Care Plan for Aging Studies

This essay develops a care plan for an elderly woman, Lisa, focusing on theories of aging and providing assistance in daily activities and self-management. The care plan includes strategies to address memory loss, communication difficulties, and aggression. Safety measures and pain management are also discussed.

Running Head: AGEING STUDIES
AGEING STUDIES
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1AGEING STUDIES
Introduction
This essay is going to develop a care plan for an elderly women Lisa that is going to
keep an account of the theories of aging that are relevant in the process of ageing. In this
case, Lisa is a widow and is 86 years old. She used to live alone who is a hardworking
women who works in the farm. Both her son and daughter stays away from her and his son
Tom is 60 years old who is suffering from osteoarthritis (Aldwin and Igarashi 2015). Lisa is
suffering from the decrease of her health after the fall at her bathroom. Her past medical
history describes the fact that the patient is having osteoporosis, hypertension, and reduced
mobility due to fracture in her hip after she fell from bed (Currais et al. 2015; Hanson et al.
2017). Now she uses a walker to move outside the house and sometimes relies on the stick or
holds the furniture. She also suffers from the decrease in her memory that is a matter of
concern for her family members as she gets easily annoyed with her family members and
their children. Her children tries to keep her memory active by asking questions about the
recent activity so that she remembers the things about her family (Vandervoort et al. 2014;
Aldwin and Igarashi 2015). Recently she has developed a problem regarding the use of
certain words that makes it too difficult to communicate for her. She also forgets to keep a
check on her personal hygiene and thus her family feels that she is not able to stay on her
own. Thus, this essay is going to draw a care plan for Lisa that will help her to develop self-
management of the condition as well as the required assistance in performing her daily
activities (Aldwin and Igarashi 2015; Hanson et al. 2017).
Discussion
The process of aging is supported by the three different psychosocial theories of aging
that involves activity theory, disengagement theory, and the theory of continuity. The
disengagement theory referred to as the process which is inevitable and that represents the
relationship between the person and the other people of the society as well as with the

2AGEING STUDIES
remaining members of the society (Vandervoort et al. 2014). The theory also states that the
patient might experience withdrawal due to the process of aging or due to the society itself.
The theory also states that the older people are not much involved with the activities of life in
comparison to the times when they were young (Currais et al. 2015). This is time when the
older people distance themselves from the society and they develop a new type of relation
with the people and the society as well.
The activity theory describes the psychosocial process of ageing that emphasizes on
the fact that the social activity is an important part of the life of the individuals (Aldwin and
Igarashi 2015). This theory suggested that the concept of an individual is related to the roles
of that individual in the society. For instance, when an individual retires from the job it will
not be that harmful as that individual is very active in the recreational role, family role,
community roles or being a volunteer (Hanson et al. 2017). In order to maintain the positive
sense of the person the individual must replace for new roles that will be helpful for the
individual as his or her earlier roles are lost because of the process of aging (Aldwin and
Igarashi 2015). The theory of continuity states that the older population will maintain the
same activity and the behaviour as they used to maintain in the earlier times. As per the
theory, the older adults try to continue their lifestyle by adapting the various strategies that
are related to their past experiences (Vandervoort et al. 2014).
In case of Lisa, the theory of disengagement is applicable as she experiences the
withdrawal from the society and that changes the experiences the equation with the society
and with the family members. She used to very active and used to enjoy reading, music and
creative work (Hanson et al. 2017). After the fall she was unable to memorise the things
properly that affected the treatment process and that was making her away from the
community services. Thus as per the discontinuity theory she started having withdrawal

3AGEING STUDIES
symptoms that was affecting her relations with the community as well as with the family
members (Aldwin and Igarashi 2015).
The care plan that is required for the treatment of the patient involves the care of the
patient including assistance of Lisa in her household chores as well as in her daily activities
(Alves et al. 2013). After the primary diagnosis of the patient by the general physician it is
considered that Lisa might be suffering from dementia that could have resulted in the
forgetful memory of the patient (Bourgeois et al. 2015). This can also affect the performance
of the patient in her daily activities. Thus, the family members of the patient should not allow
her to stay alone in their house that will be helpful for the treatment and the assistance of the
patient (Chapko et al. 2018). The physician should advice the patient and their family
members to take help from the nurse or a care taker that can assist Lisa in her daily activities
as well as take care of her medicines. The nurse can also educate the patient in the self-
management of the disease so that the patient gets to know the complications of the disease in
case she is left alone in her house (Currais et al. 2015).
The nurse can make a check list of all the items that will contain all the items that has
to be done by them in order to improve the present situation of Lisa (Smith 2016). The best
way to create the checklist for the care plan should include the items that are being enjoyed
by the patient for the proper treatment of dementia. This will include the activities that will
help the patient to train the brain along with some daily activities that are being enjoyed by
Lisa like reading, creative activities, music as well as cooking (Alves et al. 2013). In order to
plan the daily activities for the inclusion into the care plan the nurse should take care of the
fact like the abilities, interest, and strength of the patient, regular bedtime of the patient and
the waking time of the patient.

4AGEING STUDIES
The care giver can also plan the daily routine of the patient so that they can organize
the entire day for the patient (Aldwin and Igarashi 2015). Lisa will eventually need the help
of the caregiver in order to restructure her entire day and thus it will help her to have an
improved mood and reduction in the amount of the agitation. The care plan should be
changed as per the stage of dementia that will help the nurse to adjust as per the needs of the
patients and the demands at that particular stage of dementia (Hanson et al. 2017). As
dementia is characterized by the slow changes in the strength, creativity, ability to perform
daily activities. Thus, the care plan should be able to handle these changes as per the needs of
the patients. When the patient suffers from such a transition the care plan will help her to
know the daily activities and she will even remember to take her medicines that will be
helpful for the daily treatment of the patient (Vandervoort et al. 2014; Dening, Jones and
Sampson 2013).
As Lisa showed the symptoms of aggression and anger towards her children and
grandchildren, the next importance aspect of the treatment plan will include the management
of the aggression and anger by the nurse (Dickinson et al. 2013; Hanson et al. 2017). The
aggressive behavior can be either physical or verbal that can arise from any frustration or due
to no such reasons. Aggressive behavior can be due to a large number of factors such as
physical discomfort, poor communication and environmental factors. In case of Lisa the
aggression is due to the disability of the communication as she was having trouble while
talking (De Vleminck et al. 2014; Dening, Jones and Sampson 2013). In order to ensure that
Lisa gets proper care in this aspect the nurse along with her family members should
immediately identify such situations that will be helpful for the patients as the identification
of such issues can reduce the recurrence of such incidences that will reduce the aggression
and anger shown by Lisa (Dening, Jones and Sampson 2013). The nurse should also focus on
the feelings and emotions of the patient and not just on the facts about the disease. Thus in

5AGEING STUDIES
other words the nurse should have a patient centered approach for the patient in which the
treatment plan will not just revolve around the disease but also focuses on the needs and
demands of the patients (Borson et al. 2013).
The nurse should also take care of the safety of the patients while performing the
daily tasks as they are forgetful about the things that can harm them. When at home the
patient can be harmed by the behavior, physical ability, sense of time and place that can
affect the patient as they sometimes tend to get lost in their own street (van der Steen et al.
2014; Dening, Jones and Sampson 2013). The care options that can be availed by the patient
can be provided by the nurse. The nurse should take care of the fact that there are no
materials in the surrounding environment of the patient that can harm the patient. This will
include the checking of the garage, basements, and areas outside the house, where there is a
high chance of getting the tools, cleaning materials, chemicals or other materials that might
need supervision (Poppe, Burleigh and Banerjee 2013; Borson et al. 2013). The nurse should
also take care of the fact that the house have proper safety devices such as fire extinguishers,
proper lightning of the areas such as walkways, stairways, doorways or bathrooms and
rooms. In order to avoid any medication error by the patient the nurse should keep the
medicines in a locked cabinet so that the patient takes the medicines safely in the required
amount of dose and in the appropriate time (Mullick, Martin and Sallnow 2013; Currais et al.
2015).
As Lisa had experienced a fall that has caused her a fracture in the hip thus, the care
plan should also include the management of the pain by performing certain exercises that
does not cause much exhaustion on the patient however, provides the required amount of
strength. This is beneficial in both the ways as the patient will feel active and also get to
perform certain exercise that will benefit for the pain of the hip. This will also help the patient
to recover faster from dementia as exercise keeps the patient active all through the day

6AGEING STUDIES
(Robinson et al. 2013). Exercise will also help the patient keep healthy and stay fit all
through the day and will make them memorize the daily events that will help the patients to
self-manage their health.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that the process of aging is a complex phenomenon that
affects the psychological thinking of the patient as well as the pathophysiological conditions.
Thus it can affect the way a person reacts to a certain situation or behaves in a particular
condition. Hence in order to have a holistic approach for the treatment of such patients who
are suffering from mental disabilities such as dementia it is very important that the nurse
makes a care plan that involves the activities that are related to the interest and the capability
of that person. The care plan must have daily activities and the techniques for the self-
management of the condition that is being experienced by the patient as that will encourage
the patient to do her work all by herself.

7AGEING STUDIES
References
Aldwin, C.M. and Igarashi, H., 2015. Successful, optimal, and resilient aging: A psychosocial
perspective.
Alves, J., Magalhães, R., Machado, Á., Gonçalves, Ó.F., Sampaio, A. and Petrosyan, A.,
2013. Non-pharmacological cognitive intervention for aging and dementia: Current
perspectives. World Journal of Clinical Cases: WJCC, 1(8), p.233.
Borson, S., Frank, L., Bayley, P.J., Boustani, M., Dean, M., Lin, P.J., McCarten, J.R., Morris,
J.C., Salmon, D.P., Schmitt, F.A. and Stefanacci, R.G., 2013. Improving dementia care: the
role of screening and detection of cognitive impairment. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 9(2),
pp.151-159.
Bourgeois, M.S., Brush, J., Elliot, G. and Kelly, A., 2015, August. Join the revolution: How
Montessori for aging and dementia can change long-term care culture. In Seminars in Speech
and Language (Vol. 36, No. 03, pp. 209-214). Thieme Medical Publishers.
Chapko, D., McCormack, R., Black, C., Staff, R. and Murray, A., 2018. Life-course
determinants of cognitive reserve (CR) in cognitive aging and dementia–a systematic
literature review. Aging & mental health, 22(8), pp.921-932.
Currais, A., Goldberg, J., Farrokhi, C., Chang, M., Prior, M., Dargusch, R., Daugherty, D.,
Armando, A., Quehenberger, O., Maher, P. and Schubert, D., 2015. A comprehensive
multiomics approach toward understanding the relationship between aging and
dementia. Aging (Albany NY), 7(11), p.937.
De Vleminck, A., Pardon, K., Beernaert, K., Deschepper, R., Houttekier, D., Van
Audenhove, C., Deliens, L. and Vander Stichele, R., 2014. Barriers to advance care planning

8AGEING STUDIES
in cancer, heart failure and dementia patients: a focus group study on general practitioners'
views and experiences. PloS one, 9(1), p.e84905.
Dening, K.H., Jones, L. and Sampson, E.L., 2013. Preferences for end-of-life care: a nominal
group study of people with dementia and their family carers. Palliative medicine, 27(5),
pp.409-417.
Dickinson, C., Bamford, C., Exley, C., Emmett, C., Hughes, J. and Robinson, L., 2013.
Planning for tomorrow whilst living for today: the views of people with dementia and their
families on advance care planning. International Psychogeriatrics, 25(12), pp.2011-2021.
Hanson, L.C., Zimmerman, S., Song, M.K., Lin, F.C., Rosemond, C., Carey, T.S. and
Mitchell, S.L., 2017. Effect of the goals of care intervention for advanced dementia: a
randomized clinical trial. JAMA internal medicine, 177(1), pp.24-31.
Mullick, A., Martin, J. and Sallnow, L., 2013. An introduction to advance care planning in
practice. Bmj, 347, p.f6064.
Poppe, M., Burleigh, S. and Banerjee, S., 2013. Qualitative evaluation of advanced care
planning in early dementia (ACP-ED). PLoS One, 8(4), p.e60412.
Robinson, L., Dickinson, C., Bamford, C., Clark, A., Hughes, J. and Exley, C., 2013. A
qualitative study: professionals’ experiences of advance care planning in dementia and
palliative care,‘a good idea in theory but…’. Palliative medicine, 27(5), pp.401-408.
Smith, G.E., 2016. Healthy cognitive aging and dementia prevention. American
Psychologist, 71(4), p.268.
van der Steen, J.T., van Soest-Poortvliet, M.C., Hallie-Heierman, M., Onwuteaka-Philipsen,
B.D., Deliens, L., de Boer, M.E., Van den Block, L., van Uden, N., Hertogh, C.M. and de

9AGEING STUDIES
Vet, H.C., 2014. Factors associated with initiation of advance care planning in dementia: a
systematic review. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 40(3), pp.743-757.
Vandervoort, A., Houttekier, D., Vander Stichele, R., Van der Steen, J.T. and Van den Block,
L., 2014. Quality of dying in nursing home residents dying with dementia: does advanced
care planning matter? A nationwide postmortem study. PloS one, 9(3), p.e91130.