Gerontology 5.

Senile
o Fact: Senility refers to cognitive impairment
- Study of aging and of the aged ▪ Dementia is not a normal process of aging
- Subfields 6. Depression is normal
o Geriatrics o Fact: depression is an abnormal response
▪ Medical care of the aged 7. No longer interested in sex
o Social gerontology o Fact: Sexuality continues throughout life of older adults
▪ Social aspects of aging vs biological and 8. They smell
psychological o Fact: sweat glands decrease with age
o Geropsychology 9. The secret to successful aging is to choose your parent wisely
▪ Specialist in psychiatry o Fact: Individuals can age gracefully
o Geropharmaceutics 10. Because older adults are closer to death, they are ready to die, they do
▪ Pharmacists obtain special training in geriatrics not require special consideration at the end of life
o Financial gerontology o Fact: they require equal and specialized attention.
▪ Financial planning and services with expertise in ▪ End of life seems to complete and important
the needs of the older adults developmental task of aging
o Gerontological rehabilitation nursing
▪ Combines expertise in gerontological nursing with Why is population aging?
rehabilitation concepts and practice
1. Population dynamics
Gerontological nursing - Variations in birth and death rate
2. Declining fertility rates
- Falls w/i the aspect of nursing and scope of nursing practice - Declining share of young people in society
- Scope 3. Longevity increase
o Advocate for the health of older persons at all level of - Increase in life expectancy
prevention from time of old age till death o Advances in medical field and biotechnology
Demographics of aging Theories of aging
- Healthy people 2010, 65 year old’s can be expected to live 18 more yeas - A good theory:
than they did 100 years ago totaling to 83 years o Integrates knowledge, tells how and why phenomena
- Division of older age groups are related
o Young old: 65-74 o Leads to prediction and provides process and
o Middle old: 75-84 understanding
o Old old: 85-94 o Holistic and takes account all that impacts on a person
▪ Very old throughout a lifetime of aging
▪ Frail elderly - Aging is a process of growing everyday
o Elite: > 95
▪ Old/chronologically gifted Biological theories
- Features of population aging
o Most rapid growth occurs in the oldest age groups to oldest - Explains physiologic process that change with aging
old and centenarians - Stochastic/statistical
o Rapid among women resulting in feminization o Episodic events that cause random cell damage and
▪ Due to lower mortality of women accumulate over time
▪ Half of older women (45%) in 200 were widows - Non-stochastic theory
• Lived w/o spousal support o Predetermined events happening to an organism in a
timed framework
Key issues for older people - Defect theory
o Wrong events of person
- Traditional support systems being eroded
- Govt resources to devote to growing older population are limited Psychological theories
- Many older people unable to accumulate sufficient resources during
their working lives - Mental processes, emotions, attitudes, motivation, and personality
development that is characterized by life stage transitions
Impacts of family change
Moral/spiritual theories
- Less residential extension of households
- More physical separation - Finds spiritual wholeness this transcends the need to inhibit a body
o Due to migration and they die
- Less children available to support
Sociological theories
- Reversal of net intergenerational wealth
o The older people are the ones supporting the grandchildren - Changing in roles and generational cohort that impact the older
adult’s ability to adapt
Ageism myths and facts
Nursing theories of aging
1. Older adults are little benefit to society
o Fact: disabilities are declining, they give love and support to - Developed to guide nursing care of the elderly
their families 1. Free radical theory of aging
2. They drain on society’s resources o Due to oxidative metabolism and effects of free radicals
o Fact: they have already paid the system when they were ▪ Free radicals are like robbers that attack and
working adults snatch energy from other cells
3. Cranky and disagreeable 2. Orgel/error theory
o Fact: equal number with young adults o Aging would not occur if mutations and regulatory
4. You can’t teach them new tricks disorders called as errors didn’t exist
o Fact: they still benefit from health educational activities
3. Wear and tear theory 21. Age stratification theory
o Aged cells have lost ability to counteract injuries due to o Aging and society are interrelated and cause reciprocal
their senescence changes to individuals
▪ Senescence where cells forget their job/can’t o Same era same likes and dislikes
function properly 22. Person-environment fit theory
4. Connective tissue/cross link o Functional competence in relation to the environment
o Biochemical processes create connections bet. o Environment adjusts to the person or vice versa
structures not normally connected 23. Functional consequences theory
o Example: rheumatoid, new connections are created o Biopsychosocial consequence that impacts their
5. Program/feature functioning
o Cells divide until they can no longer divide o Pain in knee causes wheelchair
o Cells are predetermined and triggers apoptosis 24. Theory of thriving
sequence o Achieved when there is harmony bet. a person and their
6. Gene/biological clock physical environment and personal relationships
o Each cell/organism has a genetically programmed aging
code that is stored in the organism’s DNA
7. Neuroendocrine theory
o Change in hormone secretion influences aging
8. Immunologic/autoimmune
o Due to faulty immunological function
9. Defect theory
o Breakdown and losses that occur are accidents or
mistakes
10. Human needs theory
o Hierarchy of five needs motivates human behavior
▪ Physiologic
▪ Safety and security
▪ Love and belonging
▪ Self esteem
▪ Self actualization
o Maslow’s hierarchy
11. Stages of human development
o Erik Erikson’s
o Ego integrity vs despair
o Evaluate one’s life and accomplishments for meaning
12. Individualism theory
o Tend to view life primarily either through the self or
through others
o Look how far you’ve come via comparing
13. Life course/life span development
o Stages in life are structured according to one’s roles,
relationships, internal values, and goals
o Example as a college, your role is to graduate
14. Selective optimization w/ compensation theory
o Emerged from life course perspective
o Individuals learn to cope w/ functional losses via the
process of:
▪ Selection
▪ Optimization
▪ Compensation
15. Kohlberg’s stages of moral development
o Series of moral reasoning activities that progresses
sophisticatedly throughout life
16. Torn Stam’s theory of Gerotranscendence
o Undergo cognitive transformations from materialist,
rational perspective towards oneness with the universe
o Higher order
o Higher sense of rationality
17. Disengagement theory
o Gradual disengagement from society and relationship
o To allow younger generations to flourish
o Letting go and find other forms
18. Activity theory
o Remaining occupied and involved to satisfy in late life
19. Continuity/development theory
o Personality is well developed by time one reaches old
age and tends to remain consistent across lifespan
o Personality at age 30 is the final attitude
20. Subculture theory
o Older society have formed as a defensive response to
society’s negative attitudes and loss of status
o Older adults prefer to interact w/i themselves