y

Myth1: Older adults are of little benefit to society y Fact: older adult disabilities are declining; most older adults are part of a family where they give and receive love, support and care; function in professional role

Myth 2: Older adults are a drain on society s resources y Fact: older adults had already paid the system from which they are now drawing; many older adults do not retire; many retired older adults are engaged in unpaid volunteer (custodial care and others) work thus saving employer s cost

Myth 3: Older adults are cranky and disagreeable y Fact: equal number of cranky and disagreeable young adults; continuity theory maintain similar and the same personality and coping strategies; older adults are sick thus become cranky; negative interaction with nurses is symptom of the illness rather than of aging

Myth 4: You can t teach old dogs new tricks y Fact: Older adults may still benefit from health education activities

Myth 5:Older adults are all senile y Fact: Senility refers to cognitive impairment (dementia); dementia is not a normal process of aging but a pathological disease process

Myth 6: Depression is a normal response to the many losses older adults experience with aging y Fact: depression is an abnormal response to the many physiological changes of aging, they are more susceptible to pathophysiology thus predisposing them to depression

Myth 7: Older adults are no longer interested in sex y Fact: sexuality continues throughout the life of older adults

Myth 8: Older adults smell y Fact: sweat glands decrease with age; urinary and bowel incontinence are pathologic and are highly treatable

Myth 9: The secret to successful aging is to choose your parent wisely y Fact: there is a lot that individuals can do to age gracefully

Myth 10: Because older adults closer to death and are ready to die, they do not require special consideration at end of life

Fact: older adults require equal and specialized attention to physical, social, psychological and spiritual task at the end of life. End of life seems to complete an important developmental task of aging thus nurses play a role to help older adults complete this task

Hierarchy of five needs motivates human behavior: physiologic, safety and security, love and belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization. y Assumptions

1. Needs are prioritized such that more basic needs like physiological functioning or safety take precedence over personal growth needs (love and belonging, self-esteem, and selfactualization). 2. Movement is multidirectional and dynamic in a lifelong process toward need fulfillment. 3. Self-actualization requires the freedom to express and pursue personal goals and be creative in an environment that is stimulating and challenging. 4. physical, economic, social, and environmental constraints can impede need fulfillment of older adults 5. failure to grow leads to feelings of failure, depression, and the perception that life is meaningless

Psychological theories. Human Needs Theory (Maslow, 1954) suggests a hierarchy that initially requires fulfillment of physiologic needs, followed by safety and security, then love/belonging, self-esteem, and finally self-actualization needs. Some flexibility when interpreting the hierarchy is relevant for the nurse caring for adults who may have or need advance directives. The nurse can reprioritize either with the individual or with family to make love/belonging needs supercede fulfillment of physiologic and even safety and security needs in order to respect the person's wishes.

Theories of aging as basis for assessment

by Sheila Grossman, Jean Lange april 2006

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FSS/is_2_15/ai_n172 12609/

Healthy aging is fundamentally a biopsychosocial process involving three broad contributing factors: (a) social structural influences (gender, socioeconomic status, race, age, and cultural context), (b) individual influences (psychosocial and behavioral), and (c) biological influences (inflammatory and oxidative damage, damage to irreplaceable molecules and cells, and blood metabolic hormones). By integrating a huge body of literature concerning these processes, Ryff and Singer develop several propositions that are key to their biopsychosocial theory of healthy aging. For example, one proposition is about health promotion: positive psychosocial factors predict better biological regulation. Another is about resilience: positive psychosocial factors protect against the damaging effects of external adversity. A third concerns recovery and repair processes: positive psychosocial factors facilitate the regaining of functional and biological capacities. In each of these, we see the value of interdisciplinary investigation, which vaults us beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries and limitations.(Bengtson et al, 2009)

Bengston, V., Gans, D., Putney, N. & Silverstein, M. (2009) Handbook of Theories of Aging. 2nd ed. New York: Springer Publishing Company.

choose a theory 2. short bondpaper, arial 12, 1.5 spacing, 1 inch margin on all sides 3. Formulate an introduction - definition of old age

- what is it for you? - ageism/ myth that is applicable that you have chosen 4. theoretical framework - conceptual framework - explain breifly the theory - theory utilization 5. conclusion