Responding to Clinicians' Challenges in Working With Geriatric Patients

2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-29
Author(s):  
Lisa Y. Milliken ◽  
Dawn Ralph ◽  
Sally Jones-McNamara

Clinicians work with older residents who have not only multiple physical limitations, but cognitive loss, communication deficits, dysphagia, and multiple medical diagnoses. They must work within procedural, regulatory, and reimbursement systems that challenge them to provide optimal resident care. In this article, the authors will discuss some specific challenges brought forth by clinicians in response to a clinical scenario and will provide information and feedback from several health-care consultants.

2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela A. Smith

In this article, I will review the available recent literature about the aging population with autism, a patient group that researchers know little about and a group that is experiencing a growing need for support from communication disorders professionals. Speech-language pathologists working with geriatric patients should become familiar with this issue, as the numbers of older patients with autism spectrum disorders is likely to increase. Our profession and our health care system must prepare to meet the challenge these patients and residents will present as they age.


OTO Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 2473974X2110104
Author(s):  
Jia Hui Ng ◽  
Dan Daniel ◽  
Anton Sadovoy ◽  
Constance Ee Hoon Teo

Objectives There is a lack of evidence-based guidelines with regard to eye protection for aerosol-generating procedures in otolaryngology practice. In addition, some recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) is not compatible with commonly used ENT equipment. This study aims to investigate the degree of eye protection that commonly used PPE gives. Study Design Simulation model. Setting Simulation laboratory. Methods A custom-built setup was utilized to simulate the clinical scenario of a patient cough in proximity of a health care worker. A system that sprays a xanthan-fluorescein mixture was set up and calibrated to simulate a human cough. A mannequin with cellulose paper placed on its forehead, eyes, and mouth was fitted with various PPE combinations and exposed to the simulated cough. The degree of contamination on the cellulose papers was quantified with a fluorescent microscope able to detect aerosols ≥10 µm. Results When no eye protection was worn, 278 droplets/aerosols reached the eye area. The use of the surgical mask with an attached upward-facing shield alone resulted in only 2 droplets/aerosols reaching the eye area. In this experiment, safety glasses and goggles performed equally, as the addition of either brought the number of droplets/aerosols reaching the eye down to 0. Conclusion When used with an upward-facing face shield, there was no difference in the eye protection rendered by safety goggles or glasses in this study. Safety glasses may be considered a viable alternative to safety goggles in aerosol-generating procedures.


Author(s):  
Kaksha J. Patel ◽  
Ashwin K. Panchasara ◽  
Manish J. Barvaliya ◽  
C. B. Tripathi

Background: The objective of the study was to study the clinical patterns, causality and severity of adverse drug reactions in a tertiary care hospital.Methods: Total 131 ADR forms were collected from January 2012 to December 2012 and evaluated. Patient’s characteristics, ADR and drug characteristics, causality, severity and preventability of collected ADR were analyzed.Results: Total 131 ADR forms were evaluated. Male patient experiencing ADR were more (73, 55.7%) than female (58, 44.2%). Adult patients (12-60 years) experienced 110 (84%) ADR followed by pediatric patients (< 12 years) 11 (8.4%) and geriatric patients (>60 years) 10 (7.63%). Antimicrobial were the most common group of drugs responsible for ADR followed by NSAIDs and antipsychotic group.Conclusions: Present study shows lack of awareness among health care professionals for reporting of an ADR. Training and collaboration of health care professionals are needed for improvement in ADR reporting. Appropriate feedback from ADR reporting will help in selection of drug and promotes safer use of drugs.


Geriatrics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aseel Alsuwaidan ◽  
Norah Almedlej ◽  
Sawsan Alsabti ◽  
Omamah Daftardar ◽  
Fawzi Al Deaji ◽  
...  

Background/Objectives: Saudi Arabia has a great percentage of geriatric patients associated with multiple chronic diseases who require close attention and monitoring for their medications. The purpose of this study is to develop a full-framed picture about the utilization of medications for geriatric patients and how to provide better health-care management. Methodology: A retrospective cross-sectional study targeting patients 65 years of age and older, who are taking multiple chronic medications for different indications. Descriptive analysis and frequency of the main variables were used as appropriate. Only qualified and professional candidates were chosen for data entry to present the quality and accuracy of data. Results: A total of 3009 patient profiles were analyzed, with the patients’ average age in years being 73.26 ± 6.6 (SD). It was found that 55% of the patients have polypharmacy. An average of 6.4 medications were prescribed for patients aged between 65 and 70 years compared with a significant difference for patients aged 71 years and above, while a linear correlation between age and comorbidity diseases associated with all elderly patients. Hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes mellitus are the most common comorbidity diseases for elderly patients aged 65 years and older. Conclusion: Polypharmacy in geriatrics is defined as a patient aged 65 years and older receiving five or more appropriate medications. It is the responsibility of health-care professionals to reduce the number of medications in elderly patients. Awareness of geriatric medications and diagnosed diseases will improve managing adverse drug reaction and other risk factors. Awareness of geriatric medications should elaborate on how to avoid adverse drug reaction and other risk factors. It is the responsibility of physicians and pharmacists to reduce the number of medications in elderly patients. We also prove that the number of medications will not necessarily increase with age. The main impact of this study is to follow the main recommendations to improve health care management in geriatrics.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 1285-1293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Costa Valcanti Avelino ◽  
Sueli Leiko Takamatsu Goyatá ◽  
Denismar Alves Nogueira ◽  
Ludmila Barbosa Bandeira Rodrigues ◽  
Sarah Maria Souza Siqueira

The aim of the study was to evaluate the quality of primary health care based on avoidable hospitalizations of men and women of all ages, from 2008 to 2012 in Alfenas County in the south of Minas Gerais state. This was an ecological study based on data from the Hospital Information System (HIS). The medical diagnoses selected for the study were pneumonia, diabetes mellitus and diseases of the circulatory system. There was a predominance of elderly males diagnosed with pneumonia, with an average hospital stay of five days. Admission rates for diseases of the circulatory system and diabetes mellitus tended to remain stable during the study period. While for pneumonia there was a tendency of growth that reached a plateau in early March 2009, bringing the average rate up from 2.01 to 3.51. The data suggest that primary health care is poorly organized to meet these diagnoses, particularly for pneumonia.


2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lori Anderson Snyder ◽  
Peter Y. Chen ◽  
Tammi Vacha-Haase

Staff in the health care industry experience workplace aggression at a much higher rate than the general workforce. However, a large proportion of aggressive incidents go unreported, and the source of many of these incidents is patients. This study investigates aggressive incidents from patients against certified nursing assistants (CNAs; n = 76) in a sample of six geriatric care facilities. The results indicate that CNAs experienced a median of 26 aggressive incidents over the course of the 2-week study and that approximately 95% of these incidents were not reported to the facility. The present study also empirically examines reasons why nursing staff decide to report incidents. Finally, this study reveals that the experience of aggression from patients is related to subsequent organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and intent to leave the job.


1982 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Evers

ABSTRACTThis paper aims to examine aspects of the nature of multidisciplinary teamwork in geriatric care. First, some of the medical profession's current views of teamwork in geriatrics will be summarized. Second, case studies from a research project on care of geriatric patients in hospital will be used to illustrate some of the strengths and limitations of the adoption of a teamwork approach by health care professionals. Evidence from research suggests that under only a few circumstances does care of the geriatric patient match the images of teamwork as portrayed in the professional literature. This finding in part reflects piecemeal developments in interprofessional responsibilities and relationships in policy and practice of care of the elderly.


2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (19-20) ◽  
pp. 2815-2825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer A Knopp-Sihota ◽  
Linda Niehaus ◽  
Janet E Squires ◽  
Peter G Norton ◽  
Carole A Estabrooks

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