Gerontological Nursing and an Aging Society

1
Chapter 1

• Gerontological Nursing and an Aging Society

2
Study of Aging

• Religious and Secular Movements
• Puritans
• Victorian Age
• Later

3
Study of Aging

• Reverse Ageism
• Largely attributable to gerontology professionals
  of baby boom confronting their own aging

4
Gerontology

• Biomedicalization of Aging
• Aging seen as biomedical problem that must be
  reversed, eradicated, or held at bay as long as
  possible

5
Gerontology

• Who Will Care for an Aging Society?
• Demand is critical for gerontological nurses and
  other health professionals prepared to deliver
  care to growing numbers of older people
• Growing concern is lack of adequate staffing,
  particularly professional nurses, in nursing homes

6
Gerontology

• Organizations Devoted to Gerontology Research and
  Practice
• Gerontological Society of America (GSA)
• American Society on Aging (ASA)
• Association for Gerontology in Higher Education
  (AGHE)
• National Council on Aging (NCOA)

7
Development of Gerontological Nursing

• Gerontic Nurse Pioneers and Leaders
• Origins of gerontological nursing rooted in
  England
• Began with Florence Nightingale

8
Development ofGerontological Nursing

• Gerontological Nursing Education
• Schools of nursing now include gerontological
  nursing content in curricula
• Continued need to increase numbers of faculty
  with preparation in gerontological nursing

9
Development ofGerontological Nursing

• Gerontological Nursing Roles
• Functions in variety of settingshospital, home,
  subacute and long-term care facilities, community
• Advanced practice gerontological nurses
• Mission is to preserve function, enhance health,
  and enhance quality of life and dying

10
Aging Today

• Demographics of Aging
• Aging in the United States
• Gender issues
• Diversity
• Global aging
• Western Europe and Japan have more older people
  than young people

11
Diversity of the older population
(Redrawn from U.S. Census Bureau, 2004.)
12
Aging Today

• Chronological Age
• The old
• Parents of baby boomers make up majority of
  present old numerically
• Nonagenarians and centenarians
• Expanding group of very old (90)

13
Age self-identification
(Redrawn from National Council on the Aging,
Inc., American perceptions of aging in the 21st
century, telephone survey, Jan-Feb 2000.
Available at www.ncoa.org.)
14
Aging Today

• Attitudes Toward Aging
• Elders
• Children
• Health care students

15
Aging Today

• Research and Aging
• Research and gerontological knowledge strongly
  influenced by federal bulletins distributed
  nationwide to indicate research most likely to
  receive federal funding

16
Aging Today

• Nursing Research
• Studies
• Dementia
• Reducing falls
• Use of restraints
• Pain management
• Delirium
• Humane end-of-life care

17
Aging Today

• Politics of Aging
• White House Conferences on Aging
• Make recommendations to President and Congress to
  help guide national aging policies
• Older Americans Act
• Delivers community-based services through state
  Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs)

18
Top 10 Resolutions of 2005 WHCoA

• Reauthorize Older Americans Act
• Develop coordinated, comprehensive long-term care
  strategy by supporting public and private sector
  initiatives that address financing, choice,
  quality, service delivery, and paid and unpaid
  workforce

19
Top 10 Resolutions of 2005 WHCoA

• Ensure that older Americans have transportation
  options to retain mobility and independence
• Strengthen and improve Medicaid program for
  seniors
• Strengthen and improve Medicare program for
  seniors
• Support geriatric education and training for all
  health care professionals, paraprofessionals,
  health profession students, and direct care
  workers

20
Top 10 Resolutions of 2005 WHCoA

• Promote innovative models of non-institutional
  long-term care
• Improve recognition, assessment, and treatment of
  mental illness and depression among older
  Americans
• Attain adequate numbers of health care personnel
  in all professions who are skilled, culturally
  competent, and specialized in geriatrics
• Improve state and local integrated delivery
  systems

21
Aging Today

• Business of Aging
• Major marketing attention extended to elderly
• American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)

22
Gerontological Nursing and Aging The Future

• Baby Boomers
• Informed and educated
• Alerted to importance of preparing early for
  "good" old age
• Expect much higher quality of life as they age
  than did their elders

23
Gerontological Nursing and Aging The Future

• Global Challenges
• Policies needed to meet income, health, and
  long-term care needs for men and women throughout
  world