Compare and contrast the age-related changes of the older person you interviewed and assessed with those identified in this week’s reading assignment. Identify at least 4–6 preliminary issues

Assessing and Planning Care for an Elderly Person

Elderly persons are usually incarcerated by factors other than their age. Such factors as underlying pathologies, the decline in functionality due to reduced physical strength, and mental decline have been associated with these incarcerations. It is for these reasons that necessitate special considerations when handling these patients. It is fundamental to note that despite their age and health status, they reserve the right to humane treatment and that their incarcerations should not be used as an element of isolating them. Healthcare providers, being better poised at handling these individuals because of the higher propensity of older adults to seek healthcare, should always exhibit alertness when taking these patients. This paper aims to assess a care plan for older adults based on an interview with a 75-year-old male individual.

The elderly adult chosen was a 75-year-old male American of African descent. This individual is a known hypertensive and diabetic who is currently on medication. On assessment with Tinetti Balance and Gait Evaluation, this individual scored 26. This indicated that the individual is independent and able to do balance and gait-related activities, as evident in his usual morning and evening walks and general activity pattern (Tinetti & Kumar, 2017). On assessment with the Katz Index of Activities of Daily Living, this individual scored 5 (Ibrahim et al., 2018). This indicates total independence, requiring no supervision in executing activities such as bathing, feeding, continence, toileting, and dressing.

The individual was generally found to be safe at home. His ability to establish and follow home safety protocols in his homestead informed this. The presence of fire alarms, fire extinguishers, ramps instead of staircases, and door locks, among others, as components of an integrated security system installed at his homestead all indicated a safe environment. On assessment using the Barthel index, the individual scored 90. This meant his independence in executing most activities, such as mobility, grooming, feeding, bathing, defecating, toilet use, and transfers to bed. He, however, experienced occasional urine leakage and had difficulty climbing stairs (Yi et al., 2020). These assessment tools reveal that this individual exhibits independence in most of his routine activities. He also expresses good physical strength and is generally healthy. This is particularly remarkable considering his age and the comorbidities that he currently has.

Old age presents several physiologic and functional alterations that, in most instances, lead to the individual’s incarceration. The various attributes of old age include reduced mobility due to reduced physical strength and pathological conditions attributable to altered physiologic functionalities (An et al., 2018). The older adult interviewed exhibited great freedom from most incarcerations, as would have been expected for persons of his age and health status. The individual had excellent mobility, as evident in the logs he indulged in, and his ability to carry out a routine task requiring physical functionality and strength.

However, comorbidities in the interviewed individual show consistencies with most older adults. The interviewed individual had diabetes and hypertension and was on active medications for these pathologies. Additionally, from his accounts, the interviewed individual noted a reduction in physical strength and inability to execute exercises demanding more power, such as running, lifting heavy objects, and doing many daily activities. This also indicates old age and is consistent with most older adults. Features of old age are usually evident in older people. However, variations in the range of activities differ among individuals and depend on several factors, such as lifestyle and background.

Several preliminary issues were evident in the interviewed individuals, consistent with older persons. Such issues include chronic health conditions, drug use, physical injuries, and cognitive impairments. Chronic health conditions in older patients may be attributed to altered physiologic functionality, as seen in declining organ functionalities. Such disorders affecting the cardiovascular, renal, and respiratory systems have been implicated in old age (An et al., 2018). Physical injuries are also every day. This is attributable to falls due to mobility restrictions. Another apparent issue in old age is cognitive impairments, as seen in dementia.

Various health alterations are apparent in old age. These include cognitive impairments, chronic disease conditions, and inadequate bladder control. Cognitive impairments in older people are characterized by impairment in thinking, learning new skills, and ability to remember. These are evident in dementia, which exhibits a greater propensity fo