Health Outcomes and Care Considerations:
In residential homes as elderly suffer from bouts of asthma attacks, chronic airway obstruction or any other kind of pulmonary disease nurses are very concerned about prescribing medication. In nursing homes, there are 43 per cent of people aged 65 and over have some type of age-related vision loss. Many elderly in care homes have oral issues namely gingivitis or periodontitis which lead to tooth loss with age. But if the elderly have taken timely visits to the dentist in life the results are much different (Elias & Paradies,2021).
Ziersch et al. (2020), states that elderly with cardiovascular diseases can control their blood pressure, manage stress and intake suitable diet to manage cholesterol. Many reports have suggested that care homes have to deal with many elderly of Indian descent, who suffer from dementia or any other cognitive decline, or mental health issues such as Alzheimer’s. Indigenous Australians in particular, because their immune systems are weak due to socio-economic conditions they face throughout their lives, are at risk of pneumonia and flu and other chronic diseases such as cervical cancer, endometrial cancer and prostate cancer (Sivertsen et al., 2019).
Moilanen et al. (2021) suggest that providing specific care and education to older adults can promote efficient preventive care. The information provided can help with self-management and improve overall quality of life. Nurses can provide seniors with preventive care like vaccinations for pneumonia or flu, to prevent further complication at old age. Nurses can help minority groups by providing referrals to social workers or managers for help with finance or medical issues. Similarly, nurses can provide information about assistance programs and resource groups to promote social interaction among isolated patients. Patients with mobility or bone problems need to be reminded that pain is not a normal part of aging. Nurses should cater patient education to individual needs, providing oral, written, or electronic resources, taking into account the impairments such as cognitive, functional or sensory of the elderly in care home. The ultimate goal of nursing care is to provide patient with understanding, motivation, and involvement in self-management and improve their quality of life (Ernstmeyer & Christman, 2021).
The Australian government funds and operates a comprehensive aged care system that provides services to the older population by providing support in the home so that seniors do not have to rely on care providers 24/7. Although the majority of aged care recipients in the country are over 65 years old individuals under 65 can also benefit from the service if they meet the criteria (Nichols et al., 2020).
