The nurse is preparing to perform postural drainage with an older ...

[craiczarry]

The nurse is preparing to perform postural drainage with an older patient. Which action would the nurse perform first?
 
  A) Rest period
  B) Oral hygiene
  C) Position for postural drainage
  D) Administer aerosol medications

Question 2

What are the most important competing forces that influence health policy for the elderly?
 
  A) Cost containment versus quality of care
  B) Acute care versus the burden of chronic disease
  C) Private insurance payments versus Medicare support
  D) Long-term care at home versus nursing home services

[parker125]

Answer to Question 1

D
Feedback:
The nurse would first provide the patient with any prescribed aerosol medications. Then the patient would be positioned for postural drainage followed by oral hygiene and then rest.

Answer to Question 2

A
Feedback:
Policy discussions most often pit cost containment (reducing expenditures) against quality of care (which may mean increasing expenditures). Seniors require relatively less acute care than younger patients do; their health problems are more often chronic. Because all persons over age 65 are entitled to health coverage through Medicare, insurance considerations are fewer than with younger patients. And whereas one in four seniors requires nursing home care at some time, nursing home residency is not typically long term.