VP & Health Issue Poster Peer Review: In addition to the VP & Health Issue Poster, each student will also review at least 5 peer Posters and share their substantive comments in the discussion board.
Vulnerability of the Elderly Population
Taylor Woodson, AGPCNP DNP Program
Name & Brief Description of Vulnerable Population
Population
Priority Health Problem/Issue Impacting Group
• The elderly population in Ohio
Pop
• Ohio’s population of people 60 and over is anticipated to rise by
33.4% between 2010 and 2030. Ages 60 and older will account for
26.3% of Ohio’s population by 2030.
• Most elderly Ohioans live in rural counties in the Northeast,
Northwest, and Southeast regions of the state. Older Ohioans tend to
be underrepresented in urban and suburban counties, especially in
central Ohio.
• Approximately 26% of Ohio women and 22.5% of men are 60 years of
age or older, according to statistics.
• In 2018, most elderly Ohioans identified as white (87.7%), compared
to substantially lesser percentages of those who identified as black or
African American (9.6%) and Asian (1.3%), and 3.9% of all Ohioans
who identified as any race was of Hispanic or Latino descent.
• The elderly become more dependent on others as they gradually
lose control over their everyday activities and, their ability to make
decisions due to a loss in their physical and cognitive capacities.
Factors Influencing Vulnerability
Contribution of Vulnerability to the Problem/Issue
• Chronic health issues like diabetes, osteoporosis, chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease, hearing loss, and Alzheimer’s
disease are more common among older persons. Additionally, one
in three older persons fall each year, making falls the most common
injury among this age group.
• • At the biological level, aging is caused by the buildup of numerous
types of cellular and molecular damage over time. As a result,
physical and mental abilities gradually deteriorate, disease risk
increases, and eventually, death occurs. These changes are not
linear nor consistent, and they only marginally relate to an
individual’s age expressed in years. (Ageing and health., 2022).
• Can be inherited
• Majority are caused by people’s homes, neighborhoods, and
communities, as well as by their personal traits such as their sex,
race, or financial status.
• Frequent visits to healthcare providers- specialists and primary care
provider
• Polypharmacy
• Chronic health issues like diabetes, osteoporosis, chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease, hearing loss, and Alzheimer’s
disease are more common among older persons. Additionally, one
in three older persons falls each year, making falls the most
common injury among this age group.
• Loss of independence and chronic health issues result in social
isolation and depression among the elderly population
• Dependency can lead to elderly patients missing healthcare
appointments, or going without their medications as a result
of no transportation or limited finances
• Other factors influencing vulnerability:
• Functional limitations
• Lack of transportation
• Hearing loss
• A decline in physical strength
• Affordability of medications
• Cognitive decline
• Nursing home placement
• Lack of family caregivers
• Loss of spouse and lifelong friends
• The World Health Organization suggests between the years 2015
and 2050 the percentage of the elderly population worldwide will
double from 12% to 22% (Ageing and health., 2022).
Actions Taken to Reduce Vulnerability
• Maintaining healthy habits throughout life lowers the risk of
non-communicable diseases, enhances physical and mental
capabilities, and delays the need for care. Some healthy habits
include—
• eating a balanced diet
• getting regular exercise
• quitting smoking
• Resources in Ohio available to the elderly—
• Meals on Wheels
• County-provided services: housekeeping aide,
meal delivery service, transportation, assistance
with grocery shopping and other errands
• Pharmacy: free delivery, fill and deliver
weekly/monthly medication planners free of
charge
• Medicare Annual Wellness
• Medicaid eligibility change
• Senior Citizen Centers- offers exercise programs
and social events
• Transitional Care Management hospital follow-up
with a primary care provider- reduce hospital
readmission
• From the World Health Organization on Aging and Health:
Through collective action in four areas—changing society’s
References
view toward aging and ageism; creating communities that
support older people’s abilities; providing person-centered
integrated care and primary health services responsive to
older people—the United Nations Decade of Healthy Aging
(2021-2030) aims to reduce health inequities and improve the
lives of older people, their families, and communities (Ageing
and health., 2022).
Vulnerability of the Elderly Population
References
Age – vulnerable populations – marc health status data. (2015).
https://marc2.org/healthdata/vpopulations_age.htm#:~:text=Adults%20over%20age%2065%20are,that%20impede%20access%20to%20care.
Ageing and health. (2022). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-andhealth#:~:text=Although%20some%20of%20the%20variations,%2C%20ethnicity%2C%20or%20socioeconomic%20status.
Every ohio city and county ranked for median age, youth, seniors: Census estimates. (2019, December 23). cleveland. https://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/2019/12/every-ohio-cityand-county-ranked-for-median-age-youth-seniors-census-estimates.html
*Kajita, H., Maeda, K., Osaki, T., Kakei, Y., Kothari, K. U., & Nagai, Y. (2022). The effect of a multimodal dementia prevention program involving community‐dwelling
elderly. Psychogeriatrics, 22(1), 113–121. https://doi-org.uc.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/psyg.12790
Ohio Department of Aging. (2020). Summary assessment of older ohioans [PDF]. https://www.healthpolicyohio.org/wpcontent/uploads/2020/09/SAPA_SummaryAssessmentofOlderOhioans_06012020.pdf
*Rathi, M., Joshi, R., Desai, R., Gazbare, P., Kulkarni, N., & Kurtkoti, A. (2022). Effect of OTAGO Exercise Programme on Strength, Balance and Mobility in Elderly: An Experimental
Study. Indian Journal of Physiotherapy & Occupational Therapy, 16(3), 38–43. https://doi-org.uc.idm.oclc.org/10.37506/ijpot.v16i3.18394
References
*Research studies
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