According to the case described, it is necessary to define which practices and explanations can be regarded to be the most appropriate when it comes to the person who is 65 years old and is worried about her physical condition. To begin with, about the proper response to the statement of the patient, I suppose that an informed caregiver should apply his or her knowledge related both to aging theories and particular psychological needs of elderly people.
Thus, to give a response to the claim of the patient, I would refer to the theory of stochastic aging that regards failures of different systems of the human body as the consequence of random events. Apart from that, I would attract her attention to the fact that an inappropriate lifestyle can often be the reason why a person has diseases that were not manifested in his or her parents and grandparents. Along with that, I understand that such an answer would disappoint her, and this is why I would try to provide her with emotional support and note that her recovery also depends upon her emotional poise.
As for health teaching that can be incorporated into the plan of care, I suppose that proper patient education should be based on two assumptions. To begin with, it can be necessary to provide the patient with theoretical information on biological aging to make her understand the changes in biological processes taking place in her body and the practices that can deteriorate her health condition even more. Apart from that, it is mandatory to provide her with information on the particular practices helping to mitigate health risks for elderly patients.
As is clear from the case, the patient needs to be provided with the recommendations allowing her to stay physically and mentally healthy as long as possible. To meet the needs of the patient, I would provide the following bits of advice:
- Considering the changes in skin structure and harm to health caused by bodily dehydration, elderly people are strongly recommended to drink enough water during the day.
- It can be extremely dangerous for elderly people to implement rapid changes to their daily regimen. Therefore, they are recommended to sleep at least 7 hours at night.
- It is more difficult for aging organisms to digest food; therefore, seniors are recommended to consume more vegetables, products containing unsaturated fats, and lean meat (Jankovic et al., 2015).
- It is necessary to eat more food containing calcium (dairy products) as the bones are usually more fragile in the elderly.
- Due to the growing risk of edema disease, it is necessary to decrease the consumption of salt.
- With the lapse of time, the human body becomes more susceptible to contagious diseases, and this is why elderly people should be regularly vaccinated.
- Elderly people are recommended to exercise regularly. The program may involve strength training, endurance exercises, and stretching. Nevertheless, apart from having a conversation with a coach, it is necessary to discuss the program with your consulting physician.
- During the training, it is necessary to drink enough water and stop the exercise in case of significant discomfort.
- Avoid changing your training program dramatically.
- Implement exercises for mental health such as solving puzzles and doing crosswords (Kawashima, 2013).
- Socialization is very important along with mental health exercises. Therefore, it can be useful to play games like chess with peers or younger relatives.
- Visit clubs for elderly people providing extended opportunities for communication with peers.
References
Jankovic, N., Geelen, A., Streppel, M. T., de Groot, L. C., Kiefte-de Jong, J. C., Orfanos, P.,… & Pikhart, H. (2015). WHO guidelines for a healthy diet and mortality from cardiovascular disease in European and American elderly: The CHANCES project. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 102(4), 745-756.
Kawashima, R. (2013). Mental exercises for cognitive function: Clinical evidence. Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, 46(1), 22-27.