This document provides an introduction to geriatric nursing, including definitions of key terms like gerontology, geriatrics, aging, and life expectancy. It discusses the developmental tasks and needs of elderly people, including adjusting to retirement, death of a spouse, and accepting one's own mortality. It also addresses life transitions experienced by older adults like retirement, chronic illness, relocation, and bereavement. Finally, it outlines different care environments for elderly people and ways for health professionals to help older adults and their families cope with life transitions.

1. Introduction To Geriatric
Nursing

2. Contents:
Introduction
– Common terminologies
– Historical perspective
– Demography situation of aged people
– Modules of geriatric care in different health
care settings
Life transition and its effects
– Developmental tasks and needs of elderly
– Retirement
– Relocation and bereavement

3. Common terminologies:
• Gerontology:
– Geron: old man, Logy: study.
– Term was first coined by Mechinikov in 1903.
– Specialized branch of medical science dealing
with the comprehensive study of the elderly
adult.
– It is the branch of science that deals with
aging and the problems of aged persons.

4. • It is the scientific study of individual in later
maturity and aging process from
physiologic, pathologic, psychologic,
sociologic and economic points of view(
Murrey and Zenter, 2001)

5. • It is the study of aging process and
individuals as they grow from midlife
through later life including the study of ,
physical, mental and social changes; the
investigation of the changes in society
resulting from the aging population; the
application of this knowledge to policies,
programs and practice.
Association for Gerontology in Higher Education(AGHE) 2010

6. • Geriatrics:
– Medical specialty concerned with the
physiologic and pathologic changes of the
individual in later maturity and includes study
and treatment of the health problems of this
age groups. (Murrey and Zentner, 2001)

7. • The branch of medicine that deals with the
diagnosis and treatment of disease and
conditions of the elderly. (Mifflin 2002)

8. • Geriatrics focuses strictly on the medical
conditions and disease of the aging.
While
• Gerontology is multidisciplinary and is
concerned with physical, mental and social
aspects and implications of aging.

9. • Aging:
– It is the process of growing old, regardless of
chronological age, which begins at conception and
ends at death.
» Murrey and Zentner, 2001.
– It is a normal physiological and developmental
process causing a progressive decrease in functional
capabilities which begins at conception and ends at
death.

10. • Chronological age:
– It is defined as the number of years a person
has lived.
• Biological age:
– It is defined as a description of an individual
development based on biomarkers.
– A biomarker is a recordable molecular or
cellular event.

11. • Psychological Age:
– It refers to the behavioral capacity of the
person to adapt changing environmental
demands and includes capacities of memory,
learning, intelligence, skills, feelings and
motivation for exercising behavioral control or
self regulation.
• Social Age:
– It results from the person life course and
experiences, refers to roles and habits of
person with respect to other members of
society.

12. Age??

13. • Functional Age:
– It is defined as a combination of chronological,
biological, and psychological ages.
• Cognitive Age:
– It includes the age the person feels and looks to
self , plus the fit of behavior and interests to his
or her chronological age.
– Example: I do most things as if I were --- years
old.

14. • Senescence:
– It is the mental and physical decline
associated with the aging process.
– The term describes a group of effects that
lead to a decrease in efficient function.

15. • Senility:
– The term senility denotes physical and mental
deterioration often associated with old age.
– Not commonly used.

16. • Senior citizens:
– World Health Organization (WHO) defines
senior citizens as people 60 years and above.
– The Senior Citizens Acts 2063 B.S, Nepal
also defines the senior citizens as “People
who are 60 years and above”.

17. • Gerontological nursing:
– Gerontological nursing means the application
of body of knowledge and skills to provide
nursing care that meets the unique bio
psychosocial and spiritual needs of the
diverse older adult population and their
families.

18. • Geriatric Nursing:
– Nursing care of the aged patient given in the
home, the hospital, or special institutions such
as nursing homes, psychiatric institutions etc.

19. • Life expectancy:
– It is the length of time that a person can
predicted to live.
– Life expectancy of Nepal??

20. Developmental Tasks of
Elderly

21. Developmental Tasks of Elderly (60 and
over) according to Robert J. Havighurst
- Adjusting to decreasing physical strength and
health.
- Adjusting to retirement and reduced income.
- Adjusting to death of a spouse.
- Establishing an explicit affiliation with one’s age
group.
- Adopting and adapting social
roles in a flexible way.
- Establishing satisfactory
physical living arrangements.

22. • Make arrangements for care, if needed.
• Accept one’s own mortality.
• Find satisfaction in one’s family.
• Accept oneself as an aging person.

23. Eric Erikson’s development
core task of the older adult
• Ego integrity is coming through the previous
phase of the life cycle as older adults they
can look back on their lives with happiness
and satisfaction and feeling of they have
made contribution to live
• On other hand, adults may feel despair at
their experiences and perceived failure.
They may fear of death as they struggle to
find out the meaning of lives.

24. Physical needs of the older
adults
• Adaptation to chronic illness
• Adaptation to sensory perception
• Monitoring of existing symptoms and
symptoms of emerging disease
• Monitoring the effect of the disease and
side effects of the drug therapy.

25. Life transition and its effects:

26. Life Transition:
• As adults approach their senior years many aspects of
life (physical, social, financial, and employment) are
changing.
• For most seniors, the retirement years are anticipated
positively and with an expectation of more leisure time
and a lessening of demands and responsibilities.
• The goal during the senior years then is to maximize the
positive and develop strategies for coping with the
stresses.

27. Definitions:
• Life Transition:
– the process or period of changing from one
state or condition to another. (Oxford Online
Dictionary)
– to undergo or cause to undergo a process or
period of transition. (Oxford Online Dictionary)

28. • Types of transitions experienced by
older adults
– Retirement.
– Chronic illness/physical and mental
impairments.
– Death of spouse or significant others
– Relocations (due to illness, death of spouse,
natural disasters, war)
– Dying and death.

29. Elderly reside in a variety of
care environments:
• Home
• Senior home
• Nursing home
• Assisted living
• Street
• Continuing care retirement communities

30. Responses to Transitions
• Isolation/withdrawal
• Apathy
• Sometimes addictions
• At times, suicide
• Sometimes, movement towards growth

31. How can health ad human service
professionals respond?
• Understand significance of transitions for
older adults and family members
• Verbally acknowledge the difficulties of
transitional periods
• Verbally acknowledge the emotional
reactions to transitions and help family
members process reactions
• Help the older adult process emotions
related to trauma causing relocation (e.g.
disasters)

32. • Help older adults and family members process
existential issues, or refer them to a skilled
professional (such as a chaplain or spiritual
leader)
• If relocating to an adult child’s home, help family
negotiate new rules/guidelines for living together
• Encourage activities (such as volunteer work)
that address need for meaning and purpose in
life

33. • Rethink first bed availability policy for
placement from hospitals to nursing
homes
• Advocate for programs within working
situation that address the emotional needs
of older adults and family members in
transition (e.g. supportive services for
older adults entering nursing homes)

34. • Assess coping methods – be alert for
signs of dependence upon substances
• Help older adults find new coping methods
if they are unable to use previous
strategies (e.g. strenuous exercise)