COA LEC – WEEK 2 GERONTOLOGY – broad term used to define the study of

Rise in aging population → rise of the need for aggressive aging or the aged
healthcare ➢ Subfields:
➢ Fastest growing age-group: 80 years and above o Geriatrics
➢ Rise in demand for career opportunities in o Social gerontology
gerontology and geriatrics o Geropsychology
o Geropharmacology
CHALLENGING FIELD o Financial gerontology
- Field of aging is diverse and offer many o Gerontological nursing
employment opportunities o Gerontological rehabilitation nursing
- Older persons are different from each other
(depend on health, environment or support
system)
- As we age, we need resources and abilities suited
for our age
-
MULTIDISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES
- Service provider → coordinating info with
doctors and families
- Health provider → providing hospital care, day
care and home care
- Educator → teaching courses on work and
retirement
- Researcher → study relationship between GERIATRICS – medical specialty focused on the
maintenance of friendship networks and treatment of the illnesses of aging
mental/physical health GERONTOLOGY – a broad scope
Deals with…
ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING – series of basic activities o Studying physical, mental and social
performed by individuals on a daily basis (ex. Bathing, changes in people as they age
dressing, toileting, feeding, continence and transferring) o Investigating the biological aging process
including aging’s effects and mechanism
INSTRUMENTAL ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING – activities o Investigate social and psychosocial
related to independent living (ex. preparing meals, impact of aging (sociogerontology)
managing money, shopping groceries, heavy works, Ex. They make connections to people
laundry and using telephone) they feel connected with while the new
generation thinks of social media
ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY – system of housing and aspects
limited care designed for senior citizens who need o Investigating the interface of biological
assistance with daily activities (does not require a nursing aging and age-related diseases-
home) geroscience
➢ Types: o Investigating the effects of an aging
o Assisted living community – require society
custodial care o Applying their knowledge to policies and
o Nursing home – need round the clock programs
monitoring, live with more complex • macroscopic - government
healthcare conditions that need planning (plans for their cities to
assistance of a nurse. help in the comfort of the senior
citizens)
FINANCIAL GERONTOLOGY – merging subfield that • microscopic – running a nursing
combines knowledge of financial planning and service home (direct care for client
with special expertise in the needs of older adults itself)

BSN | TECSON, K
GERONTOLOGICAL NURSING
- within the discipline of nursing and the scope of
nursing practice
- involves nurses advocating for the health of
older persons at all levels of prevention
- Gerontology nurses work with healthy elderly
persons in the community, acutely ill elders
requiring hospitalization and treatment and
chronically ill or disabled elders in long term
care facilities, skilled care, home care and
hospice.
GERONTOLOGICAL REHABILITATION NURISNG
- Combines expertise with gerontological nursing
with rehabilitation concepts and practices
- Purpose: to assist older persons regain and
maintain the highest level of functioning and
independence possible while preventing
complications and enhancing quality of life
GEROPHARMACOLOGY
- Study of pharmacology that relates to older
adults
- Credentials for a pharmacist certified in
geropharmacology is CGP (certified geriatric
pharmacist)
o These people know how to talk to elderly
patients who are having trouble taking
their medicine and provide the needed
alternative for the medicine
o Ex. Patient with 10 medications in a day
– if not given the right health teachings,
elderly “buot-buot” their time for taking
medicine → job of the pharmacist to
teach properly the elderly and the family
of the medications
GEROPSYCHOLOGY
- Branch of psychology concerned with helping
older adults and their family’s maintaining
wellbeing, overcome problems and achieve
maximum potential during later life
OLD - over 65 years of age
- Young old: 65-74 y/o (including 60 y/o)
- Middle old: 75-84 y/o
- Old old: 85 and up (frail elderly – weak and
delicate)
- Frailty also depends on the medical condition of
the elderly
AGING
- progressive functional decline
- gradual deterioration of physiological function
with age
- decreased fecundity (fertility)
- intrinsic inevitable, irreversible age-related
process of loss of viability and increase in
vulnerability
o ex. Females aren’t capable of getting
pregnant anymore; Males may have
erectile dysfunction
To be considered normal, 4 conditions must be met:
➢ UNIVERSAL – occurs in all members of the
species to a certain degree
➢ PROGRESSIVE – changes occur gradually
overtime
➢ IRREVERSIBLE – one can slow down the process
of aging, but it continues no matter what the
interventions are
➢ DELETERIOUS – it gets progressively worse
- Adult life reaches a plateau – steady changes
- Healthy lifestyle → slower decline towards
disability
GERONTOLOGISTS VIEW AGING IN 4 PROCESSES:
1. CHRONOLOGICAL AGING – basis of a person’s
year from birth
2. BIOLOGICAL AGING – physical changes that
reduces he efficiency of organ systems (physical
aging)
3. PSYCHOLOGICAL AGING – changes in sensory or
perceptual process, mental functioning
(memory, learning, intelligence), personality,
drives and motives
4. SOCIAL AGING – individual’s changing roles and
relationships on the social structure with family
and friends, within the organization, and with
the world. (ex. Elderly people focus on people
closest to them and not to others)
BSN | TECSON, K
 Ages divided by decade ROLES OF THE GERONTOLOGICAL NURSE
Denarian 10-19 y/o ➢ Provider of care
Vicenarian 20-29 y/o o Gives direct, hands-on-care to older
Tricenarian 30-39 y/o adults in a variety of setting
Quadragenarian 40-49 y/o o Educated about the disease processes
Quinquagenarian 50-59 y/o and syndrome
Sexagenarian 60-69 y/o o Include risk facts and signs of the illness
Septuagenarian 70-79 y/o ➢ Teacher – do health teachings and colleagues
Octogenarian 80-89 y/o o Teaching modifiable risk factors and
Nonagenarian 90-99 y/o health promotion
Centenarian 100 y/o o Teach skills to other people as well
➢ Manager – do referrals and scheduling of
Supercentenarian over 110 y/o
therapy, budgeting (managing entirety of care)
o Being a leader, communication,
SOCIAL GERONTOLOGY - Mainly with the social aspects
managing the change of the patient
of aging versus the biological or psychological
o Other nursing personnel including
licensed practical nurse (LPN), certified
LIFE EXPECTANCY – average number of years that a
nursing assistant (CAN), unlicensed
person can be expected to live
assistive personnel (UAP)
➢ At birth
➢ Advocate – becoming the voice and
o Male – 67.3 y/o
representative for our patient
o Female – 78.2 y/o
o Maintain the dignity of the patient
➢ At 60 years old
(strengthen their autonomy and
o Male 17 years more
decision making
o Female 19 years more
o Always make sure to place your client as
- biologically - higher mortality is attributed to
a partner of care – always ask because
male due to inhibitory factors of estrogen
what they say matters as well
- socially – earlier in the century, more men than
➢ Research consumer
women die among elderly
o Participate in seminars, workshops to
- reversal of sex ratio is the result in recent
improve quality of patient care in all
phenomenon:
settings
o lifestyle, exposure to hazardous work,
o Gerontological nurses association of the
war, homicide, accidents (sea, land, air),
Philippines (GNAP) – must be a member
life expectancy at 1 y/o – 6 years greater
of PNA first
for female infants
- 53.8% older women reach the age of 60+
CORE COMPETENCIES
- Provide a foundation of added knowledge and
AGEISM – stereotype and prejudice against individual or
skills necessary for the nurse to implement in
groups because of age
daily practice
- KSA is essential for excellent clinical nursing
LONGEVITY – period of time an organism is expected to
practice with older adults
live under ideal circumstances (influenced by heredity
o Knowledge, Skills, Attitude
and environment)
- AMERICAL ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES OF
NURSING (AACN) ESSENTIALS OF
SENESCENCE – processes by which the capacity for
BACCALAUREATE EDUCATION FOR
growth and functions are lost overtime, leading to death
PROFESSIONAL NURISNG PRACTICE –
framework to help nurse educators integrate
ATTITUDE TOWARDS AGING AND OLDER ADULTS
specific nursing content into their programs
- The way of viewing aging and older adults is
- Core Competencies:
often a product of your environment and the
o critical thinking
experiences to which you have been exposed
o communication
- Ageism → negative attitude toward aging and
o assessment
older adults - arise from negative experience
o technical skills
with them

BSN | TECSON, K
- Core Knowledge:
o health promotion, risk education and
disease prevention
o illness and disease management
o information and health care
technologies
o ethics
o human diversity
o global healthcare
o healthcare system and policies
- Role Development:
o provider of care
o designer/manager/coordinator of care
o member of a profession – enter GNAP to
get a hold of the new research things

BSN | TECSON, K