Falls prevention study: a practical approach.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Accidental Falls↗
Biomedical subjects
T A Cutillo-Schmitter
Publications and source records attributed to T A Cutillo-Schmitter.
Exemplars from an acute care geriatric psychiatry unit.
The exemplars in this article reflect caring contexts and creative nursing solutions to dementia, depression, and addiction, common mental health problems afflicting elderly patients and for which inpatient evaluation and treatment are necessitated. Optimal functioning and quality of life for elderly individuals depend substantially upon both physical and mental capacity. The coexistence of mental and physical illness leads to rapid impairment of functioning and interrupts the individual's zest for living. Although in most cases dementia is irreversible, other treatable comorbid conditions like delirium can exacerbate suffering and decline. Conversely, mental disorders, like depression and addiction, can amplify the negative effects associated with other health conditions, causing excess disability and mortality, and are associated with older individuals having the highest suicide rate of any age group in the United States. Nurses are well positioned to identify mental health problems and humanely treat primary and secondary symptoms associated with these disorders in their elderly patients. A document to guide medical professionals' assessment of mental disorders is now available (Spitzer et al., 1994). Remaining attentive to early identification of high-risk individuals and mobilizing resources in their behalf will substantially contribute to their well-being. There is ample research evidence on the benefits and efficacy of mental health interventions (Lebowitz, 1994). Much of the challenge and hard work for nurses lies in getting to know the patient, grasping what is happening for the individual and determining which treatment interventions will be most effective given the present circumstances surrounding the illness episode (Benner, 1984).
Aged↗
Managing ambiguous loss in dementia and terminal illness.
Grieving ambiguous loss is difficult because individuals must let go while finding ways to remain connected. In cases of ambiguous loss, nurses can play an important role in helping bereaved families through empathetic "presencing" and objective coaching. Coaching roles include helping family members grieve openly by sharing perceptions, and problem solve together to manage individual, caregiving and broader family issues. Nurses provide hope that a disease can be managed by making the unfamiliar familiar.
Adaptation, Psychological↗
Formulating treatment partnerships with patients and their families. A case study.
1. A care environment, per se, can foster patient recovery and confidence that things will work out as well as can be expected when staff practices and explicit processes are patient-centered and adapted to developmental and individual needs. 2. Separating more cognitively impaired from higher functioning patients and developing more specialized nursing teams affords a healing and restorative care environment, individualized care routines and specialty groups along with finely-tuned patient/family education. 3. Organized staff education and mentoring programs combined with master scheduling enhances the continuity of patient-centered practices and risk management protocols.
Accidental Falls↗
Aging: broadening our view for improved nursing care.
1. An interplay of biopsychosocial variables affect older adults' ability to thrive, adjust to change and finish well. 2. An expanded view of aging including an eco-systemic approach facilitates an exploration of helpful geriatric nursing care strategies. 3. A helpful nursing role both nurtures and challenges in order to foster a personal sense of coherence as well as a sense of possibility. 4. "Goodness-of-fit" solutions demand that we understand the unique resources and needs of the individual, including relational strengths and liabilities, in order to provide the best mixture of family and care-giving aid.
Activities of Daily Living↗