Caring For Older People

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There are several disorder you are required to know which are limited to;

• Circulatory System Disorder
• Sensory Impairment
• Musculo-skeletal Disorder
• Nervous System Disorder
• Respiratory System Disorder
• Digestive System Disorder

It is very beneficial to learn 1 disorder from each component in great detail, rather than learning multiple of disorder and lack knowledge of them.

You should be aware of a summary of causes that cause a disorder, in order to be able to identify how an older person would feel physically, intellectually, emotionally and social, if your mind goes blank in the Exam. (Think of cause and effect) or (always ask yourself how and why)

You will find that occassionally you will feel like you are repeating yourself. Do not worry about that if you have different point. As long as you fully explained it and linked it to the disorder, you will be fine.

Circulatory System Disorder - Heart Disease (There are many to choose from, but I went for a general one, which is relatively easy.)

Cause; often caused by a build up of fatty deposits on the walls of arteries that are around the heart. This means that the arteries get narrower which restricts the blood flow to the heart. (Think how this would make an older person feel.)

Physical Effects; (You often get questions worth 5 marks or so, asking to you to identify some physical or sometimes hollistic effects that an older person may experience. It is important you are aware of at least few. In some cases they ask you to explain what impact that may have. Think of effects on daily living.)

• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• High blood pressure
• Poor mobility
• Decreased energy levels

Emotional Effects; (many of the emotional effects are actually same for each disorder. They are very interrelated, so you do not need to remember many, you just need to know a few and clearly explain why it makes a person feel a way.)

• Depressed
• Stressed - as they may be concerned about their condition.
• Unmotivated
• Worried
• Upset

Social Effects;

• Dependant on others to go out - such as family or friends, due to being in a high risk of hurting themselves or falling over = high blood pressure/tiredness/chest pain.
• More time for leisure - due to having a circlulatory disorder, an older person may have more time for leisure as they may not socialise a lot, but instead can relax at home and do their hobbies such as; crosswords or bingo.
• Spend time with friends and family - May spend more time with grandchildren also, and take on a new role of a baby sitter, while parents are at work. This way, an older person can emotionally become more happy and more positive about the aspects of their life.

Economic Effects; (economic effects are very similar to emotional effects in terms of being applicable to majority of the disorders. All economic effects can be turned into…