Chapter 20 Prep U
An older adult is admitted to the health care facility with a diagnosis of depression. The nurse would be especially alert for:
suicidal thoughts.
Based on an understanding of the cognitive changes that normally occur with aging, what might the nurse expect a newly hospitalized older adult to do?
take longer to respond and react
The charge nurse in an extended-care facility knows that the new nurse understands ageism when she says which of the following?
"Neither intelligence nor personality normally decline because of aging."
The nurse is caring for an older adult client who is confused and agitated. When the client's family comes to visit the nurse asks how long the client has been confused. The family states that the client has been confused for a long time and the confusion is getting worse. The client is subsequently diagnosed with dementia. What is the most common cause of dementia in an older adult client?
Alzheimer's disease
One of the greatest causes of death in the United States and Canada is colon cancer. The nurse instructs the community on which of the following factors?
Annual screening after the age of 50
What term is used to describe various disorders that progressively affect cognitive function?
Dementia
An elderly client is becoming progressively confused due to Alzheimer's disease. The family can no longer manage the client at home due to wandering. Which of the following living arrangements could the nurse recommend?
Extended-care facility
A nurse has decided to specialize in the care of the aging individuals in both illness and health. What is the term for this nursing specialty?
Gerontologic nursing
A 78-year-old woman is on a nurse's rehabilitation unit status post a cerebrovascular accident (CVA). As the nurse assess her gait, the nurse notices that the client's left foot is dragging and she is not bending her left knee nor swinging her left arm. How would the nurse best describe the client's gait?
Hemiparesis
The nurse is preparing a presentation on chronic pain management to a group of older adult members of a community senior citizens center. Which chronic disease should the nurse focus on in her presentation?
Osteoarthritis
A nurse caring for older adults in a long-term care facility is teaching a novice nurse characteristic behaviors of older adults. Which statement is not considered ageism?
Personality is not changed by chronologic aging.
The nurse is caring for an older adult client on the medical unit admitted for diagnostic testing. He is alert and oriented and lives independently in his own home. Which nursing intervention will be most effective in the prevention of falls for this client?
ensuring his glasses are close by his bed
A public health nurse is participating in a health fair that is being held at a local community center. The nurse should encourage adult participants to completely eliminate which of the following from their diet and lifestyle?
Smoking
A nurse has attended an inservice workshop that addressed the phenomenon of ageism in the health care system. Which of the following practices is indicative of ageism?
Speaking to older adults with the presumption that they have mild cognitive deficits
An older adult female client tells the nurse, "Whenever I sneeze or cough, I urinate a little bit. It's very embarrassing." The nurse interprets the client's statement as indicating which type of incontinence?
Stress
When providing nursing care to the elderly, it is most important to provide comfort due to which of the following changes?
Thermoregulation
A 90-year-old woman is admitted to a nurse's unit status post CVA. The client is alert and oriented to person, place, and time but has limited mobility and hemiparesis of the left side of her body. She is experiencing urinary incontinence. What is the most appropriate nursing action?
Use the Braden scale to assess for pressure ulcers.
A nurse is preparing a presentation for a group of families who are providing care to their older adult parents. One of the family members asks the nurse, "How common is Alzheimer's disease?" The nurse responds by telling the group that after age 65, the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease:
doubles every 5 years
A home care nurse is making a home visit to a 78-year-old client being cared for by his son and daughter-in-law. The client has missed several follow up visits to the health care provider over the past several months. The client states, "My son is so busy. I don't want to bother him." When the nurse asks the son about the missed visits, the son replies, "He just saw the doctor a couple months ago. He doesn't need to see him again. Besides, it costs too much money." The nurse would suspect:
neglect.
The nurse is assessing an older adult client who has suffered injury to his nervous system. The client has a history of chronic pain and currently reports pain on a scale of 8 out of 10. The nurse identifies this type of pain as most likely:
neuropathic pain.
