This document discusses the psychological needs of older adults. It identifies key needs like security, belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization. Loneliness, loss of independence, and chronic health issues can negatively impact mental health in older age. Interventions should aim to meet socio-emotional needs, treat anxiety and depression, and involve caregiver education. Nursing care focuses on promoting safety, socialization, dignity and finding purpose to enhance emotional well-being in older patients.

1. SEMINAR ON PSYCHOLOGICAL
NEEDS OF AN OLDER PERSON
Presented by
Selvaraj.p
Ph.D Scholar
Oct-2019 Batch Guide
Dr.Sasi.Vaithilingan
Professor Cum Vice-Principal
VMCON Pondicherry.

2. OBJECTIVES
Identify core psychosocial
factors and the therefore
the mechanism by which
they affect and well-being in
older adults.
Understand the assorted
emotional needs of older
people
Describe the ways to fulfil
the emotional needs of
older people.
Examine the signs of
resilience, the method by
which older individual adapt
to challenges related
to disability and decline
health
Appreciate the strategies
and treatment to handle the
mental state needs of older
individuals
Describe the main ways to
confirm emotional
wellbeing.
Plan nursing intervention
supported on
psychological needs.

3. INTRODUCTION
• Old age is the final phase in the life of human being
• Oldness is however a state of mind when the
person express his incapacity to work”.
• The proportion of people aged over 60 years is
growing faster
• Longer life expectancy & decline in fertility rate
• Success story for public health policies &
socioeconomic development.

4. NEED OF AGING
1. Physiological
2.psychological.
Tendency of irritation.
 Feel insecure
Low self esteem
Demands for love and affection
 financial needs

5. MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS OF OLDER ADULTS
• Anxiety And Depression,
Adversely affect physical health and ability to function.
• Some late-life problems that can result in depression
and anxiety include
 Coping with physical health problems,
Caring for a spouse with dementia or a physical
disability,
Grieving the death of loved ones, and managing conflict
with family members.

6. THE INTERFACE BETWEEN PHYSICAL AND
MENTAL HEALTH CARE
• Studies indicate that 50-70% of all primary care medical
visits are related to psychological factors such as
anxiety, depression, and stress.
• In rural and underserved areas, it may be that primary
care medical services are the only health care available.
• older adults with medical problems such as heart
disease have higher rates of depression than those who
are medically well.

7. Con’t
• The World Health Organization projects that by the
year 2020, depression will remain a leading cause of
disability, second only to cardiovascular disease
• Integration and coordination of care by
geropsychologists with primary care professionals
have been shown to decrease the frequency of
older adults' primary care visits and use of
medication

8. EMOTIONAL CHANGES IN OLD AGE
• There are many emotional effects of aging, and many
of them are positive.
• Older adults tend to be more emotionally stable than
their younger counterparts.
• Elderly people are more vulnerable
• Alzheimer’s can impact memory, thinking, and
emotional response, It can also create a shortened
attention span leading to impatience, agitation, and
even aggressiveness.

9. WAYS TO MEET THE EMOTIONAL NEEDS
OF OLDER PEOPLE
• Loss of bodily functions
• Problems with mobility
• Sense of self worth diminishes
• Losing the ability to move around
• The elderly need privacy as much as any adult human
being
• Loneliness
• Helplessness, boredom and nervousness

10. CON’T
• Security: -Ensuring that the surrounding environment
and home is a safe at all times.
• Attention: -Give lots of attention to your elderly
because their happiness depends on their self-worth.
• Autonomy & control: -Do simple day-to-day chores
which can give them control and make them happy.
• Emotional connect: -Caregivers should take initiatives
to rekindle emotional connectedness and make the
elderly feel wanted..

11. CON’T
• Eliminating guilt: -Talk to each other and make the elderly
understand such feelings are quite unnecessary
• Feeling of belonging: - Sign-up your elderly-dependent in one
community
• Friendship and intimacy: Always give your elderly-dependent
a chance to make new friends
• Privacy: Respect their privacy and create an environment
where they feel they have the privacy as required by a normal
adult.

12. CON’T
• Sense of competence: -Reminding about the life
accomplishments and create a feeling of
competence as compared to other people of similar
age groups.
• Purpose to life: -A caregiver should look for signs of
such feelings such as loneliness, depression etc. and
make the elderly understand that there is always a
purpose in life and that there are new, positive
experiences on the horizon.

13. TREATMENT AND CARE STRATEGIES
• Training for health professionals in providing care
for older people.
• Preventing and managing age-associated chronic
diseases including mental, neurological and
substance use disorders.
• Designing sustainable policies on long-term and
palliative care.
• Developing age-friendly services and settings.

14. Health promotion
• Providing security and freedom.
• Adequate housing through supportive housing policy.
• Social support for older people and their caregivers.
• Health and social programmes targeted at vulnerable
groups such as those who live alone and rural
populations or who suffer from a chronic or relapsing
mental or physical illness.
• Programmes to prevent and deal with elder abuse.
• Community development programmes.

15. Interventions
• Early diagnosis, in order to promote early and optimal
management.
• Optimizing physical and mental health, functional
ability and well-being.
• Identifying and treating accompanying physical illness.
• Detecting and managing challenging behaviour.
• Providing information and long-term support to carers.

16. Mental health care in the community
• Good general health and social care is important for
promoting older people's health, preventing disease
and managing chronic illnesses.
• The long-term care of older adults suffering from
mental disorders, as well as to provide caregivers
with education, training and support.
• Training all health providers in working with issues
and disorders related to ageing .

17. con’t
• Effective, community-level primary mental health
care for older people .
• An appropriate and supportive legislative
environment based on internationally accepted
human rights standards is required to ensure the
highest quality of services to people with mental
illness and their caregivers.

18. WHO Response
• Strengthen effective leadership and governance for
mental health.
• Provide comprehensive, integrated and responsive
mental health and social care services in
community-based settings.
• Implement strategies for promotion and prevention
in mental health.

19. Con’t
• Strengthen information systems, evidence and
research for mental health.
• WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme
(mhGAP)
• mhGAP aims to improve care for mental,
neurological and substance use disorders through
providing guidance and tools to develop health
services in resource-poor areas.

20. NURSING DIAGNOSTICS
• Acute Confusion related to disturbance in cerebral
metabolism secondary to adverse effects of pain
medication
• Adult Failure to Thrive related to limited ability to
adapt to effects of aging
• Anxiety related to perceived change in socioeconomic
status secondary to retirement
• Ineffective Coping related to changes in physical
environment secondary to relocation

21. Con’t
• Disturbed Sleep Pattern related to pain secondary
to arthritis
• Ineffective Health Maintenance related to lack of
motivation secondary to divorce
• Risk For Loneliness related to loss of usual social
contacts secondary to loss of driving ability

22. Con’t
• Powerlessness related to unmet dependency needs
secondary to death of spouse
• Risk for Relocation Stress related to high degree of
environmental change secondary to change in
available caregiver

23. NURSING INTERVENTION
Need for Safety and Security
Minimizing the amount of change to which the
client is exposed
Introducing change gradually
Determining the client’s previous lifestyle and
making adjustments as needed to ensure that the
need for safety and security is met

24. Con’t
 Explaining new routines, medications, or treatments
when providing care
Including the client in decision making regarding such
issues as medical treatment, relocation, or finances.
For example, the elderly client may have difficulty
establishing satisfactory living arrangements, adjusting
to retirement income, or keeping in touch with family
members after the unexpected death of a spouse

25. Need for Love and Belonging
Older persons have a need for love and belonging as
well as a need to maintain their status in society
Encouraging expression of affection, touch, and
human sexuality
Permitting the client to select a roommate when
appropriate
 Providing opportunities to form new friendships
and relationships with persons of varying ages

26. Con’t
Permitting flexible visiting hours with family or
friends
Providing privacy when desired
Encouraging expression of feelings such as
loneliness and the need to be loved

27. Need for Positive Self-Esteem
 client in the development of the plan of care, especially
ADLs.
 Provide positive feedback
 Encourage the client to take pride in personal appearance.
 Identify personal strengths to promote self-confidence and
independence.
 Communicate with the client on an adult level when
seeking the client’s advice or listening to the client
reminisces about life experiences.

28. Need for Self-Actualization
• Self-actualization or self-fulfilment occurs only after
the more basic needs of survival, safety and security,
love and belonging, and a positive sense of self-esteem
have been met.
• Encouraging the client to participate in activities or
develop hobbies to promote socialization, productivity,
and creativity.
• Motivated to read philosophy, study religion, take
college courses, or use computers to expand their
knowledge base.

29. Con’t
• Reminiscence. Self-actualization may also be
achieved through reminiscence. In contrast to the
life-review process, reminiscence is a therapeutic
process of consciously seeking and sharing
memories of past significant experiences and
events.
• Grief Work. The loss of a spouse has been rated as
the most stressful life event across all ages and all
cultural backgrounds

30. WAYS TO ENSURE EMOTIONAL WELLBEING OF
ELDERLY PARENTS
Issues that could affect their well being are:
Loneliness and isolation
Ruminating over past issues
Chronic low mood
Low self esteem
Declining sense of independence
Lack of acceptance

31. Promoting wellbeing
Let them be: Elders often have their own way of doing
things, even if it involves taking the long route, and
they are happy doing it that way.
Striking the balance: With aging comes the loss of a
sense of autonomy which is difficult to come to terms
with.
Patience: One needs to be really patient while dealing
with their senior parents especially when witnessing
challenging behavior.

32. Con’t
Right attitude: A correct attitude and approach
helps one to maintain relations, despite the strain
and stress.
Communicate: Not being able to share or
misinterpreting is often seen to be the cause of
resentment, anger and strain in relations.
Purpose in life: With hectic midlife, many often find
adjusting to old age little difficult.

33. Con’t
Socialize: We humans are social beings. Helping
our parents build a social circle of friends is
beneficial. It provides them with a safe area to
share and express their thoughts and emotions.

34. SUMMARY
• Care of the aging individual presents one of the greatest
challenges for nursing. The growing population of individuals aged
65 and older suggests that the challenge will progress well into the
21st century.
• Aging individuals experience many losses, potentially leading to
bereavement overload. They are vulnerable to depression and to
feelings of low self worth.
• Social partners that are meaningful and important are preserved,
more peripheral social ties are discarded, and anger and distress
are experienced less frequently. Positive affect remains highly
stable, only decreasing in some studies among the oldest old.

35. REFERENCE
1. Mary C. Townsend, Essentials of Psychiatric Mental Health
Nursing, FA Davis company publication, Philadelphia, 4th edition.
2. Louise Rebraca Shives, Basic Concepts of Psychiatric Mental
Health Nursing, Lippincott Williams & Williams’s publication,
Flordia.8th edition
3. https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/india-2/old-age-
physiological-care-and-psychological-need/47680
4. https://www.physio-
pedia.com/Psychological_Factors_in_Ageing
5. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-
health-of-older-adultshttps://www.thehealthsite.com/diseases-
conditions/depression-and-home-care-emotional-needs-of-the-
elderly-you-must-know-about-b0417-4