Geriatric Nursing Commons^™

Aging In Place, Lee Hardy, Andrea Holder

Capstone Research Posters

Our research seeks to identify creative approaches to facilitate aging in place, focusing on evaluating the effectiveness of various programs, strategies, and concepts that support older adults and generating novel ideas to address any existing gaps in this context. Its primary goal is to uncover innovative solutions for helping older adults in aging in place. Initially, a concise, confidential survey with sixteen questions addressing demographics, housing particulars, and health factors was administered to establish a candidate pool meeting our criteria. Following this, we conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews featuring five questions to explore the nuances of participants' housing experiences and examine …

Community-Dwelling Older Adult Fall Prevention Improvement Project, Evan Edminster Bsn, Rn, Cfrn, Tcrn, Cen, Nhdp-Bc

Master's Projects and Capstones

Abstract

Problem: Ground-level falls among community-dwelling adults 60 years and older are significant and contribute to adverse health outcomes such as fractures, functional decline, disability, and death. Additionally, falls among community-dwelling older adults are the number one mechanism of injury seen at a Northern California Level II trauma center. Falls often lead to post-fall fear, activity restriction, and physical deconditioning, further compounding fall risk.

Context: When trauma centers provide targeted outreach and screening for unmanaged health risks such as falls, they reduce unnecessary disability and premature death in the local population. Reducing total fall victim numbers and fall recidivism also …

Ethical Considerations When Conducting Research With Older Adults, Karen Arrant

Journal of Interprofessional Practice and Collaboration

The ethical issue exists between the researcher’s passion for the study focus and the human rights of the participant. This manuscript provides a case study, an actual illustration, but names were changed to protect anonymity. Objectives include examining the researcher’s perspective and personal beliefs, identifying the process to recruit participants, the ethical manner to disseminate information, and identifying ethical principles during the study process.It is mandatory that minute attention is given to the details of caring for the safety and welfare of study participants.

Nursing Students' Willingness To Care For Older Adults, Insun Jang, Younglee Kim, Phoebe (Yeon) S. Kim

Nursing Faculty Publications

The older adult population has increased and is projected to grow. This population usually has chronic disorders that need continuous care. However, it has been reported nurses and nursing students have negative attitude towards older adults. This descriptive study aimed at investigating factors influencing nursing students’ willingness to care for older adults. This study was conducted among 270 nursing students at the university in the United States from February 1 to February 28, 2017. Study participants answered the survey about quality and frequency of contact with older adults, anxiety about aging, empathy, attitude, and willingness to care for older adults. …

The Effect Of Social Networks On Self-Care Behaviors And Health Outcomes Among Older People Living With Multiple Chronic Conditions, Raeann G. Leblanc

Doctoral Dissertations

Background: Older adults are the fastest growing segment of the population in the United States. By 2030, 72.1 million Americans will be over sixty-five years of age and many live with and manage multiple chronic conditions. Self-care behaviors are a priority to effectively manage chronic conditions, yet a gap exists in our understanding of how social networks influence the outcomes of self-care behavior and health within the context of aging and managing multiple chronic conditions. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine how social network features and functions influence self-care behaviors and health among community dwelling older adults …

Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Female Retirement Living Seniors And Their Social Relationships, Kathy Procyk

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Objective

This research examines the lived experiences of seniors living within a retirement home (RH) and their social relationships with friends, family, and RH peers. The phenomena is explored through two perspectives (the senior and their support person) in order to better understand how retirement home living affects individuals’ social patterns and social well-being.

Methods

The theoretical orientation used to guide this study was phenomenology. After completing a background questionnaire, one-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 women living in a retirement home and 7 primary support persons. Interviews were transcribed verbatim for further data analysis. Field notes, member checks, …

Barriers To Promoting Mobility In Hospitalized Older Adults, Gordana Dermody, Christine R. Kovach

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Hospitalized older adults who do not receive sufficient mobility are more likely to sustain negative health outcomes, including higher rates of mortality and institutionalization. Accordingly, the purpose of the current secondary data analysis was to examine the nurse-promoted mobility of hospitalized older adults and the association between nurses’ barriers and nurse-promoted mobility. In addition, the relationship among patient severity of illness, proxy levels for function, and nurse-promoted mobility was examined. The final study sample included 61 nurses working in medical units caring for a total of 77 older adults. Findings suggest nurse knowledge gaps and attitude barriers could potentially influence …

A Descriptive Study Of The Elderly In California Substance Abuse Treatment Programs, David Berenschot

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

As gerontologists may know, there are a great deal of studies and a variety of academic literature on the misuse of alcohol and prescription medication amongst the elderly population. While there is a plethora of information on alcohol and prescription misuse, there is little reported data about the prevalence of other substance misuse experienced by this population. This study aims to help to fill that gap in the data by using quantitative methods to describe the scope of substance abuse of individuals 55-years or older. This study utilizes data from the Treatment Data Set Admission (TEDS-A). The TEDS-A is a …

The Effects Of 12 Weeks Of Instructor-Led Yoga Classes On Balance In Older Adults, Patricia C. Hart

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Participation in a regular exercise program is an effective way to reduce and/or prevent a number of functional declines associated with aging (Chodzko-Zajo et al., 2009). Older adults are advised to participate in regular aerobic activity and practice muscle strengthening activities and exercise that maintains or improves balance (U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, [USDHHS], 2012). Less than one third of older adults engage in 30 minutes of low to moderate intense physical activity at least five days a week as recommended in current guidelines (USDHHS, 2012), and these guidelines fail to address losses in strength and flexibility seen …

The Meaning Of Patient-Nurse Interaction For Older Hospitalized Women: A Phenomenological Study, Deborah Mize

Doctor of Education (EdD)

The purpose of this dissertation is was to explore how older women perceived their interactions with nurses after receiving care in a hospital setting. Older women are a vulnerable population subject to being overlooked or misunderstood by the nurses caring for them, hence the importance of this study. To gather the data on older women’s lived world of nursing care, I used a phenomenological approach based on a hermeneutic framework that considers linguistic, historical, and social factors to interpret older women’s lived world of nursing care while hospitalized. I personally interviewed seven women between the ages of 66 and 81 …

Search Strategies Used By Older Adults In A Virtual Reality Place Learning Task, Rebecca L. Davis, Catherine Weisbeck

Peer Reviewed Articles

Purpose of the study: Older adults often have problems finding their way in novel environments such as senior living residences and hospitals. The purpose of this study was to examine the types of self-reported search strategies and cues that older adults use to find their way in a virtual maze

Design and Methods: Healthy, independently living older adults (n = 129) aged 55–96 were tested in a virtual maze task over a period of 3 days in which they had to repeatedly find their way to a specified goal. They were interviewed about their strategies on days 1 and 3. …

Adult Children's Perceptions Of Critical Caregiving Conversations With Their Aging Parents: A Pilot Study, Wendy S. Cregg

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this qualitative pilot study was to describe adult children's perceptions of critical caregiving conversations between themselves and their aging parents; barriers to these conversations; factors that facilitate these conversations; and the support from health care providers that adult children believe would help facilitate critical caregiving conversations between themselves and their aging parents. The overall purpose was to increase understanding of family communication processes that promote health as families age. Focus group interviews using a semi-structured interview guide were conducted with 16 adult children with caregiving experience of their aging parents. Data analysis was conducted utilizing Leininger's phases …

Sexuality And The Aging Adult: The Attitude And Practice Of Physicians And Nurse Practitioners, Susan Runsvold

Master's Projects

Background: As the population ages, many quality of life issues will generate discussion. One such issue is sexuality of the aging adult. While there is substantial documentation related to the physiology and desires of the aging adult, little is known about medical practitioners' beliefs and practices regarding sexuality. Method: A 14 question survey with a comment section was developed and mailed to 269 physicians and nurse practitioners in Santa Clara County, California. The responses were evaluated using descriptive statistics. The comments received were grouped related to intent or topic. Results: There was no discernible difference between the beliefs and practices …