Health Awareness About Arthritis to Elderly People Aged 65 and Older

Health Awareness About Arthritis to Elderly People aged 65 years
and older
Why it is a health issue among this
group?
It is one of the main health risks that an
elderly person aged 65 and above can be
affected by. Many elderly people often
develop rheumatoid arthritis and
osteoarthritis. This is because as people get
older, the musculoskeletal system gets
affected. This is due to the fact that bones
always experience a process of bone
formation and bone absorption (Fisken et
al., 2015). This process is referred to as
remodeling. Therefore, as people age, the
balance between formation and absorption
alters causing bone loss.
Nursing requirements
 uncontrolled arthritis may lead may lead
to inflammation of blood vessels
therefore, nurses should advise elderly
people to take regular check ups
 Arthritis may lead to rashes, blisters, and
development of nodules; therefore, nurses
should apply the necessary medications.
 Arthritis may also cause swelling- nurses
should use heat and cold to ease the pain.
 Arthritis can lead to falls- nurses should
use mobility assistance gadgets
 Weight increases the rate of arthritis-
nurses should guide the patients with
weight control exercises and diet.
 Arthritis patients sometime lose hope-
nurses should use emotional support in
motivating patients to stay positive.
Best way to prevent or reduce the
pain of arthritis in elderly people:
 They should do a lot of exercise on a
daily basis.
 They should avoid squatting or knee
bending for a long period on a regular
basis (Shenoy, & Harugeri, 2015).
 They should not ignore any pain from
their body and seek medical
assistance immediately.
 They should try to maintain their
body weight in the healthy scale.
 They should join classes such as
aerobics and yoga.
 They should involve themselves in
activities that will enable their bodies
to exercise.
Environmental factors that may affect
elderly people suffering from arthritis:
Occupation- Jobs that require repetitive
squatting and knee bending may increase
the risk of getting osteoarthritis of the knee.
Nurses should guide their patients on the
exercises they can partake
Infection- Elderly people can be affected
seriously with infections of microbial
agents such as viruses and bacteria. This is
because the microbial agents can infect
joints therefore leading to the occurrence of
arthritis (Cutolo, Kitas, & van Riel, 2014,
February). Nurses should advise the
patients to take regular medical checks.
Smoking-The smoking of cigarettes by
elderly people increases their chances of
developing arthritis. Nurses should advise
their patients to stop smoking.
Awareness of Arthritis to elderly people
There are several ways in which people can be educated about arthritis:
 Publications- Books, journals and newspapers should be used as a tool for
spreading issues related to arthritis (Bhattarai, Newton-John, & Phillips,
2017).
 Social media outlets such as Facebook, twitter and Instagram should be used
to spread the awareness of arthritis due to its large number of internet users.
 Programs such as the World Arthritis Day should be implemented to make
the awareness of the disease to a large population of people.