Introduction
Older people have a significant health issue with urinary tract infections (UTIs), which need lots of good care from many sides. When caring for a 78-year-old with urinary infections, we read expert books such as “Fundamentals for Nursing 10.0” by ATI Nursing Education and “Foundations and Adult Health Nursing” by Kim Cooper and Kelly Gosnell. These help us develop the best healthcare plan for their needs. As one age, fighting infection in the urinary system becomes more difficult. They need to understand the unique issues older people have more. This paper combines essential ideas from different sources. It gives a base for looking deeper into nursing assessments, diagnoses, goals, and actions made for a 78-year-old patient with a UTI. Using facts proven to work, nurses can improve their skills in assisting patients and ensuring elderly folks stay healthy.
The Specific Concept
Understanding kidney infections (UTIs) in older people is a complex health issue requiring more study and extra care from nurses. Older adults are more likely to get urinary tract infections. This is because their bodies struggle to fight illness, and they have other health problems. So, nurses and doctors must diagnose UTIs correctly in older people. This will assist them in providing extra attention that fits well with older people (Cooper & Gosnell, 2015). Knowing the big things about bladder infections in older people is essential. This helps them get better care they need. It is important to stress that nurses must give sound advice about UTIs. Clear actions should be taken based on these judgments. This part looks closely at the idea, giving us an excellent start to study health checks later and discover the problems and treatments for 78-year-old patients with UTI.
Nursing Assessments for Specific Concepts
For someone who is 78 years old and has a urinary tract infection (UTI), careful checking by nurses is essential to give the best treatment. Cooper and Gosnell (2015) say that knowing a patient’s medical past is vital to finding problems that may cause urinary infections in older adults. This includes old sicknesses, current health issues, and drugs that affect how the body uses or gets rid of urine. Just as important is looking at how the patient feels. This includes asking lots of questions about pain while urinating, needing to go often, how often it happens, and whether there is blood in their urine. This check of symptoms gives essential data about how bad the UTI is and how it hurts the patient’s health.
Both articles emphasize that a complete check-up allows doctors to find localized urinary tract infection signs. Checking the lower back, tummy, and vagina can find any signs of sickness like pain or feeling bad. It is essential to watch key health signs to discover if the problem could spread and act quickly. The check is not only about health but also the patient’s feelings and mental well-being. It recognizes that UTIs might affect mental health, especially in older adults (Wissman et al., 2008).
As suggested in both articles, testing urine is essential for finding and knowing UTIs. Checking for blood, white blood cells, and bacteria in urine gives precise details to help the health doctor guess. Also, looking at how much the patient urinates and when gives vital information about changes in how often they go, need to rush or leak. This helps us know how a UTI affects the patient’s daily life. Doctors can check if a urine infection improves or worsens by doing complete tests often while giving treatment (Wissman et al., 2008). These checks are the basis for future choices on changing treatment plans, doing new tests, or changing nursing actions. Nurse tests are always happening and changing. This helps them always understand what is happening with patients and make patient-focused treatment plans that can change, too.
Patient Problems/Nursing Diagnoses Related to Specific Concepts
When caring for a 78-year-old patient with a urinary tract infection (UTI), we focus on three main nurse problems that discuss this idea. “Improper Removal of Urine” is the first health problem identified in “Foundations and Adult Health Nursing.” This is because the patient’s symptoms, such as needing to urinate quickly, going more often, and pain while urinating, clearly show this issue. Nursing actions for pain relief and normal urination have to be done. They are needed because the body’s response in the urinary system causes problems in how an individual urinates (Wissman et al., 2008).
You should also be concerned about the second nurse check, “Risk of Falls,” especially for elderly patients with UTIs. Both writings show that older people have more chances of falling due to this sickness. This can happen because the illness might affect their thinking, happens often, and is very important. We need nursing care to watch over those moving unusually and their surroundings to prevent falls. If older patients are to be safe and healthy, we need to use fall prevention steps like careful checks and fixing things. Cooper and Gosnell (2015) said this. The third health check, “Painful Urination,” means that the patient says it hurts when they urinate and shows that there might be swelling in the bladder part. Both sources stress the need to understand and handle pain as a vital aspect of offering complete care. Use things to measure and keep track of pain, like number scales. This makes it easier to change medicines for less pain. This helps in making patients feel better in general.
These nursing diagnoses help understand how the patient’s health is related to the UTI. They give us a way to see how complicated this link is. Nurse treatments are made with some parts of the patient’s condition in mind, led by each diagnosis. “Risk for Falls” highlights the importance of stopping falls from happening. “Impaired Urinary Elimination” talks about getting normal urine function back, and “Acute Pain” is about making UTI-caused pain better (Cooper & Gosnell, 2015). Healthcare workers may offer all-around care focused on the older person with a urinary tract infection. They must find and treat any nursing problems that may affect this person.
Specific, Realistic, and Measurable Goals Attributed to Patient Care of Specific Concept
Making easy-to-reach goals that can be counted is essential when treating a 78-year-old patient with a problem in their urinary system (UTI). According to Wissman et al. (2008), a focused plan for nursing actions comes from three main goals. The main goal is to “Assist in Achieving Optimal Urinary Removal.” The patient should feel less often and pain while urinating within two days. The aim is to lessen pain and get the normal urinary flow back, which goes with the diagnosis of the “Urine Elimination Problem” for nurses. It is crucial to keep a daily record of when someone urinates and regularly ask how they feel, as it helps to see if they are getting closer to this goal.
The second goal, “Stopping Falls,” is to make sure that the patient keeps moving and does not fall when they are at the hospital. Nurses understand that getting sick with a UTI can make people more prone to falling, so nurses use the term “Risk for Falls.” To help prevent this, they check how someone walks every day, use equipment to help with movements, and change the environment to be safer for them. The third goal is about “Managing Acute Pain.” The patient should feel 50% less urine pain within the first day (Wissman et al., 2008). This goal considers how inflammation inside the urinary system affects it and connects with the nurse’s “Acute Pain” diagnosis. Checking if goals work means regularly checking pain with a number scale and changing pain medicines.
Nursing Interventions for Patient Care of Specific Concepts
For dealing with the idea of a urinary tract infection (UTI) in a patient who is 78 years old, good nursing actions are needed. Treatments that are made-to-order aim to ease symptoms and support good health. They use the complete understanding from “Foundations and Adult Health Nursing” and “Fundamentals for Nursing 10.0.” According to the nurse’s diagnosis of “Trouble with Urine Elimination,” it is essential to give particular medication. Drinking more water helps the body clean out the urinary system. Teaching patients about the need to take all their antibiotics reduces infections.
To deal with the nursing problem of “Risk for Falls,” different techniques are used to stop falls, which means checking for fall danger when someone arrives, making a bathroom schedule to control needs, and ensuring the area is safe for the patient. Also, getting people to use handrails makes bathroom trips without help less likely. This helps keep their freedom of movement safe. The aim of treatments for the nursing problem of “Sudden Pain” is to lessen pain while urinating (Cooper & Gosnell, 2015). This means giving out medicine for pain before doing things like going to the bathroom that might hurt more. Steps like putting warm clothes in the private area are used to make patients feel better and help make them more comfortable. Moreover, teaching patients includes ways to relax while they go to the bathroom as it helps lessen any pain.
Conclusion
Conclusively, using information from good sources creates a firm plan for nursing people with urinary tract infections (UTIs) that affect older adults. Doctors and nurses can provide exceptional care for the elderly with urinary tract infections (UTIs) using proven methods, accurate assessments, and targeted treatments. Making clear goals helps to check and change the care plan over time, leading to a more flexible approach that can change quickly. This idea, which focuses on regular checks and treatments proven to work well, not only quickly improves symptoms but also improves the health of older people with UTIs. It shows how vital nursing is in improving older people’s health.
References
Cooper, K., & Gosnell, K. (2015). Foundations and adult health nursing. Elsevier/Mosby.
Wissman, J., Knippa, A., Swenson, S., Knoblock, E., Stacy, B. L., & Assessment Technologies Institute. (2008). Fundamentals for nursing. Assessment Technologies Institute.
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