When communicating with older adult clients, the nurse recognizes ...

[NClaborn]

When communicating with older adult clients, the nurse recognizes that
 
  a. hearing problems can diminish an older person's ability to interact with others.
  b. hearing loss associated with normal aging begins after age 40 years.
  c. older adults who experience hearing loss initially cannot hear lower-frequency sounds of vowels.
  d. older adults distinguish sounds better against background noises.

Question 2

A client has an order for a new medication. When preparing to administer the medication to the client for the first time, the nurse gets ready to educate the client and the client's daughter about the medication.
 
  When educating the client and the daughter, the nurse should do all of the following except
 
  a. observe the client before implementing teaching and gear teaching strategies to meet the individual needs of the client.
  b. direct instructions to the client's daughter.
  c. draw on the client's experiences and interests in planning teaching.
  d. make the teaching session short enough to avoid tiring the client.

[fatboyy09]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: A
Hearing problems can diminish an older person's ability to interact with others, attend concerts and other social functions, and understand medical directions. Hearing loss associated with normal aging begins after age 50 due to loss of hair cells (which are not replaced) in the organ of Corti in the inner ear. This change leads initially to a loss in the ability to hear high-frequency sounds (e.g., f, s, th, sh, ch) and is called presbycusis. Lower-frequency sounds of vowels are preserved longer. Older adults have special difficulty in distinguishing sounds against background noises and in understanding fast-paced speech.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: B
Assuming that cognitive intact older adults lack the capacity to understand instructions is a common error. Health care providers often direct instruction to the older adult client's younger companion, even when the client has no cognitive impairment. This action invalidates the client and diminishes self-worth. Simple modifications to reduce age-related barriers to learning when teaching older adults include:
 Explain why the information is important to the client.
 Use familiar words and examples in providing information.
 Draw on the client's experiences and interests in planning teaching.
 Make teaching sessions short enough to avoid tiring the client, and frequent enough for continuous learning support.
 Speak slowly, naturally, and clearly.

Health teaching for the elderly is critical if they are to master the tasks of old age and maintain their health. Healthy older adult learning capabilities remain intact, although older adults may need more time to think about how they want to handle a situation. The sensitive nurse observes the client before implementing teaching and gears teaching strategies to meet the individual learning needs of each client. Four aspects of successful agingfall prevention, adequate nutrition, socialization, and medication managementlend themselves to health teaching formats.

[NClaborn]

Excellent

[mcabuhat]

Gracias!