Introduction
Pressure ulcers are common among adults because of the significant amount of time they spend on immobility. It has adverse impacts on the quality of life of the patients. It is essential to conduct assessments that help identify patients’ chances of developing pressure ulcers to devise necessary measures to mitigate the risks involved. An assessment of the environment, home, family, and risks is vital in determining the community’s strengths and weaknesses.
Comprehensive Occupational and Environmental Health History
Evaluation of the older adults between the age of 60 and 80 years indicates that most of them have a full-time work history. Most of the individuals of this age group had been working and have now retired. Their past jobs influence their risk of developing pressure ulcers. Most of those who had worked in jobs with less immobility develop health problems that raise the risk of getting pressure ulcers (Koivunen et al., 2018). Most older adults lead a sedentary lifestyle because they no longer work. They do not engage in many physical activities such as walking since they spend most of their time at home.
Home exposures increase the chances of older adults developing pressure ulcers. A vast part of the neighborhoods has less space, especially in the urban areas. More impoverished communities are crowded, and people do not get space they can use for physical exercise. The community members live in gated spaces, and older adults stay in their home settings, which might elevate the risk of developing pressure ulcers. The older adults’ hobbies also vary, with some of them engaging in indoor settings at home.
Community exposures to pressure ulcers are prevalent among the older adults in the community. Less interaction among adults in their retirement stages leads to the risk of pressure ulcers because they spend a significant amount of time staying at home. The gated neighborhoods restrain them from physical exercise such as jogging and walking (Mitchell, 2018). The community in Miami, Florida, also has a well-developed infrastructure, except in the more impoverished neighborhoods where some of the infrastructures are below the required standards. Most of the elderly use private means of transport, causing more immobility, hence the risk of developing pressure ulcers.
The condition of the environment in the Miami community exists in homes of older members. Recreational facilities such as parks are located in the cities. The spaces dedicated to these facilities vary in different communities. Urban neighborhoods have more recreational facilities, and the elderly can engage in more physical activity than those in poorer communities. The quality of sidewalks and streets is also high in urban communities such as Miami Beach. Generally, people in urban settings take advantage of the quality infrastructure and facilities to reduce the risk of developing pressure ulcers.
Home Assessment
Most of the homes in the community are in good condition because they are modern. However, old structures that are in deplorable condition are in poorer communities. The homes in urban and higher-class neighborhoods have ample space for the elderly to engage in physical exercise. Modern homes also have ample space for such facilities as private gyms. However, some of the poorer communities have crowded homes that have fewer sidewalks and open spaces, which makes it challenging for elderly residents to engage in physical exercises because of their limited mobility. The space between homes varies with the neighborhoods. The city’s central parts have fewer setbacks between houses, while on the outskirts, there are expansive recreational areas.
Friedman Family Assessment
Family Assessment of the older adults in Miami indicates that most adults live close to their families. Most families’ composition is that the older adults live with other family members who can become more mobile. Most elderly adults are in the middle-high social class because they have already retired from their jobs and spend most of their time at home.
Additionally, the present developmental stage of the elderly family members is living with their nuclear family members. Their children have already become adults, and most do not live with their elderly parents (Moore & Patton, 2019). Elderly persons in Florida also have close access to their family’s social support networks. They can interact with their elderly counterparts in the community. They visit each other frequently, which enhances their mobility. Social support networks for most adults are in religious centers such as churches and community-based groups. Although most of the neighborhoods are gated and limit the ability of the elderly adults to visit each other and interact, there are facilities such as Miami Beach and parks where they can engage in social interaction and recreational activities.
Family structure is also a vital element to consider in assessing the older adult population in the community. Most of the elderly adults live with their children, who have now become adults. They also have assistants hired to help them in basic activities such as washing and domestic chores. The families’ power structure is such that the elderly adults can make decisions in their homes (Koivunen et al., 2018). However, they seek consultation from other more active members of their families. Although they are the primary decision-makers in health matters, they seek advice from their private health practitioners.
Furthermore, family functions are essential in determining the health of elderly adults in the community. In Miami, most elderly adults do not engage in active family functions. They are no longer working and spend a significant amount of their time at home. They have also finished their duty of child-rearing. However, their children play a critical role in helping them perform some of their chores. Elderly adults are supported more by their extended family members, especially through active socialization with them. Their ability to cope with stress is mainly enhanced by their close interaction with their family members and other adults in the community.
Risk Assessment
Strategy to determine the risk of older adults developing pressure ulcers involved evaluating the environment, home, and family. Assessment of the environment was conducted by determining the quality of infrastructure, space between homes, and recreational facilities’ availability. Additionally, the home assessment was done by considering the space available and the condition of the homes. The family assessment was through family structure and interaction with other family members.
Some of the community’s strengths include modern housing that enables the elderly to engage in recreational activities. They can have gym facilities that the elderly can use in performing physical exercise. Another strength of the community is the adequate infrastructure, including sidewalks that community members can use for physical activities. The aggregate also has strengths such as financial capability. Given that most of the elderly have retired, they can take advantage of employment benefits to seek better health care. Furthermore, other family members in their proximity can help them cope with the risks of pressure ulcers.
However, there are weaknesses such as low quality of infrastructure and less space in more impoverished communities. Owing to such a weakness, residents in the more disadvantaged areas engage in less physical activity. Besides, the community has the disadvantage of increasing urbanization which has led to less space for residents to engage in physical exercise. One of the weaknesses of the aggregate population is that they have retired and are not in functional working conditions. They are usually at home or getting involved in less physical activities, which reduces their mobility and increases the risk of developing pressure ulcers. Additionally, they have less energy to engage in physical activity leading to high chances of getting pressure ulcers.
Some of the health risks faced by the elderly include sedentary lifestyles that lead to members of this aggregate engaging in less physical activity. Additionally, the aggregate population faces the risk of poor nutrition. They are less consistent in taking their meals, which leads to health conditions that increase the chances of developing pressure ulcers.
References
Koivunen, M., Hjerppe, A., Luotola, E., Kauko, T., & Asikainen, P. (2018). Risks and prevalence of pressure ulcers among patients in an acute hospital in Finland. Journal of Wound Care, 27(Sup2), S4-S10. Web.
Mitchell, A. (2018). Adult pressure area care: Preventing pressure ulcers. British Journal of Nursing, 27(18), 1050-1052. Web.
Moore, Z. E., & Patton, D. (2019). Risk assessment tools for the prevention of pressure ulcers. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (1). Web.