Question

1. Conduct research on geriatric problems with bowel elimination, urinary incontinence, and dehydration. Write a one-page report on your findings. Please cite the source of your findings.

Answer 1

Adequate bowel elimination is an essential physiologicak finction and daily comfort of elderly patients. Aa careful assessment of normal bowel elimination patterns give us a guise to prevent unncesary bowel complications with older patient is hospitalized to a long tem care facility . Constipation and inconsistence are the two major bowel elimination problems affecting older adults . Many simple nursing interventions when contipation or other problems occur.

We found that routines of regular prompts and assistance can have a positive effect on continence and hydration levels on elderly, nonambulatory nursing home residents with potential benefits to their physical health. These routines can easily be incorporated into existing nursing care procedures as was demonstrated in the last phase of the study when regular aides and orderlies operated the cart and produced comparable effects. Although, as indicated during baseline, only 25% of the patients were dehydrated, this figure is clinically significant because of its medical implications and the relative ease with which the problem can be eliminated. A point frequently raised in applied studies is whether the project in question contains features that will allow for its maintenance over time by the regular staff. This project contained several such features including: (a) incorporating a system of regular data collection, such as forms to record urinometer scores, and (b) having supervisory personnel use performance checklists. Four months after the study was completed, data from these checklists indicated that the cart and written procedures continued to be a regular feature of the nursing care routines.

References : Collins, R. W., & Plaska, T. (1975). Mower's conditioning treatment for enuresis applied to geriatric residents of a nursing home. Behavior Therapy, 6, 632-638. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. (1975). Long term care facility improvement study. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. (1976). Facts about older Americans. DHEW Publication No. (OHD) 77-2006. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Fleck, H. (1976). Introduction to nutrition. New York: Macmillan Publications. Grosicki, J. (1968). Effect of operant conditioning on modification of incontinence in neuropsychiatric geriatric patients. Nursing Research, 17, 304-311. Habeeb, M. C., & Kallstrom, M. D. (1976). Bowel program for institutionalized adults. American Journal of Nursing, 76, 606-608. Manard, B. B., Woehle, T. R., & Heilman, J. M. (1977). Better homes for the old. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath. Pollock, D. D., & Lieberman, R. P. (1974). Behavior therapy of incontinence in demented inpatients. The Gerontologist, 14, 488-491. Stolten, J. H. (1973). The geriatric aide. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co. Sunderman, F. W. (1950). Normal values in clinical medicine. Philadelphia: Saunders.