Nutrition of the elderly is an important area of nursing care and should not be taken lightly. It is important in nursing care to assess patients nutrition, as if taken care of it can optimize the general well being of the patient. Malnutrition is the main worry when focusing on elderly patients nutrition, as 40 to 60% of older adults who are hospitalized are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. This statistic is rather high, meaning that the correct nursing practise is not always used. In this review I will be looking to find the reasons behind this and how the care of these patients can be increased to its full potential.
When we look at nutrition we have to consider why it is that elderly patients are so different compared to everyone else. Many questions arise when we look at this for example do they have different eating habits, is there a physiological problem or even is there a psychological problem. The answers to these questions can always be yes in relation to the elderly and we must look further than these general questions, and study the literature of the subject to fully become aware of the correct nursing care to correctly assess and treat this problem.Nutrition of The Elderly Essay
A review by Finch et la (1998) shows that a the majority of the elderly population, not requiring hospitalization, are well nourished and have a good intake of all the correct vitamins, minerals and calories. However what is of more importance in this review is the elderly patients who fall without this category including patients whose nutrition does affect their health and have physical and or mental problems which lower their nutritional intake.
A report by COMA (DH, 1999) stated that diet deficiencies in the elderly, most noticed in calcium levels and recommended that current practice of fortifying flour with calcium should continue the same. That same survey also highlighted the low levels of Vitamin D in the elderly which, together with the low levels of calcium gave concern for the increased incidence of osteoporosis found in the elderly population.Nutrition of The Elderly Essay
Another review highlighting deficiency in different areas for the elderly. (Steele et al., 1998) point us to the fact that many elderly patients do not have a good dentition. This obviously can have a massive impact on their nutritional intake and in their choice of food and ease or difficulty of eating it. They also found that those of the elderly who had their own dentition did have a measurable better nutritional and mineral intake than those who did not. Those with poor teeth tended to eat significantly less fruit, nuts and food generally that was hard to chew, meaning they missed out on vital natural vitamins and minerals.
All of these facts drawn from literature show us that the nutrition of the elderly is an important and special group. I will now look into further literature to show these specific groups in the elderly population which lack of proper nutrition can affect.Nutrition of The Elderly Essay
Malnutrition is a main concern in nursing practise with elderly patients, so when looking at it we must be fully aware of what the term means. A review by DiMaria-Ghalil (2005) shows the definition of malnutrition. Any disorder of nutritional status, including disorders resulting from a deficiency of nutrient intake, impaired nutrient metabolism, or over-nutrition.
Reuben (2005) shows us that malnutrition can be brought on by many things in the elderly population such as dietary intake, isolation, chronic illness, and physiological changes.
The routine for the correct nursing care with elderly patients is essential and must be followed for every patient so that no patient is misdiagnosed. During the routine nursing assessment, any and all alterations in the general assessment areas that may influence the patients factors of intake, absorption, or digestion of nutrients should always be further assessed to make sure if an older patient is at a nutritional risk. These areas include the following.Nutrition of The Elderly Essay
As stated by a review done by the University of Texas, School of Nursing (2006) a typical assessment should be done including their present history, past and medical history, and an assessment of their current symptoms.
A note of their social history should be taken into account.
Any drugs the patient may be taking which can interact or affect the patients nutrient intake and absorption. Boullata, J (2004) stated that drugs can affect and modify the nutrient needs for the metabolism of older people. It also stated that factors such as restrictive diets, changes in eating habits and diet, alcoholism and chronic disease with long term drug treatments can all affect the nutrient intake and reactions in an elderly patient. The fourth area that should be taken into account is the patients’ fun
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