Life-sustaining technologies and the elderly.
Author:
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Published: 1987
Total Pages: 458
ISBN-13: 1428922814
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Retooling for an Aging America
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Published: 2008-08-27
Total Pages: 316
ISBN-13: 0309131952
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAs the first of the nation's 78 million baby boomers begin reaching age 65 in 2011, they will face a health care workforce that is too small and woefully unprepared to meet their specific health needs. Retooling for an Aging America calls for bold initiatives starting immediately to train all health care providers in the basics of geriatric care and to prepare family members and other informal caregivers, who currently receive little or no training in how to tend to their aging loved ones. The book also recommends that Medicare, Medicaid, and other health plans pay higher rates to boost recruitment and retention of geriatric specialists and care aides. Educators and health professional groups can use Retooling for an Aging America to institute or increase formal education and training in geriatrics. Consumer groups can use the book to advocate for improving the care for older adults. Health care professional and occupational groups can use it to improve the quality of health care jobs.
Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Published: 2020-05-14
Total Pages: 317
ISBN-13: 0309671035
DOWNLOAD EBOOKSocial isolation and loneliness are serious yet underappreciated public health risks that affect a significant portion of the older adult population. Approximately one-quarter of community-dwelling Americans aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated, and a significant proportion of adults in the United States report feeling lonely. People who are 50 years of age or older are more likely to experience many of the risk factors that can cause or exacerbate social isolation or loneliness, such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and sensory impairments. Over a life course, social isolation and loneliness may be episodic or chronic, depending upon an individual's circumstances and perceptions. A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that social isolation presents a major risk for premature mortality, comparable to other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, or obesity. As older adults are particularly high-volume and high-frequency users of the health care system, there is an opportunity for health care professionals to identify, prevent, and mitigate the adverse health impacts of social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults summarizes the evidence base and explores how social isolation and loneliness affect health and quality of life in adults aged 50 and older, particularly among low income, underserved, and vulnerable populations. This report makes recommendations specifically for clinical settings of health care to identify those who suffer the resultant negative health impacts of social isolation and loneliness and target interventions to improve their social conditions. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults considers clinical tools and methodologies, better education and training for the health care workforce, and dissemination and implementation that will be important for translating research into practice, especially as the evidence base for effective interventions continues to flourish.
Patient Safety and Quality
Author: Ronda Hughes
Publisher: Department of Health and Human Services
Published: 2008
Total Pages: 592
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK"Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient car -- not only in the hospital or ambulatory treatment facility, but also of community-based care and the care performed by family members. Nurses need know what proven techniques and interventions they can use to enhance patient outcomes. To address this need, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), with additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has prepared this comprehensive, 1,400-page, handbook for nurses on patient safety and quality -- Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043)." - online AHRQ blurb, http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/
Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine
Author: Nathan I. Cherny
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 2015
Total Pages: 1281
ISBN-13: 0199656096
DOWNLOAD EBOOKEmphasising the multi-disciplinary nature of palliative care the fourth edition of this text also looks at the individual professional roles that contribute to the best-quality palliative care.
Ethics and the Elderly
Author: Mark R. Wicclair
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 1993
Total Pages: 280
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKWith the increasing growth of the elderly population, geriatric care is becoming eminently important not only to medical professionals but also to all those involved in caring for the elderly including social workers, nursing home staff, and relatives. This timely work confronts in a clear and systematic manner the many ethical issues concerning care for elderly persons. For instance, what is sound ethical decision-making in relation to life-sustaining medical treatment for elderly patients? At a time when aging of the population is increasing the demand for health care, is age-rationing a justified means of cost control? How can investigators satisfy ethical requirements in relation to medical or social-scientific research with elderly subjects, and what special precautions are needed when elderly persons are ill, demented, dependent on social services, and/or institutionalized? What are the responsibilities of adult children toward frail elderly parents? How can professionals and relatives determine whether paternalism toward an elderly person is ethically justified? In an accessible way, this book explains the ethical and conceptual issues at stake. Several key examples are presented and each chapter ends with an extensive case study and analysis. Ethics and the Elderly will be a valuable resource for all those involved in geriatric care and to many in the field of bioethics.
Approaching Death
Author: Committee on Care at the End of Life
Publisher: National Academies Press
Published: 1997-10-30
Total Pages: 457
ISBN-13: 0309518253
DOWNLOAD EBOOKWhen the end of life makes its inevitable appearance, people should be able to expect reliable, humane, and effective caregiving. Yet too many dying people suffer unnecessarily. While an "overtreated" dying is feared, untreated pain or emotional abandonment are equally frightening. Approaching Death reflects a wide-ranging effort to understand what we know about care at the end of life, what we have yet to learn, and what we know but do not adequately apply. It seeks to build understanding of what constitutes good care for the dying and offers recommendations to decisionmakers that address specific barriers to achieving good care. This volume offers a profile of when, where, and how Americans die. It examines the dimensions of caring at the end of life: Determining diagnosis and prognosis and communicating these to patient and family. Establishing clinical and personal goals. Matching physical, psychological, spiritual, and practical care strategies to the patient's values and circumstances. Approaching Death considers the dying experience in hospitals, nursing homes, and other settings and the role of interdisciplinary teams and managed care. It offers perspectives on quality measurement and improvement, the role of practice guidelines, cost concerns, and legal issues such as assisted suicide. The book proposes how health professionals can become better prepared to care well for those who are dying and to understand that these are not patients for whom "nothing can be done."
Dying in America
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Published: 2015-03-19
Total Pages: 470
ISBN-13: 0309303133
DOWNLOAD EBOOKFor patients and their loved ones, no care decisions are more profound than those made near the end of life. Unfortunately, the experience of dying in the United States is often characterized by fragmented care, inadequate treatment of distressing symptoms, frequent transitions among care settings, and enormous care responsibilities for families. According to this report, the current health care system of rendering more intensive services than are necessary and desired by patients, and the lack of coordination among programs increases risks to patients and creates avoidable burdens on them and their families. Dying in America is a study of the current state of health care for persons of all ages who are nearing the end of life. Death is not a strictly medical event. Ideally, health care for those nearing the end of life harmonizes with social, psychological, and spiritual support. All people with advanced illnesses who may be approaching the end of life are entitled to access to high-quality, compassionate, evidence-based care, consistent with their wishes. Dying in America evaluates strategies to integrate care into a person- and family-centered, team-based framework, and makes recommendations to create a system that coordinates care and supports and respects the choices of patients and their families. The findings and recommendations of this report will address the needs of patients and their families and assist policy makers, clinicians and their educational and credentialing bodies, leaders of health care delivery and financing organizations, researchers, public and private funders, religious and community leaders, advocates of better care, journalists, and the public to provide the best care possible for people nearing the end of life.
Life-sustaining Technologies and the Elderly
Author: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment
Publisher:
Published: 1987
Total Pages: 476
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKFamilies Caring for an Aging America
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Published: 2016-11-08
Total Pages: 367
ISBN-13: 0309448093
DOWNLOAD EBOOKFamily caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.
