family members supported her in her exercise requirements and she was able to record a significant reduction in weight within a short period. Moreover, it was noted that the level of cholesterol in her body also reduced to a healthy following her willingness to adopt healthy dietary approaches as provided by the plan of care. Her problems of joint and muscle pains also reduced considerably and she would rarely experience the previous health conditions. PM generally appeared to advance to an improved state of health based on the implications of the use of the plan with her.

The Older Adult’s Feedback

Positive feedbacks emerged from the older adult based on the significant changes that she experienced after embracing the plan. She would at some points mention that her health condition had progressed positively and this implied that she too developed a positive attitude towards the operational criterion of the care plan. She would rarely complain of the pains which she indicated that were some of the major health problems she was initially suffering from. The feedback was motivating as this would easily signal that the interventional approaches included in the plan were appropriate and effective to assist in the health issues of the patient.

Changes That Should Be Improved and the Possibly Better to the Plan of Care

Even though the care plan appears to be quite effective for its purpose, there are a number of changes implemented which should be improved. For instance, the application of ice to the body parts with pain can be a little challenging to the client and the brothers and other caregivers. Van der Vlegel-Brouwer (2017) argued that this is because the application of the remedy should be limited to ensure that the blood flow occurs normally and not interrupted. However, this may not be taken care of since the caregivers can easily misinterpret the information on the same. Moreover, the application of ice has no dosage hence the approach is not professionally informed. Hence this makes it a risky part of the plan of care. On this note, a better intervention can be the use of therapeutic pain relievers. This is because the approach is medical and therefore it is prescribed by a healthcare expert, therefore, it has a definite dosage which is expected to help achieve proper changes and improvement after a client completes a given dose. The other parts of the plan are effective and may not be subjected to any change.

References

Leslie, W., & Hankey, C. (2015). Aging, Nutritional Status, and Health. Healthcare, 3(3), 648-658. : 10.3390/healthcare3030648

Reid, M., Eccleston, C., & Pillemer, K. (2015). Management of chronic pain in older adults. BMJ, 350(feb13 2), h532-h532. : 10.1136/bmj.h532

Van der Vlegel-Brouwer, W. (2017). Evaluation of a transitional care programme for frail older adults and the effectiveness for the oldest old. International Journal Of Integrated Care, 17(5), 250. : 10.5334/ijic.3561