Caring For Dependent Older Persons


Book Description

Caring for Dependent Older Persons details the knowledge that a caregiver should have when caring for an older person who is dependent on his/her care.The main part of this book is a step-by-step guide on all the necessary skills needed when helping an older person with his/her Activities of Daily Living, monitoring of the person's health and the overall care of the older person. This book provides holistic knowledge by explaining how age and disease affect an older person.It also covers the potential stress that a caregiver may endure while taking care of an older person. It is a valuable reference guide for a caregiver during the journey of caregiving. This book is the first of its kind to provide caregivers with comprehensive information on taking care of a dependent older person, especially in the Singapore context. The step-by-step explanation can be a reference guide for caregivers before or after their caregiver training.The financial help section gathers information on all the schemes available in Singapore that can help with the care of a dependent older person. A comprehensive list of financial help available in Singapore is also detailed in this section.This book is co-written by Dr. Tan who has many years of experience running a medical homecare service. He has shared the pertinent information that a caregiver should be equipped with.




Families Caring for an Aging America


Book Description

Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.




Patient Safety and Quality


Book Description

"Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient car -- not only in the hospital or ambulatory treatment facility, but also of community-based care and the care performed by family members. Nurses need know what proven techniques and interventions they can use to enhance patient outcomes. To address this need, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), with additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has prepared this comprehensive, 1,400-page, handbook for nurses on patient safety and quality -- Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043)." - online AHRQ blurb, http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/




Retooling for an Aging America


Book Description

As the first of the nation's 78 million baby boomers begin reaching age 65 in 2011, they will face a health care workforce that is too small and woefully unprepared to meet their specific health needs. Retooling for an Aging America calls for bold initiatives starting immediately to train all health care providers in the basics of geriatric care and to prepare family members and other informal caregivers, who currently receive little or no training in how to tend to their aging loved ones. The book also recommends that Medicare, Medicaid, and other health plans pay higher rates to boost recruitment and retention of geriatric specialists and care aides. Educators and health professional groups can use Retooling for an Aging America to institute or increase formal education and training in geriatrics. Consumer groups can use the book to advocate for improving the care for older adults. Health care professional and occupational groups can use it to improve the quality of health care jobs.




The Role of Family Physicians in Older People Care


Book Description

This book provides family doctors with a wealth of evidence-based indications and tips regarding geriatric medicine and approaches for the management of older patients, to be applied in daily practice. After discussing old and new features of healthy ageing and the approaches required in Family Medicine Consultation, the text introduces key elements of geriatric medicine such as frailty, sarcopenia, and the comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA), before describing a range of characteristics unique to older patients in different contexts, with a dedicated section on Palliative Care. The role of polypharmacy and the importance of quaternary prevention and deprescribing are also addressed. Finally, the book emphasizes both the importance of a humanistic approach in caring and the approach of research and meta-research in geriatrics. Though many texts explore the role of primary care professionals in geriatric medicine, the role of family doctors in older people care has not yet been clearly addressed, despite the growing burden of ageing, which has been dubbed the “silver tsunami.” Family physicians care for individuals in the context of their family, community, and culture, respecting the autonomy of their patients. In negotiating management plans with their patients, family doctors integrate physical, psychological, social, cultural and existential factors, utilizing the knowledge and trust engendered by repeated visits. They do so by promoting health, preventing disease, providing cures, care, or palliation and promoting patient empowerment and self-management. This will likely become all the more important, since we are witnessing a global demographic shift and family doctors will be responsible for and involved in caring for a growing population of older patients. This book is intended for family medicine trainees and professionals, but can also be a useful tool for geriatricians, helping them to better understand some features of primary care and to more fruitfully interact with family doctors.




Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults


Book Description

Social isolation and loneliness are serious yet underappreciated public health risks that affect a significant portion of the older adult population. Approximately one-quarter of community-dwelling Americans aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated, and a significant proportion of adults in the United States report feeling lonely. People who are 50 years of age or older are more likely to experience many of the risk factors that can cause or exacerbate social isolation or loneliness, such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and sensory impairments. Over a life course, social isolation and loneliness may be episodic or chronic, depending upon an individual's circumstances and perceptions. A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that social isolation presents a major risk for premature mortality, comparable to other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, or obesity. As older adults are particularly high-volume and high-frequency users of the health care system, there is an opportunity for health care professionals to identify, prevent, and mitigate the adverse health impacts of social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults summarizes the evidence base and explores how social isolation and loneliness affect health and quality of life in adults aged 50 and older, particularly among low income, underserved, and vulnerable populations. This report makes recommendations specifically for clinical settings of health care to identify those who suffer the resultant negative health impacts of social isolation and loneliness and target interventions to improve their social conditions. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults considers clinical tools and methodologies, better education and training for the health care workforce, and dissemination and implementation that will be important for translating research into practice, especially as the evidence base for effective interventions continues to flourish.




Contemporary Perspectives on Ageism


Book Description

This open access book provides a comprehensive perspective on the concept of ageism, its origins, the manifestation and consequences of ageism, as well as ways to respond to and research ageism. The book represents a collaborative effort of researchers from over 20 countries and a variety of disciplines, including, psychology, sociology, gerontology, geriatrics, pharmacology, law, geography, design, engineering, policy and media studies. The contributors have collaborated to produce a truly stimulating and educating book on ageism which brings a clear overview of the state of the art in the field. The book serves as a catalyst to generate research, policy and public interest in the field of ageism and to reconstruct the image of old age and will be of interest to researchers and students in gerontology and geriatrics.







Managing Innovation In Healthcare


Book Description

'The book would be a great text for advanced healthcare students, as it is chock-full of fair-minded and complete discussions of different scholarly views. The book contains the musts of excellent text books too: ample caselets, boxes and figures that illustrate key concepts; chapter summaries; and a distillation of key concepts and further reading suggestions stud every chapter. It is useful for practitioners too, with excellent text and case examples of how different nations approach innovation and quality measurement — e.g. pay for performance models — and full discussions of regulations of drugs and devices. All in all, a terrific book for those of us frustrated by the plethora of ‘shoulds’ and the shortages of ‘how tos’ in healthcare innovations.'Regina HerzlingerHarvard Business SchoolAcross the world, the demands placed on health systems are growing rapidly. Developed countries face the challenge of providing services to an ageing population with changing health needs, while countries with developing health systems must find ways of ensuring their populations are provided with access to healthcare. Innovative thinking is essential to meet these twin challenges, but innovation is both a cause and cure of many struggles in healthcare — we need it, but it is hard to manage and the introduction of new technology can lead to higher costs.Using real-life examples and case studies from around the world, this book introduces the latest thinking on understanding and managing healthcare innovation more effectively. It does this from the perspective of governments responsible for shaping health policy, healthcare organisations providing services and juggling competing demands, and from the perspective of the industries that supply the new drugs, devices and other technologies.Managing Innovation in Healthcare is the perfect accompaniment for MSc, PhD and MBA students on health policy, management and public health courses, as well as managers, consultants and policy makers involved in healthcare services in both the public and private sector.




Caring for a Person with Alzheimer's Disease: Your Easy -to-Use- Guide from the National Institute on Aging (Revised January 2019)


Book Description

The guide tells you how to: Understand how AD changes a person Learn how to cope with these changes Help family and friends understand AD Plan for the future Make your home safe for the person with AD Manage everyday activities like eating, bathing, dressing, and grooming Take care of yourself Get help with caregiving Find out about helpful resources, such as websites, support groups, government agencies, and adult day care programs Choose a full-time care facility for the person with AD if needed Learn about common behavior and medical problems of people with AD and some medicines that may help Cope with late-stage AD