Gerontology – PRELIM
CI: Mrs. Wilcy Apolinario RN, MN
Gerontology
- study of the physical aspects of aging, as
well as the mental, social and societal
implications of aging.
- Gero is Greek for “elders”, and logy
means “the study of”.
- from the Greek geron, meaning “old man”
- scientific study of the process of aging
and the problems of older adult
- this field is distinguished from
GERIATRICS – which is the branch of
medicine that specializes in the
treatment of existing disease in older
adults.
Three categories of aging created by
Gerontologist James Birren:
1. Primary aging – The human body’s natural
deterioration throughout a lifespan.
2. Secondary aging – Illnesses that quicken
the aging and deterioration process.
3. Tertiary aging – A sudden increase in
mental and physical deterioration at the end
of an individual’s life.
What does a Gerontologist do?
1. Conduct research on gerontology
2. Work with older adults.
3. Care for older individuals.
4. Collaborate with health care professionals.
5. Meet with caregivers.
6. Improve social policy.
7. Stay updated on gerontology advancement.
8. Understand legal resources for older
people.
GERONTOLOGICAL NURSING
 is the specialty of nursing involves
assessing the health and functional
status of older adults, planning and
implementing health care and services
to meet identified needs
Frances Pearl B. Gelera
BSN 3A
evaluating the effectiveness of such
care.
 Replaced the term Geriatric nursing in
the 1970s .
 Is important to meet the health needs
of an aging population
 It requires complex care to fulfill
their needs.
Geriatrics
- from the Greek geras, meaning “old age”
- branch of medicine that deals with the
diseases and problems of old age
Geriatrician
- a medical profession who specializes in
geriatrics
Gerontic Nursing
- this term was developed by Gunter and
Estes in 1979
- is meant to be more inclusive than
geriatric or gerontological nursing
because it is not limited to diseases or
scientific principles
ROLES
Generalist Nurse
- Registered nurse or Licensed Practical
Nurse.
- Practice a wide variety of settings (home
and community)
- Identify older adults’ strengths and
assist them to maximize their
independence. Older adults should
participate in making decisions about
their care
- Consults with the advanced practice
nurse and other inter disciplinary health
care professionals for assistance in
meeting the complex care needs of older
adults.
Clinical Nurse Specialist
- registered nurse and at least a master’s
degree
and
Gerontology – PRELIM
CI: Mrs. Wilcy Apolinario RN, MN

- gerontologic master’s program focuses on Responsibilities of Gerontological Nurse

the advanced knowledge and skills
1. Assisting physicians during exams and
required to care for younger through
procedures.
older adults in a wide variety of settings,
2. Performing patient medical tests-in-home
and the graduate is prepared to assume a
or in a medical office.
leadership role in the delivery of that
3. Establishing a patient care plan and
care.
setting health goals.
- AGCNSs have an expert understanding of
4. Administering medications to patients
the dynamics, pathophysiology, and
based on a care plan.
psychosocial aspects of aging. They use
5. Teaching family members about a
advanced diagnostic and assessment skills
patient’s condition and how to promote
and nursing interventions to manage and
self-care skills.
improve patient care
- Functions as clinician, educator, Settings of Care
consultant, administrator, or researcher
to plan care or improve the quality of Acute care Setting
nursing care for adults and their families.
a. Short -term acute care setting – is
- Today, they may be found practicing in
usually administered in a hospital,
acute care hospitals, long term care or
which has all the medical care
home care settings, or independent
personnel, staff and facilities needed
practices.
to diagnose, treat and care for
Nurse Practitioner patients with acute conditions like
short term injuries.
- Conducts health assessments; identifies
nursing diagnoses; and plans, implements Facilities available includes:
and evaluates nursing care for adult and
 Operating room
older patients.
 Pharmacy
- Has knowledge and skills to detect and
 Emergency room
manage limited acute and chronic stable
 Clinical laboratory
conditions; coordination and collaboration
 Blood bank
with other health care providers is a
 Radiology department
related essential function.
 Pathology department
- Acute care or primary care activities
b. Long-term acute care – is
include intervention for health promotion,
administered to patients after their
maintenance and restoration.
acute care treatment. Necessary for
- Provides acute or primary ambulatory
patients who have medically complex
care in an independent practice or in a
needs and need specialized care.
collaborative practice with a physician.
- They practice in settings across the Facility includes:
continuum of care, including the acute
care hospital, sub-acute care center,  Hospitals
ambulatory care setting and long term  Hospices
care setting.  Inpatient rehabilitation centers
- Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) Skilled nursing facilities
are now including acute care or primary  In the home and other settings
care AGNPs on their provider panels
- AGNPs hold prescriptive authority for
most drugs

Frances Pearl B. Gelera

BSN 3A
Gerontology – PRELIM
CI: Mrs. Wilcy Apolinario RN, MN

Issues in Gerontological Nursing 1. The effects of aging begin to be

noticeable to the individual
1. A fragmented, uncoordinated health
2. The effects of aging can be measured
care delivery system, especially for
by a physical examination or testing
older adults with chronic illnesses.
3. The older person becomes more
2. An insufficient number of nursing
susceptible to disease
faculty with geriatric training and the
4. The older person is less able to
need for more geriatric content in
recover from illness
undergraduate curricula.
5. The older person develops an acute or
3. The need for geriatric knowledge
chronic disease
among non-gerontological nurses.
4. The need for more advanced practice Evolutionary perspective – the primary
preparation in gerontological nursing purpose of human’s life is to procreate and to
be a carrier of DNA.
PERSPECTIVE ON AGING
Biological perspective – all humans grow,
Aging in Developmental Process
experience puberty, mature, and age as the
AGING course of a normal, healthy life.

- is a normal stage of life in which our Humanistic perspective – aging is inextricably

bodies begin to function less linked to death.
effectively, making us more vulnerable
Scientific perspective – the exploration of
to disease Meilaender (2011)
aging as a disease becomes complex.
- refer this process as senescence
(Evolutionary biologist ) Senescence The Aging Process
- causes diseases of aging. Even if the
1. Genetic and Environmental Factors
person ages well, because of
2. Behaviors of a Healthy Lifestyle:
senescence that person will still  Not smoking
ultimately die of some cause (Gems  Drinking alcohol in moderation
2011).  Exercising
 Getting adequate rest
Aging Process
 Eating a diet high in fruits and
- is the gradual, decreased ability of the vegetables
body to function and to heal itself. This  Coping with stress
definition is simple. But aging is not  Having a positive outlook
simple and to understand what aging is 3. Cellular Changes associated with Aging
and what it means to people 4. Age also interferes with an important
experiencing requires consideration of process called APOPTOSIS, which
these points. program cells to self- destruct or die
at appropriate times.
 Aging is not the same as being
5. Bodily Changes Associated with Aging
old
 Aging is a process of decline DEMOGRAPHY OF AGING
 The process of aging takes time
 Stress and repair Global Aging

In 2017 global population aged 60

Things to occur if the aging process
years and older reached more than 962 M;
speed up:
more than twice the number of 1980, when

Frances Pearl B. Gelera

BSN 3A
Gerontology – PRELIM
CI: Mrs. Wilcy Apolinario RN, MN
the worldwide population of older persons was
382M.
By 2050 the projected number of
older person is expected to double again,
reaching 2.1B
By 2030, older people are expected to
outnumbered children under age 10-14 (1B
vs.1.35B) and eventually outnumber
number of adolescents and youth globally
By 2050, number of persons age 80 or
over is projected to increase more the
threefold, climbing from 127M to 425M .By
2050, the world’s population aged 60 and older
is expected to total 2B, up from 900M in
2015.
There are two forces behind global aging:
1. People are having fewer babies, and
this decreases the relative number of
young
2. The rising life expectancy Population
aging affects economic growth, trade,
migration, disease patterns
prevalence and fundamental
assumptions about growing older.
Why is aging population important?
Population aging strains
insurance and pension systems and challenges
existing models of social support. It affects
economic growth, trade, migration, disease
patterns and prevalence, and fundamentals
assumptions about growing older.
Countries that have high percentage of
their citizens’ ages 65 years and over:
1. Germany 2. Finland 3. Bulgaria 4.
Sweden 5. Latvia 6. Malta
Major causes of aging
 Oxidative stress
 Glycation
 Telomere shortening
 Mutations
 Aggregations of proteins
Frances Pearl B. Gelera
BSN 3A
How fast is the population aging?
Globally, the population aged 65 and
over is growing faster than all other age
groups. According to data from World
Population Prospects: the 2019 Revision, by
2050, one in six people in the world will be
over age 65 (16%), up from one in 11 in 2019
(9%)
the
IMPACT OF AGING IN THE
FAMILY
Role and Function of Families
Demographic and social trends that affects
families’ abilities to provide support includes:
1. Increasing aging population
- Since 1900 percentage of Americans 65+
has more than tripled (from 4.1% in 1990
to 19.9% in 2015)
- the number has increased more than 15x
(from 3.1M to 47.8M)
2. Living arrangements
- In 2016, 59% of non-institutionalized
and persons age 65 and older lived with their
spouses or partner.
- 29% lived alone
- 3.1% of the 65+ group lived in an
institutional setting such as nursing home
social or assisted living.
3. Disability and activity
- Activities of daily living (ADLs) include
bathing, dressing, eating and ambulation
- Instrumental activities od daily living
(IADLs) include preparing meals,
shopping, managing money, using the
telephone, house- work and taking
medication.
4. Decrease in birth rate
5. Increase in employment of women
6. Mobility of families
7. Increase in blended families
8. Older adults providing and receiving
support
9. The state of the senior housing
industry
10. Caregiver workplace issues
Gerontology – PRELIM
CI: Mrs. Wilcy Apolinario RN, MN

3. Knowing about and assessing resources

for the older family member whose
income is not sufficient
COMMON LATE-LIFE FAMILY ISSUES One of the most important things a
AND DECISIONS nurse can do is to become knowledgeable

Common issues and difficult decisions families about the community resources that can

face are the following: help families faced with financial and legal
concerns, eligibility requirements for
1. Changes in living arrangements programs, programs access issues and
2. Nursing facility placement options for older persons who need
3. Financial and legal concerns assistance in managing their finances
4. End-of-life health care decisions
5. Vehicle driving issues End-of-Life Health Care Decisions

6. Family caregiving The main interests of patients nearing the end

of life are:
Changes in Living Arrangements
1. Pain and symptom control
1. Deal with your relatives perceptions and
2. Financial and health decision planning
feelings
3. Funeral arrangements
2. Approach your family member in a way
4. Being at peace with God
that prevents him or her from feeling
5. Maintaining dignity and cleanliness
helpless.
6. Saying goodbye
3. Suggest only one change or service at a
time Family Caregiving
4. Suggest a trial period
5. Focus on your needs Types and levels of family caregiving
6. Consider who has “listening leverage” 1. Routine Care – regular assistance
Deciding About a Care Facility incorporated into the daily routine of
the caregiver
Guilt - is a common feeling that families 2. Back-up Care – assistance with
express when faced with care facility routine activities provided only at the
placement. request of the main caregiver
3. Circumscribed Care – participation
Sources of guilt includes:
provided on a regular basis within
1. Pressure and comments from others boundaries set by the caregiver (ex.
2. Family tradition and values Taking Mom to get her hair and nails
3. The meaning of nursing facility done every Saturday)
placement 4. Sporadic Care – irregular
4. Promises participation at the caregiver’s
convenience
Financial and Legal Concerns
5. Dissociation – potential caregiver does
Major financial issues some families face not participate at all in care
include:

1. Paying for long-term care

2. Helping an older person who has
problems managing money

Frances Pearl B. Gelera

BSN 3A