Articles

To learn more about pain in older adults visit ConsultGeriRN.org Other topics you can learn about at this site:

• Normal Aging Changes
• Atypical Presentation
• Delirium
• Dementia
• Depression
• Ethnogeriatric Care
• Falls
• Family Cargiving Functions
• Hydration Management
• Iatrogenesis
• Mealtime Difficulties
• Medication
• Nutrition in the Elderly
• Oral Health in the Elderly
• Physical Restraints
• Pressure Sores and Skin Tears
• Sensory Changes
• Sexuality Issues
• Sleep
• Substance Abuse
• Decision Making
• Urinary Incontinence
• Advance Directives

To learn more about Alzheimer's Disease open this power point slide Show on "ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE: Unraveling the Mystery" developed by the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health. Click Slide Notes for the accompanying script for each slide.

To learn more about preventive care for older adults, read the Executive Summary Report of the American Society on Aging and the Edward R. Roybal Institute for Applied Gerontology, California State University, Los Angeles "Live Well, Live Long: Steps To Better Health"

Practice Tips

The American Geriatrics Society's Foundation for Health in Aging (FHA) has launched a series of easy-to-understand health "tip sheets" to help older adults make healthier lifestyle choices. They are available at www.healthinaging.org.

Empower a family member with a lay person's screening tool for early Alzheimer's disease using the Memory Checklist adapted from Mundt, J.C. and Griest, J.H. (2000), Journal of Gerontology, Psychology, Social Sciences, 55B: 163-170.

To assist a caregiver prepare for discharge consider using these tools developed by Eric Coleman, MD, MPH, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Health Care Policy Center

• Personal Health Record (pdf)
• Discharge Preparation Checklist (pdf)
• For more information about the UCHSC, HCPC Care Transition
• Project visit http://www.caretransitions.org/

The effects on older adults after the Katrina hurricane led to the development of an Emergency Preparedness Tips for Older Adults by the American Geriatrics Society.

Share Your Knowledge, Experiences and/or Concerns Did you read an article about care for an older person that your colleagues or students could learn from? Did you find a useful clinical tool that other RNs could use for their geriatric patient? Did you have an experience that enabled you to become more insightful about older adults?

If you answer YES to all or one of the above questions, please share your story through the AAPINA listserve, modulator@aapina.org.