Transitions and Aging

This article discusses the impact of life transitions on the elderly and the role of caregivers in providing support and care. It explores different types of transitions, such as retirement, chronic illness, death of a spouse, relocation, and death, and their effects on mental and physical health. The article emphasizes the importance of understanding and addressing the emotional reactions to these transitions and highlights the role of healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, in providing comprehensive and holistic care to older adults.

Running head: TRANSITIONS AND AGING 1
Transitions and Aging
Name of Author
Institution of Affiliation
Date of Submission

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Transitions and Aging
Introduction
The change is part of life, and there are various life transitions that the elderly go through
before their death. These life transitions need nursing interventions, and if not cared for, they can
affect their mental and physical state. Different types of transition that older adults go through
may include retirement, chronic disease or mental impairment, death of spouse or important
friend, relocation as a result of illness, war among other factors and death. All these life
transitions have an extreme impact on the elderly’s daily life. Besides, such life changes may
affect the close family and friends (Wright & Leahey, 2012).
During this period of transition, the elderly who do not have the much-needed support from
family care providers, he or she can develop significant mental and physical complications.
Therefore, the family or friend care providers have significant roles and responsibility to provide
the much-needed support and care to their aging elders. There are different types of transitions
that are experienced by older people. These transitions include retirement, chronic illness or
physical impairment, death of the spouse, relocation, and death (Nolen, Larson & Larson, 2013).
Retirement is something that many people look forward to. But for aged adults may retire as
a result of illness which can make them have regret. Retirement can be hard for individuals who
like to work hard for their support. After retirement, the aged may miss the good time they had
with their coworkers besides income they used to earn from their salary. If the elderly fail to find
out new activities and interests, they can end up suffering from depression, anxiety, sadness, and
isolation. In this case, family care providers should support and help their elderly attend event
that can make them happy and meet up with their friends (Watkins, Hall, & Kring, 2012).

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Another type of transition is health issues like chronic illness or physical impairment. The
health challenges that aged adult may face can negatively affect their daily life. Chronic diseases
such as stroke, arthritis, or heart attack are very common to older people, and thus, they should
adjust to their lifestyles. Family and friends care providers should provide a long time supports
by providing expenses of the medication and helping them with daily activities such as watching
their clothes etc. The death of the spouse or someone who is important may be another type of
transition of older people. It is extremely hard for somebody to lose a spouse or a friend. Older
people may be faced with insomnia, depression, and poor mental health when such kind of loss
occurs. This is because, after a loss, they are faced with a difficult time to move alone. They may
end up battling for guilt, anxiety, and depression; thus, it’s crucial for caregivers to help and
support them with emotions by counseling (Mitnitski et al., 2011).
Elder people may be faced with health issues that can make their daily activities difficult to
carry on. In this case, they may relocate to their family members or move to health care facilities
for the support. When relocating, they may end up selling their homes and other properties to get
finances for the support of their condition as they adjust to the new environment. Besides,
permanent changes to health and ability may mean it is time for the aged to arrange and relocate
for home care services and geriatric health care services. Relocation may also be as a result of
fear of war, natural disaster, or after the death of a spouse. The other life transition of elder
people is death, which may happen as a result of extreme health issues such as arthritis, heart
attack, or stroke. The older people’s immune systems may become weak to cope with these
health conditions, thereby leading to death (Manderson et al., 2012).
A good example is the case study of Mrs. Sukhdev Dhaliwal. She is a married woman aged
63 years old. Her husband travels in different countries, and in most cases, he is often away from

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home due to his commitment to his travel business. Mrs. Sukhdey recently got retired from being
a school teacher due to her deteriorating health condition. She was diagnosed with diabetic
retinopathy and peripheral neuropathy, which makes her experience extreme pain. She has two
children, aged 30 and 33 years old, and her daughter has a new baby boy who is three weeks old.
In this case, transitions that are being experienced by Mrs. Dhaliwal include retirement,
where she retires from being a school teacher and chronic illness where she has diabetic
retinopathy and peripheral neuropathy. The future transition that she may face includes the death
of her spouse, relocating to live with her daughter and dying or death. Some of the factors that
make transitions so difficult for Mrs. Sukhdev Dhaliwal include the magnitude of her life
transition like she was forced to retire as a result of her diabetic conditions. Besides, she has no
family caregiver as her spouse is often away from home for business commitments, and her
daughter recently gave birth to a baby boy.
These transitions are associated with psychological and mental problems to older adults and
their family members. Such psychological and mental problems may include grief, fear, and
anger depression and sometimes despair. Many older adults respond to these transitions in the
form of apathy, isolation, additions, and sometimes, suicide (McNamara & Gonzales, 2011).
Older individuals go up against the mental issues that accompany the changes throughout
their life. Besides, the youths transit into adulthood to take new jobs and duties, which is the
contrary with regards to older people. The final stage of life that is the old age is faced with a lot
of challenges that may lead one to have psychological problems. Some older people are able to
overcome these challenges, but many are unable to overcome them successfully. For instance,

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they may be confronted with regrets or become disappointed because of their retirement or
because of their state (Hwang et al., 2013).
After their retirement, they may acknowledge that they will never achieve their career
objectives or come to conditions with what their professional life has cost them with declining
individual health conditions. A few, however, are able to achieve strong integrity by embracing
the new phase of life without going to the worker. When such rare cases happen, there is a
tremendous potential for creativity. They can learn new skills, discover new interests, and
peacefully prepare for their end life. For some decide to overcome despair by remarrying again,
especially after the death of their spouse. A recent study indicates that many men were more like
to remarry again after the death of their spouse (Menec et al., 2011).
Relocation may occur several times for the elderly. For an instant, an individual may move to
retirement housing with desirable amenities, to a different community for a close family or better
weather or to a residential care facility. Older individuals who respond poorly to relocation are
most likely to be living alone, poor, depressed, or socially isolated. Based on different genders, it
is indicated that it is the older men who often respond less well than older women (Callahan et
al., 2012).
Much of the stress arises when people feel they lack control over the move. As a result, they
may develop memo loss besides new surroundings may intensify confusion and their frustration.
Individuals who are relocating are supposed to be acquainted with the new environment in
advance as this has been suggested by various studies as helpful in reducing the stress of the
aged.

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Transitions in older people may lead to depression, bereavement, and suicide risks. Their
companionship and interaction may decrease, and their financial and social status may change.
Besides, the elderly may experience a decline in their health after the death of their spouse. Some
may also be faced with some sleep disturbances and anxiety. These impacts can be resolved by
counseling accompanied by medication. If these anxiety effects are prolonged, the person may
become unable to carry out essential daily activities like bathing, and if not evaluated, they may
end up committing suicide (Ducharme et al., 2011).
The health care professionals, such as nurses can respond to transitions of older people in
various ways. Nurses are supposed to understand the importance of transitions for older adults,
together with their families and friends. They should also verbally acknowledge the hard times of
older people during their transition period. Besides, health care professionals should also
acknowledge the emotional reactions to transitions and help and support the older adults, their
family members, and friends in overcoming these emotions such as trauma causing reactions.
Nurses can also encourage older people to volunteer themselves in activities that can keep them
active. The nurses can also respond to transition by supporting the older adults and their families
by referring them with a skilled professional leader who can talk to them address the current
issues of their condition and provide guidance and counseling (Anderson, Goodman &
Schlossberg, 2011).
Nurses play important roles in helping older people who are in their transition stage. Nurses
and other health care professional can assess the patient mental condition and provide screening
for depression checkup. It is their roles also to look for symptoms of depression and be aware the
person is at a high risk of committing suicide. Various studies indicate that older people makeup
15 % of the population but account for 20% of all suicides (Mitchell, 2017). This rate of suicide

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among older people as a result of their transition stage is very high; thus, high time for the health
care professional to intervene (Lane, Hirst & Reed, 2013).
Another important intervention for nurses and other health care professionals is the initial
diagnosis. Early detection of health problems that are associated with old people is crucial as it
provides a room for early treatment before the conditions become severe. Early detection of
diseases can be delayed since family members and care provides may consider symptoms as a
normal part of aging. In this case, nurses can intervene by raising awareness of early symptoms
of health issues such as dementia and the merits of early diagnosis and treatment. Nurses can
raise awareness by mobilizing interdisciplinary team whose purpose is to visit and educate
families and caregivers (Levine et al., 2010).
There are different proposed models and framework for transition care systems that nurses
can use in caring for the aged population. One of these recommended transitional care is the
transitional care model, which was proposed by Mary Naylor (Meleis, 2010). The model
involves a multidisciplinary approach to the provision of comprehensive and holistic care to
older people with chronic conditions. Another proposed model is hospital to home model care
transition program based on the comprehensive care plan and availability of well-trained health
care professionals who understand the patient’s goals and preferences (Enderlin et al., 2013).

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Conclusion
Older people undergo different kinds of life transitions. Such transitions include retirement,
chronic disease or mental impairment, death of a spouse or critical friend, relocation as a result
of illness, war, among other factors, and death. All these life transitions have an extreme impact
on the elderly’s daily life. Besides, such life changes may affect the close family and friends.
During this period of transition, the elderly who do not have the much-needed support from
family care providers, he or she can develop significant mental and physical complications.
Therefore, the family or friend care providers have substantial roles and responsibility to provide
the much-needed support and care to their aging elders. These transitions may lead to mental and
psychological issues that can lead to suicide when not interned (Blum & Sherman, 2010).
The health care professionals, such as nurses can respond to transitions of older people in
various ways. Nurses are supposed to understand the importance of transitions for older adults,
together with their families and friends. They should also verbally acknowledge the hard times of
older people during their transition period. Besides, health care professionals should even
recognize the emotional reactions to transitions and help and support the older adults, their
family members, and friends in overcoming these emotions such as trauma causing reactions.

TRANSITIONS AND AGING 9
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