There is an increasing need for geriatric care as our population ages. Plans for geriatric nursing care are crucial for guaranteeing the comfort and well-being of our senior population. Geriatric nursing care plans assist nurses in giving their senior patients the best care possible by emphasizing individualized care and attending to their unique requirements.
There are 11 nursing diagnoses for older persons, commonly known as geriatric nursing or gerontological nursing, in this guide to nursing care plans. In this article, you’ll find out about the evaluation, care plan objectives, and nurse interventions for gerontology nursing. If you need help with Geriatric Nursing Care, Ambulatory nursing assignment help, Autism nursing assignment help, or any other nursing assignment, help, just place your order, and our nursing Experts will do the rest. Quality is guaranteed.
Gerontology Nursing: What Is It?
The care of older or elderly persons is the focus of geriatric or gerontology nursing. Geriatric nursing takes care of the physiological, developmental, psychological, socioeconomic, cultural, and spiritual requirements of an aging person.
People need more specialized care and attention as they age to address the many health issues they encounter. Given that aging is a natural and essential part of life, nursing care for older patients should not simply be provided by one sector but is best provided via a collaborative effort that involves their family, community, and other medical professionals. By doing this, nurses may be able to preserve and enhance the quality of life for the elderly by using the knowledge and resources of each team. The main focuses of geriatric nursing care planning include the aging process, health promotion, restoration, and optimization, greater safety, disease and injury prevention, and healing facilitation.
Plans For Nursing Care
For geriatric nursing or nursing care of the aged (older adult), the following eleven (11) nursing care plans (NCP) and nursing diagnoses are provided:
Chance of Falling
In senior care, falls are frequent and may have major repercussions, such as damage, limited mobility, and diminished quality of life. The risk for falls in geriatric care, the essential elements of a thorough evaluation, and evidence-based strategies for reducing falls in older individuals will all be covered in this article.
Nursing Diagnosis Falls Risk
Risk Elements
Typical Risk Factors For The Nursing Diagnosis Of Fall Risk Include:
- Age (particularly 65 years)
- Physically limited movement
- Muscle strength decline
- Sensory perception changes
- disease (such as Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or osteoporosis) present
- a tendency to leak urine
- medicine use
- Disorientation
- Dizziness
- insufficient understanding of environmental risks as a result of uncertainty
- ineffective usage of assistance (e.g., canes, walkers, wheelchairs, crutches)
- Determining Features
Not relevant for risk assessment. Signs and symptoms do not support a risk diagnosis since the issue has not yet arisen, and nurse actions are focused on prevention.
Desired Results
Nursing diagnosis: Expected results or patient objectives for risk for falls
The patient won’t trip or fall.
In order to improve safety and reduce falls in the home, the patient and caregiver will put precautions in place.
Nursing Evaluations and Justifications
The identification of older persons who are at risk for falls and the implementation of measures to lower the risk are made possible by risk for falls assessment, which is crucial in geriatric care. Healthcare professionals may enhance patient outcomes and avoid harm by undertaking an efficient risk-for-fall assessment.
- Determine what circumstances raise the chance of falling.
These elements will assist in identifying the patient’s needs for interventions. Age, disease, sensory and motor impairments, medication usage, and improper use of mobility aids are all risk factors.
- Examine the patient’s surroundings for elements linked to a higher risk of falling.
Falls are more likely to occur in patients unfamiliar with a location’s layout or whose home has poor illumination.
Interventions And Justifications In Nursing
Healthcare professionals may apply evidence-based treatments to prevent falls in elderly care after conducting a risk for a falls assessment. Some popular fall-prevention strategies for older individuals include the following:
- Wear an identifying bracelet to alert medical staff to take the patient’s fall precautions.
To put safety measures in place and encourage patient safety, healthcare practitioners must identify patients who are at high risk for falls.
- Make accessible products like assistive technology and frequently used items.
Enables simple access to personal care and assistive technology. Water, call bells, and other essentials should be placed nearby to reduce frequent reaching.
- Examine hospital policies on patient transfers.
Clear rules and procedures should be in place at the hospital to guarantee patient safety during transfers.
- Constantly keep the patient’s bed in the lowest position.
Injuries and the possibility of falls are reduced by keeping the bed closer to the ground.
- Respond to the call light as quickly as you can.
This is done to stop a patient who is unstable from ambulating on their own.
- When necessary, use the bed’s side railings.
Patients are less likely to fall out of their beds while being transported if the side rails are raised.
- Inform the patient to walk in slip-resistant shoes or pajamas.
Slips and falls are less likely when non-slip footwear is used.
Introduce the patient to the environment. Do not rearrange the room’s furnishings.
The patient should be made aware of the bed, the placement of the restroom, the furniture, and any other potential trip or fall risks in the room.
- Ensure enough lighting in the patient’s room. The utilization of a nighttime bedside light is something to think about.
Lighting in strategic locations may help people move about safely and avoid obstructions.
- Encourage the patient’s loved ones to always be by their side.
It prevents the patient from slipping or pulling out tubes by mistake.
- Ensure that the patient has frequent eye exams and emphasize the value of wearing glasses if necessary. Make sure you wear your glasses and hearing aids all the time.
The risk may be reduced if the patient uses the right tools to enhance their visual and aural orientation to the surroundings. Patients who are visually impaired are more likely to fall.
- Show the patient how to move about at home, using bathroom handrails and other safety features.
It helps to reduce anxiety at home and gradually lowers the danger of falling when moving about.
- Encourage the patient to participate in a routine exercise and gait-training program.
Muscle strength, balance, coordination, and response time may all be enhanced by exercise. Physical fitness helps prevent injuries from falls and lowers the likelihood of them happening.
- Work together with other healthcare teams to examine and analyze the patient’s prescriptions, which may increase their risk of falling. Determine the medication’s peak effects that have the potential to affect the patient’s awareness.
Reviewing the patient’s prescriptions can help identify any side effects or drug combinations that might increase the risk of a fall injury. Orthostatic hypotension, vertigo, disorientation, urine incontinence, and impaired gait and balance are just a few of the adverse effects and drug interactions that are more likely to occur when a patient takes more prescription drugs. The use of many medications increases the risk of falling in older persons.
- Determine if the patient needs physical and occupational therapy to help with gait skills and give the patient aids for transportation and mobility. Start a home safety assessment as necessary.
Gait belts provide a more secure way to help people safely transition from a bed to a chair. When moving about, the patient can maintain stability and balance using assistive devices like wheelchairs, canes, and walkers. High toilet seats can make it easier for people to enter and exit the toilet safely.