Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults
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

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Social 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.

Community/Public Health Nursing Practice
Community/Public Health Nursing Practice

Author: Frances A. Maurer

Publisher: Elsevier Health Sciences

Published: 2012-10-01

Total Pages: 891

ISBN-13: 1455707627

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Focusing on practical, need-to-know information, Community/Public Health Nursing Practice helps you learn how to apply the nursing process at the community and family level. It features an engaging, easy-to-understand writing style, as well as assessment tools, detailed case studies, and clinical examples that demonstrate how key concepts apply to real-world practice. Additional resources on the companion Evolve website expand and enhance content within the text. Practical features including Case Studies, Ethics in Practice, and The Nursing Process in Practice illustrate real-world applications of key community/public health nursing concepts. A complete unit on the community as client helps you understand how the assessment, diagnosis, planning, intervention, and evaluation steps of the nursing process apply to the community, as opposed to an individual. A chapter devoted to community assessment provides a complete assessment tool and shows you how the tool applies to two different types of communities. UNIQUE! A chapter on screening and referral promotes population-focused practice, which is the crux of community/public health nursing. A separate unit on the family emphasizes the importance of viewing the family as a singular client. A complete discussion of the Minnesota Wheel helps you better understand this widely-accepted framework for community/public health nursing practice. Helpful sections such as Focus Questions, Chapter Outlines, Key Ideas, and Learning by Experience and Reflection help you pinpoint essential information. NEW! Healthy People 2020 objectives throughout the text help you identify common health risk factors in populations and families. NEW! Coverage of health care reform, including the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA), explores how current health care legislation impacts community/public health nursing. NEW! Discussions of community health "hot button" issues, such as human trafficking, genital circumcision, and bullying, introduce you to today's health care challenges. NEW! Information on weather-related disaster fatalities, bioterrorism, and national and state planning responses familiarize you with current, relevant issues which affect the health of populations worldwide and shape the role of the community/public health nurse.

Parenting Matters
Parenting Matters

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2016-11-21

Total Pages: 525

ISBN-13: 0309388570

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Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.

Ethical and Philosophical Aspects of Nursing Children and Young People
Ethical and Philosophical Aspects of Nursing Children and Young People

Author: Gosia M. Brykczynska

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2011-01-19

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1444392042

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Nurses and healthcare professionals are constantly faced with ethical and philosophical dilemmas when working with children in everyday practice. Ethical and Philosophical Aspects of Nursing Children and Young People is a comprehensive text on the ethics and philosophy behind paediatric nursing that reflects the contemporary issues encountered while working with children and young people. The title provides a philosophical and historical analysis of the subject, looking at a review of sociological and political theories concerning the nature of childhood, and providing a critical analysis of contemporary notions about childhood. It then goes on to look at moral theories and their application to paediatric nursing practice, ethical issues when caring for children of all ages, from infancy to adolescence. It considers issues of disabled children, confidentiality, mental health issues, children's rights, and pain management. With case studies and activities throughout, this book will enable students and newly qualified nurses both to understand philosophical concepts and issues but also to articulate their own reflections and observations on these subjects. Written by children's nurses for children's nurses With contributions from internationally recognised experts in the field Reflective scenarios, further reading, extensive referencing, case studies, guided questions, and resources throughout Includes appendices on the RCPCH Guidelines on Withdrawal of Treatment, the ICN Ethical Code, the Summary of the UNCRC, and the RCPCH Guidelines for the Conduct of Ethical Research

Public Health Skills
Public Health Skills

Author: Lesley Coles

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2009-01-26

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 1444302582

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Nurses and other public health practitioners have a crucial role to play in helping to improve the collective well being of society and so developing skills in public health - preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health – is key to this process. Public Health Skills: A practical guide for nurses and public health practitioners covers the complete spectrum of public health practice: the effective assessment and management of need, understanding policy and how to affect its implementation; before moving on to explore practical issues and themes surrounding the facilitation of public health. Within the four sections of the book, the text is organised around the ten core public health skills outlined in the National Occupational Standards for the practice of public health, covering skills including surveillance and assessment, collaborative working, working with communities, strategy development, risk management, leadership and ethics. Public Health Skills: A practical guide for nurses and public health practitioners provides the fundamental, essential knowledge and skills required to provide safe and effective practice and is an invaluable resource for all those connected to this vital, challenging and rapidly expanding aspect of health provision.