HA Ch 31: Functional assessment of the Older Adult

During a functional assessment of an older person's home environment, which statement or question by the nurse is most appropriate regarding common environmental hazards?

"Do you have a relative or friend who can help you install grab bars in your shower?" Environmental hazards within the home can be a potential constraint on the older person's day-to-day functioning. Common environmental hazards, including inadequate lighting, loose throw rugs, curled carpet edges, obstructed hallways, cords in walkways, lack of grab bars in tub and shower, and low and loose toilet seats, are hazards that could leas to an increased risk of falls and fractures. Environmental modifications can promote mobility and reduce the likelihood of the older adult falling.

When beginning to assess a person's spirituality, which question by the nurse would be most appropriate?

"How does your spirituality relate to your health care decisions?" Open-ended questions provide a foundation for future discussions.

The nurse is preparing to assess an older adult and discovers that the older adult is in severe pain. Which statement about pain and the older adult is true?

Alleviating pain should be a priority over other aspects of the assessment. If the older adult is experiencing pain or discomfort, then the depth of knowledge gathered through the assessments will suffer. Alleviating pain should be a priority over other aspects of the assessment. Remembering that older adults with cognitive impairment do not feel less pain is paramount.

The nurse needs to assess a patient's ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs) and should choose which tool for this assessment?

Barthel Index The Barthel index is used to assess ADLS

An 85-year-old man has been hospitalized afte a fall at home, and his 86-year-old wife is at his bedside. She tells the nurse that she is his primary caregiver. The nurse should assess the caregiver for signs of possible caregiver burnout, such as:

Depression Caregiver burden is the precieved strain by the person who cares for an older adult or for a person who is chronically ill or disabled. Caregiver burnout is linked to the caregiver's ability to cope and handle stress. Signs of possible caregiver burnout include multiple somatic complaints, increased stress and anxiety, social isolation, depression, and weight loss.

A patient will be ready to be discharged from the hospital soon, and the patient's family members are concerned about whether the patient is able to walk safely outside alone. The nurse will perform which test to assess this?

Get Up and Go Test The Get Up and Go Test is a reliable and valid test to quantify functional mobility. The test is quick, requires little training and no special equipment, and is appropriate to use in many settings including hospitals and clinics. This instrument has been shown to predict a person's ability to go safely outside alone.

An older patient has been admitted to the intensive care unit after falling at home. Within 8 hours, his condition is stabilized and he is transferred to a medical unit. The family is wondering whether he will be able to go back home. Which assessment is most appropriate for the nurse to choose at this time?

Hospital Admission Risk Profile (HARP) Hospital-acquired functional decline may occur within 2 days of hospital admission. The HARP helps identify older adults who are at greatest risk of losing their ability to perform ADLs of mobility at this critical time.

The nurse is assessing the abilities of an older adult. Which activities are considered IADLs?

Preparing a meal, Balancing a checkbook, and Grocery shopping

During a morning assessment, the nurse notices that an older patient is less attentive and is unable to recall yesterday's events. Which test is appropriate for assessing the patient's mental status?

Mini-Cog For nurses in various settings, cognitive assessments provide continuing comparisons to the individual's baseline to detect any acute changes in mental status. The Mini-Cog is a mental status test that tests immediate and delayed recall and visuospatial abilities.

The nurse is preparing to perform a functional assessment of an older patient and knows that a good approach would be to:

Observe the patients ability to perform the tasks. Two approaches are use to perform functional assessment: (1) asking individuals about their ability to perform the task, or (2) actually observing their ability to perform the tasks.

The nurse is assessing the forms of support an older patient has before she is discharges. Which of these examples is an informal source of support?

Patient's neighbor, who visits with her daily Informal support includes family and close, long-time friends and is usually provided free of charge.

The nurse is assessing an older adult's advanced activities of daily living (AADLs) which would include:

Recreational activities. AADLs are activities that an older adult performs such as occupational and recreational activities.

the nurse is assessing an older adult's functional ability. Which definition correctly describes one's functional ability? Functional ability;

Refers to one's ability to perform activities necessary to live in modern society Functional ability refers to one's ability to perform activities necessary to live in modern society and can include driving, using the telephone, or performing personal tasks such as bathing and toileting.

When using the various instruments to assess an older person's ADLs, the nurse needs to remember that a disadvantage of these instruments includes:

Self or proxy reporting of functional activities. A disadvantage of many of the ADL and IADL instruments is the self or proxy reporting of functional activities.

The nurse is preparing to use the Lawton IADL instrument as part of an assessment. Which statement about the Lawton IADL instrument is true?

The Lawton IADL instrument is designed as a self-report measure of performance rather than ability. The Lawton IADL instrument is designed as a self-report measure of performance rather than ability. Direct testing is often not feasible, such as demonstrating the ability to prepare food while a hospital impatient. Attention to the final score is less important than identifying a person's strengths and areas where assistance is needed. The instrument is useful in acute hospital settings for discharge planning and continuously in outpatient settings