...Future Healthcare Needs of the Baby Boomer Generation Thomas Edison State College December 8, 2013 Introduction As the general population ages, the large group known as the Baby Boomer Generation has the potential to put enormous strains on the healthcare system. The Baby Boomer Generation is defined as those people born between 1946 and 1965 ("Baby boomer," 2013). The focus of this paper centers on the medical needs required for this generation and how the baccalaureate prepared nurse (BSN) will help provide care for them. According to the United States government, the nation’s population of those over 65 will balloon from 40.2 million in 2010, to 88.5 million in 2050 (Vincent & Velkoff, 2010). Baby boomers will be responsible for this increase. A 2010 study compared the war time generation, those born before 1946, to the baby boomers. According to the study, the baby boomers are more prone to be heavier, and have a higher incidence of hypertension, diabetes and mental illness (Rice, Lang, Henrey & Melzer, 2010). The doubling of those in the over-65 age bracket, coupled with the results of this study, will undoubtedly put a massive strain on the nation’s healthcare system. Special Needs for Baby Boomers In order to gain insight on the needs of the baby boomers, a BSN prepared nurse who cares for this population was interviewed. This nurse earned her degree from Seton Hall and is currently matriculating...
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...muscles. The disorders can range from being acute to chronic, diffuse or focal. The chances of a person developing musculoskeletal disorders increase with age, but they are more common among the elderly. The disorders can range from back pain and gout, as well as rheumatoid arthritis, musculoskeletal pain and tendinitis. Treatments vary depending on the age of the patient, and there is a need for physicians to intervene early before the disease progresses to ensure better chances of recovery. The physiology of aging is an important aspect of treatment for musculoskeletal problems. “Immunosenescence” is a term that refers to changes in the immune system which is characterized by declined cellular immunity resulting to increase in auto antibodies. T-cell and cytokine production also decrease. Aging results in musculoskeletal changes. The tendons, ligaments and where they attach to bonesfray and weaken; muscle mass, quality, and strength also lessen. The gait of a person with musculoskeletal problems changes with age; gait speed, stride length and step length are reduced ((Phyllis & Samuel, 2009). Treatment in older patients is risky because of polypharmacy where patients attend different specialty clinics, getting prescriptions for different medications. This raises the risk of drug-drug interaction. Adverse drug reactions are common among elderly patients because of comorbid chronic or acute diseases where multiple drugs are prescribed...
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...Anemia Statistics for Patient Populations To help explain the prevalence of anemia, the education kit provides statistics related to anemia of chronic disease and other at-risk patients. Older Adults & the Elderly Fatigue, weakness and other anemia symptoms can be misconstrued as normal signs of old age, but neither anemia nor these symptoms are a natural part of aging and should receive meticulous medical attention. · 10% of persons aged 65 and older have anemia1 · 50% of nursing home residents have anemia2 · Anemic elderly are twice as likely tbe hospitalized for falls3 Cancer Patients Cancer and its treatment can cause anemia by interfering with the body's production and regulation of red blood cells. · 80% of chemotherapy patients have severe anemia4-6 · 550,000 people die from cancer each year7 Chronic Kidney Disease Patients Anemia is a common and early complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and worsens as the disease progresses. An estimated 65 million American adults with hypertension8 and 17 million with diabetes9 are at increased risk for CKD and subsequently anemia. · 26 million Americans have chronic kidney disease10 · 28% of mild CKD patients are anemic11 · 87% of severe CKD patients are anemic11 Critically Ill Patients Many factors contribute tanemia in critically ill patients including trauma, surgical blood loss, inflammation and nutritional deficiencies. · 50% of patients in the intensive care unit are anemic12 · 75% of long-stay...
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...Arthritis is broadly defined as painful inflammation of the joints, however there are approximately 100 different types of arthritis, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that is the most chronic joint condition and affects approximately 33 million people. It results from the overuse of joints, is associated with aging, may be the consequence of demanding sports where may be injured, or obesity (Guilak, 2011). Osteoarthritis is most common in joints that bear weight, such as the spine, hips, knees and feet. Symptoms associated with osteoarthritis are localized pain while symptoms such as feeling ill and fatigue or tiredness are typically not present as other...
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...the definition of geriatric disease and the people at risk, treatments and what happens if some diseases go uncured and the statistics of people with the disease and the occurrence of the disease. The topic of geriatric diseases is not fully understood, so the definition needs to be elaborated. According to the medical dictionary the term geriatrics means “the department of medicine dealing especially with problems of aging and diseases of the elderly”. The world dictionary defines disease as “any deviation from or interruption of the normal structure or function of any body part, organ, or system that is manifested by a characteristic set of symptoms and signs and whose etiology, pathology, and prognosis may be known or unknown.” So in other terms geriatric disease can be defined as an interruption of normally functioning body part, organ and or system with problems of the elderly. The most common types of geriatrics disease are arthritis, cardiovascular and osteoporosis. Arthritis is the inflammation of the joints. The cause of arthritis is normal wear and tear on the bones. Prevention can happen by early detection. Cardiovascular diseases come from unhealthy life styles, such as high sodium diets and not exercising. To prevent cardiovascular disease, exercise regularly and maintain a healthy diet by eating the recommend value of fruits and vegetables. Osteoporosis is the loss of bone density over time. To prevent...
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...Health Care Services HCA/240 January 26, 2014 Disease Trends and the Delivery of Health Care Services Demographics and disease trends will influence health care delivery services in the future in many different ways. Not only will the current aging population affect the delivery of health care services because of its rapid growth, but also obesity. Obesity is one of the more serious problems facing our nation today, and will only get worse unless the implementation of programs to educate the public on the many health issues this condition can cause to prevent them from happening. Moreover, not only does the health care delivery system need to adapt in the future to provide quality care for the aging population and the many chronic health issues they will face along with affordable housing, but also obesity-related health issues as our nation faces these two serious problems. In 2010, the age composition of the United States consisted of 60 percent of the population between the ages of 20 to 64 (Vincent & Velkoff, 2010). However, over the next 10 to 20 years the United States will experience an increase in the number of its older population because the baby boom generation started crossing into this category in January 2011 when the first baby boomers born in 1946 began reaching retirement age (Vincent & Velkoff, 2010). The Baby Boom generation consists of approximately 78 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 in the two decades following the end of...
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...Osteoarthritis (OA), the most prevalent musculoskeletal condition, is a long-term chronic disease involving the thinning of cartilage in joints which results in bones rubbing together, engendering stiffness and pain, which often results in impaired forms of kineticism. Osteoarthritis withal can damage ligaments, menisci, and muscles. Bone or cartilage fragments may float in the joint space, causing exasperation and pain. Bone spurs, or osteophytes, may additionally develop, causing adscititious pain and potentially damaging circumventing tissues. OA is cognate with age, but is associated with a variety of both modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors, including obesity, lack of exercise, genetic predisposition, bone density, occupational injury, trauma, and gender....
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...Demographic Paper HCS/490 February 17, 2014 Professor David Dye, MPA Introduction The world is facing a situation without precedent: We soon will have more older people than children and more people at extreme old age than ever before. As both the proportion of older people and the length of life increase throughout the world, key questions arise. Will population aging be accompanied by a longer period of good health, a sustained sense of well-being, and extended periods of social engagement and productivity, or will it be associated with more illness, disability, and dependency? How will aging affect health care and social costs? Are these futures inevitable, or can we act to establish a physical and social infrastructure that might foster better health and wellbeing in older age? By 2050, the U.S. Census predicts that 19.6 million American workers will be 65 years or older, roughly 19 percent of the total U.S. workforce. In fact, the number of individuals in the labor force who are 65 years or older is expected to grow by 75 percent while the number of individuals in the workforce who are 25 to 54 is only expected to grow by 2 percent. By 2016, one-third of the total U.S. workforce will be 50 years or older — a group that may number 115 million by 2020 (Heidkamp, Mabe, & DeGraaf, 2012). The Baby Boomers make up a significant portion of the U.S. population, and, as the Boomers age, the percentage of Americans over 65, those that utilize the bulk of health care...
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...The cause of the disorder Jasmine Ray Westwood (MA) Rough Draft Rheumatoid Arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is a long-term form of inflammatory arthritis of the joints in addition to surrounding tissues. This can also affect the organs. This is resulting in painful immobility, in the fingers, wrists, feet, and ankles. The immune system is designed towards protecting our well-being by attacking foreign cells like viruses and bacteria. Instead it attacks the body’s own tissues, a thin membrane that lines the joints. RA is a chronic disease meaning it can’t be cured. In some individuals the disorder is continuously active and gets worse over time. Others have long periods of remission. The cause of the disorder The cause of RA is still unknown. Infectious agents such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi have long been suspected, none has been proven as the cause. What happen is the white blood cells over react to stimuli inside the body. Instead of protecting the body like it normally do from disease or infection, the immune system attacks and destroys the body’s tissues that are healthy. This chronic inflammatory condition that also effects other tissue. Autoimmune diseases often run in families many may develop different type of autoimmune disease. This genetic difference puts related family members at an increased risk for one or more autoimmune diseases. RA often improves during pregnancy. Certain proteins passed between the mother and unborn child may be responsible...
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...making this the country's fastest growing generation. The geriatric population appear to be requiring more medical care due to an increase of chronic conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and arthritis. These illnesses can be costly because of continuous expensive treatments. To effectively meet the health care needs of these patients there needs to be an improved system, along with planning and supporting care given appropriately by palliative care practices....
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...Intervention for Older Adults with Chronic Illness NAME INSTITUTION Chronic illness on elderly people has become rampant and of great concern. Medical intervention makes it possible for people to live longer and to survive more severe injury and pain. (Brown, 2003). Chronic illness can lead to isolation, depression, occupational deprivation among others effects. Occupational Therapists intend to know the evidence concerning nonpharmaceutical mind-body interventions that are more likely to increased participations. The objective of this study was to evaluate mind –body interventions for the elderly adult with chronic pain. I randomly sampled one hundred and twenty patients from different hospitals within Miami. The response gave instruction in mind and body relationship, cognitive restructuring, problem-solving, communication and behavioral treatment for insomnia, nutrition and exercise, meditation, hypnosis, yoga and guided imagery. A structured review evaluated pain reduction, feasibility, and safety. I used studies in Medline and PsycINFO to retrieve the data. 40 samples out of 120 include older adults with chronic illness aged between 60 to 75 years for one year follow up. I excluded samples of chronic nonmalignant pain. I selected twenty two and eighteen samples for men and women respectively. The outcome measures varied by the study, it took into consideration of depression scale, chronic pain acceptance questionnaire health, arthritis impact measurements, health-promoting...
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...Patient Factor: Age Advancing age is the main contributor to the CVI and DVT disease process. (2012) points out that with increasing age, mobility is a major concern. This can be more profound in obese and elderly patients who need constant support and assistance for moving, turning, and exercise. (2010) argues that multiple disease process like coagulation problems, arthritis, cancer in elderly may aggravate the venous stasis and occlusion. Moreover, obesity, smoking, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia in elderly population may further predispose the disease process. Disability issues are a chronic problem in the elderly after surgical procedure or trauma. The immobilization and other underlying disease process in turn causes venous occlusion in...
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...lifting, elderly, sports, poor posture, osteoporosis, arthritis, disk disease, obesity and poor physical strength. 2. Describe differences between acute pain management and chronic pain management. The differences between acute pain management and chronic pain management are: acute pain can be treated right away and the patient’s pain might be relieved. The patient with chronic pain will have to be treated long term. 3. Identify common concerns related to long-term use of opiod medications. The common concerns with opioid medications are: the risk of drug tolerance, drug abuse, respiratory depression, and accidents related to the use of opioids. 4. What are the top three nursing diagnosis priorities for a patient with an acute exacerbation of chronic pain? The top three nursing diagnosis priorities for a patient with an acute exacerbation of chronic pain are: 1. Acute or chronic lower back pain. 2. Risk for injury due to lower back pain. 3. Risk for social isolation. 5. Identify and explain at least two adjuncts, other than medications, that are used for chronic pain management. Two other treatments that can be used to treat chronic pain are the rotation of hot and cold packs to reduce inflammation, and sooth the pain. The second adjunct treatment is relaxation by giving the muscles a break. 6. Describe the possible impact of chronic pain on the psychosocial, spiritual, cultural, and developmental levels of a patient. The person with chronic pain...
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...as for healthful behaviors. This is especially true for the management of chronic conditions. This article offers a short history of self-management. It presents three self-management tasks—medical management, role management, and emotional management—and six self-management skills—problem solving, decision making, resource utilization, the formation of a patient–provider partnership, action planning, and self-tailoring. In addition, the article presents evidence of the effectiveness of self-management interventions and posits a possible mechanism, self-efficacy, through which these interventions work. In conclusion the article discusses problems and solutions for integrating self-management education into the mainstream health care systems. Whether one is engaging in a health promoting activity such as exercise or is living with a chronic disease such as asthma, he or she is responsible for day-to-day management. Gregory Bateson (3) once said, “one cannot not communicate.” The same is true for health behavior and disease management. One cannot not manage. If one decides not to engage in a healthful behavior or not to be active in managing a disease, this decision reflects a management style. Unless one is totally ignorant of healthful behaviors it is impossible not to manage one’s health. The only question is how one manages. The issue of self-management is especially important for those with chronic disease, where only the patient can be responsible for his or her day-to-day...
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...sixty—the proportion of the U.S population older than age sixty-five is projected to grow from 12.4 percent in 2005 to 14.5 percent in 2015 and 18.2 percent in 2025. Although the aging of the baby-boom generation is a key factor in the aging of the population as a whole, increasing life expectancy is also important” (para. 2). To be more specific the aging population in Ohio is expected to go from 13 percent to 20 percent over the next thirty years (ohio.gov, 2010). The increased amount of people that are age 65 and older will lead to increased healthcare costs. A person's life expectancy is longer and that also increases the incidents of chronic diseases, disability, and the need for long-term healthcare. There will be an increased need for doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers, especially those that specialize in various chronic diseases. Inpatient care as well as outpatient services for...
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