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Mental health of older adults living in nursing homes in Slovakia – Results of a preliminary study
44-45Views:116Loneliness is a serious public health problem of an ageing population. The prevalence of loneliness in elderly population was estimated to rise from 10% to 45%. In elderly population, loneliness is considered as a risk factor for mental health disorders, especially depression. Depression and anxiety are among the most common mental health disorders worldwide and their prevalence is increasing, especially among seniors who are hospitalised and living in nursing homes.
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Prelevance of falls in seniors hospitalized on gerontopsychiatric department, their risk factors and possibilities of preventive interventions
34-37Views:225Introduction:
Falls and associated injuries are a serious problem for seniors in the home as well as in the medical environment. The main goal was to approach the issue of falls in the elderly in hospital facilities with regard to gerontopsychiatric issues and psychiatric treatment.
Methodology:
We used a questionnaire to find out the prevalence of falls in the elderly, the use of preventive measures and their effectiveness. The questionnaire had three sections that focused on demographics, medication, fall during hospitalization, a "Simple Screening Tool for Risk Assessment," and questions for nurses about the use of preventative measures. The sample consisted of 113 seniors in the age category over 65 years hospitalized in the psychiatric hospital Hronovce.
Results:
Based on the data obtained, there were no significant differences in the incidence of falls when comparing the age category up to 75 years and over 75 years. We can state that gerontopsychiatric patients are at risk of falling, regardless of their age. Of all participating survey respondents 46.9% fell and 53.1% did not fall during the study period, with 31% of patients falling repeatedly and 15.9% of patients fell once. In the survey sample 100% of respondents were taking psychotropic drugs, 46.9% were taking risk medication - benzodiazepines, and these respondents had a fall at least once during their hospitalization. We found out that the risk of falling is increased by almost half in patients with nocturnal disorientation, sensory disorders and dementia. In the group of respondents (56.7%) who needed help with movement, falls occurred more often than in patients without restricted movement ability, but the differences were not significant. Problems with defecation led to a higher prevalence of falls. Among seniors who fell, there were 14.2% of them who did not have a problem with defecation compared to 32.7% who had a problem with defecation or suffered from incontinence. Nurses used the most frequently some environmental adjustments in 66.4%, increased supervision of high-risk patients in 52.2%, and nurses used multiple interventions in 67.3% of cases as preventive measures against falls in the observed group of patients. Nurses considered as proven interventions: increased supervision of high-risk patients (16.0%), use of compensatory aids when walking (5.0%), suitable footwear, (14.0%), adjustments of the environment (29%) rehabilitation exercises (13.0%), adherence to a drinking regime (7.0%).
Conclusion:
In seniors with mental illness there was a higher incidence of falls regardless of age, the use of psychopharmacological treatment, especially in the form of benzodiazepines, led to a higher incidence of falls. Nursing staff used multiple interventions. The adjustment of the environment and the use of suitable anti-slip footwear proved to be the most effective.
Contact:
doc. PhDr. Ľubica Libová PhD.
Vysoká škola zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce sv. Alžbety,n.o. Bratislava; FZaSP sv. Ladislava, ul. Slovenská 11 940 52 Nové Zámky, Slovenská republika
+421 903169357
lubica.libova@gmail.comPREVALENCIA PÁDOV U SENIOROV HOSPITALIZOVANÝCH NA GERONTOPSYCHIATRICKOM ODDELENÍ, ICH RIZIKOVÉ FAKTORY A MOŽNOSTI PREVENTÍVNYCH INTERVENCIÍ
Kľúčové slová: Pády seniorov. Prevencia. Rizikové faktory.
Úvod:
Pády a s nimi spojené úrazy predstavujú závažný problém u seniorov v domácom ako aj v zdravotníckom prostredí. Hlavným cieľom bolo priblížiť problematiku pádov u seniorov v nemocničných zariadeniach z ohľadom na gerontopsychiatrickú problematiku a psychiatrickú liečbu.
Metodika:
Na zistenie prevalenciu pádov seniorov, používanie preventívnych opatrení a ich efektivitu sme použili protokol. Protokol mal tri časti, ktoré boli zamerané na demografické údaje, medikáciu, pád počas hospitalizácie, „Jednoduchý skríningový nástroj na posúdenie rizika“ a otázky pre sestry o používaní preventívnych opatrení. Výberový súbor tvorilo 113 seniorov vo vekovej kategórii nad 65 rokov hospitalizovaných v psychiatrickej nemocnici Hronovce.
Výsledky:
Na základe získaných údajov pri porovnaní vekovej kategórie do 75 rokov a nad 75 rokov neboli významné rozdiely vo výskyte pádu. Môžeme konštatovať, že gerontopsychiatrickí pacienti sú rizikový pre pád bez ohľadu na svoj vek. Zo všetkých zúčastnených respondentov prieskumu počas sledovaného obdobia spadlo 46,9 % a nespadlo 53,1 %, pričom 31 % pacientov spadlo opakovane, 15,9 % pacientov spadlo raz. V prieskumnej vzorke 100% respondentov užívalo psychofarmaká z nich 46,9% užívalo rizikovú medikáciu - benzodiazepíny a u týchto respondentov sa vyskytol pád počas hospitalizácie najmenej raz. Zistili sme, že riziko pádu sa zvyšuje takmer o polovicu u pacientov s nočnou dezorientáciou, zmyslovými poruchami a demenciou. V skupine respondentov (56,7%), ktorí potrebovali pomoc pri pohybe sa vyskytol pád častejšie ako u pacientov bez obmedzeného pohybu ale rozdiely neboli významné. Problémy s vyprázdňovaním viedli k vyššej miere prevalencie pádov. Spadlo 14,2 % seniorov, ktorí nemali problém s vyprázdňovaním oproti 32,7%, ktorí mali problém s vyprázdňovaním alebo trpeli inkontinenciou. Najčastejšie sestry používali ako preventívne opatrenia voči pádom v skúmanom súbore pacientov úpravu prostredia v 66,4 % , zvýšený dohľad nad rizikovými pacientmi v 52,2 %, viacnásobné intervencie používali v 67,3 % prípadov. Pričom ako osvedčené intervencie považovali sestry: zvýšený dohľad/dozor nad rizikovými pacientmi (16,0 %), používanie kompenzačných pomôcok pri chôdzi (5,0 %), vhodnú obuv, (14,0 %), úpravu prostredia ( 29%) rehabilitačné cvičenie (13,0 %), dodržiavanie pitného režimu (7,0 %).
Záver:
U seniorov s duševným ochorením bol vyšší výskyt pádov bez ohľadu na vek, užívanie psychofarmakologickej liečby najmä vo forme benzodiazepínov viedlo k väčšiemu výskytu pádov. Ošetrujúci personál používal viacnásobné intervencie. Ako najúčinnejšie sa osvedčilo upravenie prostredia a používanie vhodnej protišmykovej obuvi.
Korešpondujúci autor:
doc. PhDr. Ľubica Libová PhD.
Vysoká škola zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce sv. Alžbety,n.o. Bratislava; FZaSP sv. Ladislava, ul. Slovenská 11 940 52 Nové Zámky, Slovenská republika
+421 903169357
lubica.libova@gmail.com
Zber dát prebiehal so súhlasom etickej komisie zdravotníckeho zariadenia a s informovaným súhlasom respondentov. -
The role of active ageing in the consumer protection
65-77.Views:494Worldwide recognized the high prevalence of deceit aimed at elderly individuals (Boush,
Friestad és Wright, 2009; Valant, 2015). Following the active middle-age, aging individuals
perceive several physiological and psychological changes. Naturally, these changes do show
individual differences. The aging generation members’ typical communication related and
social features are to blame for these deceptions, unethical abuse of the vulnerability. Elderly
individuals are more susceptible to persuasion than younger adults (Visser és Krosnick,
1998).
In the present study, we summarize features appeared in the literature which can establish
older people’s vulnerability. Furthermore, we report an interview-based-study, in which the
examinees shared their experiences on suspicious offers. -
The phenomenon of elder abuse and ways of prevention and intervention
87-104Views:292In today’s world abuse committed against the elderly receives much less attention than against women and children. There are several aspects because it is very important for elder abuse to receive at least the same amount of publicity: respect of the elderly, teaching our children the correct standards, serving as prevention, that the phenomenon exists, and thus teaching the younger generation that one type of abuse is not accepted either. Our aim with this paper was to draw attention to the importance gerontological research on elder abuse. Therefore, after describing the types of abuse, we present international and national prevalence data. We look at how to get help in Hungary and the possible reasons why older adults do not seek help. Finally, by presenting the World Health Organization's criteria, our aim is to point the way to solving the problems raised in the study. We would like to present the topic from several aspects so it helps the people to recognize the typical signs of potential abuse. Abuses against the elderly can also happen at the institutional and family level. Nevertheless, it can also occur in public, because the elderly can be categorized as endangered as children and women, because they have similar characteristics like defencelessness, naivety and weaker physicality. Also, it should be mentioned, because as we will see later, based on the opinion of the World Health Organization (WHO), it also includes the lack of help and action and how much people act altruistic. The fact that the WHO (2022) urges the fight against abuse of the elderly in the next few years indicates the actuality of the theme. The purpose of the study is to highlight the importance of elder abuse in the professional public consciousness.
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Medication adherence in older adults with hypertension in Slovakia
35-36Views:95Non-adherence to medical therapy in patients with arterial hypertension (AH) is associated with increased cardiovascular and cerebrovascular morbidity and mortality, and thus increased healthcare costs. The prevalence of AH increases with increasing age. In view of this, monitoring adherence to medical therapy in older adults and its determinants is very important.
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Vulnerability of elderly consumers - their children's perception
17-19Views:123The research goal was studying elderly individuals’ consumer vulnerability in an unusual way. This is a topical issue, as for example the high prevalence of grandparent scams and other older adult-focused criminal activities is well known in the literature (e.g., AARP Foundation, 2003; Boush & mtsai, 2009; Yip & Schweitzer, 2015; Valant, 2015). A broad spectrum of studies (e.g., Carpenter & Yoon, 2017; Lee & Geitsfied, 1999; Peters et al., 2007) focuses on the aging consumer’s features that can be blamed for their vulnerability, as for example changes in cognitive capacity, fast speech processing and openness for social contact. The novelty of the present study is two-folded. First, a psychological approach was followed focusing on the role of persuasion knowledge (Friestad & Wright; 1994) and self-efficacy (Bandura, 1994) in this context. Second, not the elderly population, but their children’s perception was investigated in a mixed-method study.
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Dementia and aging in Vietnam
90-92Views:62The aging rate of the Vietnamese population is one of the most elevated worldwide. Dementia is identified as one of the major disturbances to healthy aging and a leading cause of death in Vietnam. In spite of the importance of dementia research for policy making and healthcare development, there is a scarcity in study on epidemiological profile of dementia in Vietnam.
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Palliative and Hospice Social Work Roles in the U.S.
18Views:196Palliative care services worldwide continue to grow, primarily in response to a human rights approach and to respond to the aging of the population, increasing prevalence of chronic illnesses and cancer mortality. While there is recognition in the WHO definition of palliative care that not only physical, but also psychological, social and spiritual aspects of care must be part of services provided, how these are addressed varies greatly by country and region of the world.
In the U.S., social work services are mandated to be provided by hospice organizations seeking funding from Medicare (governmental insurance for people over age 65) and supports the tenets of the palliative care philosophy to provide person-centered holistic care. The role of palliative and hospice social workers is highly aligned with the values of the profession centered on the dignity and worth of all humans and the commitment to improving quality of life throughout life and especially at the end of life. Older adults make up the overwhelming majority of hospice recipients in the U.S. and attention to their daily needs and those of the family caregivers is essential to maximize quality of life.
This presentation will focus on the roles of social workers in the U.S., particularly with older adults, in various palliative care settings and how this may compare to roles across the globe. -
Unmet care needs of older individuals: prevalence, patterns and influencing factors
26-27Views:86Understanding and identifying unmet needs are crucial for improving the quality of health and social care. Research addressing unmet needs among older individuals in Slovakia is insufficient, highlighting the need for further investigation into this pressing issue.