It is necessary to evaluate public health to solve a problem. The number one cause of injury and death among the elderly is falling. This is a significant issue. Individuals over the age of 55 should be screened for chronic health problems and risk factors for declining health and risk factors for declining health in this population.
Evaluation of Community, Group, and Individuals
Those over the age of 65 are the primary focus of this health care group’s assessment, which aims to provide information to this population. If a group of people 55 years or older who live in a neighborhood with type 2 diabetes and pancreatic cancer is considered at high risk of developing health problems, the group is considered at increased risk (Wallace & Estes, 2020). Patients with similar health diagnoses and assessments will be grouped to develop treatment plans for those struggling with these diagnoses (Wallace & Estes, 2020). Suppose one of the individuals participating in the group assessment has a different experience than the other members of the group assessment. In that case, the results of each group assessment may be thrown out. Instead of quantitative measurement research, the focus of this review is on qualitative investigation.
Individual health assessments are tailored to the patient’s specific needs instead of group health assessments (Briongos-Figuero et al., 2020). The examination of patients who have been diagnosed with CHF (congestive heart failure) focuses on problems involving the heart and its related organs. Instead of designing assessments for patients, these assessments are tailored to each patient and their specific needs.
Implementing a more in-depth public health assessment must be preceded by meticulous planning (Briongos-Figuero et al., 2020). To effectively communicate with the target audience, it is necessary to explain the primary data generated for immediate health problems in this population, including the community’s needs, the data collected, and the purposes for which the data on primary health problems in this population is used (Wallace & Estes, 2020). A development plan for the changes to be implemented, including how the ideas will be implemented. Once the project is in place, the individual’s methods for tracking progress should also be developed (Sharif et al., 2018). Public health assessments are intended to be dominated by quantitative data collection rather than qualitative research.
Evaluation
A community assessment of people aged 55 and over in Portland, Oregon, was conducted as part of the project. There is a long waiting list to become a member of this community because the socioeconomic status of the community is not low enough to meet the needs of its members. To become a community member, you must generally wait between six and eight months before applying. There are approximately 300 residents per day who have access to a swimming pool, jogging track, and storage area in addition to other amenities. We anticipate that each living room will have one to two bedrooms and measure approximately 750 square feet in size.
Strategy
A complete health check will be carried out at the community center during peak hours as part of the plan to complete this health assessment. This allows for the most significant number of people to be in the same place at the same time as possible. The exam will be held on November 5 at the time that has been agreed upon. Those attending the event were asked written questions about any health problems they were experiencing, including whether they had fallen in the previous six months, about health services being maintained in the community, and whether they were helpful (Hshieh et al., 2018). The information gathered on November 5 proved helpful in conducting this health assessment.
There were 300 people in attendance, but only 64 people attended that event. Many of these residents have expressed concern about their fear of falling, with the vast majority reporting frequent falls. However, the vast majority do not sustain any significant injuries. In autumn, residents report a rise in activity due to the transition from summer to winter weather, mainly when it is extremely cold or heavy outside. A total of forty-four out of the sixty-four people who attended the home had experienced a fall within the previous six to eight months (Briongos-Figuero et al., 2020). Another ten people said they were constantly concerned about falling down the stairs or feeling unsteady when standing. Fall prevention and mitigation will be the following areas of investigation after the president’s health and problem assessment has been thoroughly reviewed.
It is critical to concentrate on and examine the risk variables to determine the root causes of falls in this group of people (Wallace & Estes, 2020). Because of the weather conditions in Oregon, the quality of the pedestrian paths, the lack of services to prevent falls, and the presence of stairwells in the dwelling spaces, this neighborhood has a high risk of falling.
Evidence-Based Interventions
Developing a strategy to assist this community is centered on reducing falls and preventing injuries as much as possible. Those at risk of falling should be motivated to engage in fall reduction programs, as most of the study’s findings indicated. It is recommended that people remain independent and avoid falls (Sharif et al., 2018). This tool is intended for the senior population to provide information on various methods to assist these members of the community and warn them about fraudulent helpful aids that may be offered to them.
This tool will be made available to all residents to provide valuable resources and educational material as needed consistently. Each member will also receive a “safety check” leaflet, which will instruct them on conducting a self-inspection of their own homes for potential fall hazards (Briongos-Figuero et al., 2020). The following day, the residents were given these information brochures, which had been placed in the neighborhood community center. The plan to put these resources to use was put into motion. The help will be made available for one week. A residual count will be performed to determine how many people were interested in the material during that period. This group was also encouraged to report any other types of falls that they may have experienced.
The Evaluation’s Findings
According to the findings obtained on November 12, the locals collected approximately 50 booklets and fliers. The same period saw no recorded incidents of falling objects. Because of the limited time available for this evaluation, it is difficult to determine whether the information provided helped reduce falls or whether the information was coincidental. It would be necessary for this analyst to conduct more extensive research to accurately determine the benefits of educating and improving resources for this community to obtain more accurate results (Hshieh et al., 2018). Education alone can reduce the incidence of falls in this age group by approximately.
Policy Changes to Improve Elderly Population Health
Federally Regulated Long-Term Nursing Home Facilities
As a result of the widespread elderly neglect and abuse, several state and federal governments recognized the need to enact legislation to protect the most vulnerable members of society most vulnerable members. These rules and policies have been developed primarily to coordinate and facilitate the provision of care requirements, which are mainly met by nursing homes and other similar facilities. Individuals who require nursing or medical care and those who are sick, injured, or disabled are among the primary activities carried out by nursing facilities (Sharif et al., 2018). Home care centers are also involved in providing rehabilitation services to those sick, injured, or disabled, among other activities (Hshieh et al., 2018). Among the most notable aspects of this legislation is that home care centers and other medical providers who do not attain such agency requirements are removed from engaging in Medicaid or Medicare schemes.
CMS provides contact information for ombudsman offices in each state to make it easier for people to communicate in cases of harassment, neglect, or abuse to come forward (Briongos-Figuero et al., 2020). The United States Printing Office also provides access to the most recent electronic version of the national policies that specify and describes the criteria that RNs, home care centers, and medical providers must comply with a high degree of strictness.
People in nursing homes, care provider facilities, and professional nurses’ care are regularly subjected to abuse and neglect, and the severity of these cases varies depending on the circumstances. There have been reports of physical food, verbal, or sexual maltreatment, drying out, starvation, decubitus ulcers, cracked bones coming about because of falls, elopement, and roaming, among other things, in nursing homes (Hshieh et al., 2018). The result is that everyone who interacts with and attends to residents, particularly older ones, must exercise extreme caution to prevent causing unintended harm to the more geriatric patients while also preventing legal concerns.
U.S. State Regulated Assisted Living and Residential Care Facilities
As a result of the significant annual rise in the number of the elderly, a more substantial portion of people are enrolled in residential care (RC) and advanced life support (AL) than in nursing homes, which typically have long-term professional staff (Sharif et al., 2018). While home care centers offer full-time treatment and caregiving services for older persons, AL and RC help them maintain their independence in their homes and various living environments. Even though RC and AL regulations are often clearly defined, most states permit care suppliers to arrange lodging benefits with imminent old occupants or their representatives (Sharif et al., 2018). As a result, the cost index of goods and services at RC and AL facilities does not adhere to any standardization process or methodology despite existing regulatory provisions.
The National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) reported that the increase in the number of people in AL and RC is due to customers’ demands placed on organizations (Hshieh et al., 2018). Professional services and adaptive items that assist people with memory impairment and chronic illness in thoroughly planned settings, such as nursing homes, are included in the requirements. Based on the findings, older people in need of acute care prefer rehabilitation centers or assisted living facilities to six-to-one nursing homes. They also like RC or AL facilities to nursing homes in most cases. Another critical point to note is that although AL is relatively new, the term has become widely accepted over time (Briongos-Figuero et al., 2020). In summary, RC and AL are intended to consider the needs of the elderly, who are free to live in an environment tailored to their requirements and preferences. The following are some examples of accessibility features to consider: low kitchen cabinets and countertops, wide doors, raised toilets, and folding showers, amongst other things.
It may come as a surprise to learn that most of those currently residing in RC and Navy centers across the United States aren’t old persons but rather individuals who cannot live peacefully at their residencies because of mental or physical limitations. Architecture firms in the United States had not yet begun to specialize professionally in the design and construction of senior housing before the late 1990s when the first such firms opened their doors. Construction of universally designed homes for the elderly began in the 1990s after the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1988. This progress has continued into the twenty-first century. Researchers define universal design as applying seven fundamental principles that must be followed (Hshieh et al., 2018). These principles include clear and visible information, fair use, low physical effort, ease of use and intuitive use, adaptability, the flexibility of approach and application, and fault tolerance, amongst other things.
The elderly will be balanced, but their cognitive function will also be significant if reinvented; new nursing homes can overcome the barriers they currently face in their living environment. Caregivers can provide efficient and quality services to the elderly. Improved. In any case, this isn’t the case because the chronicled, bunch, and intermittent impacts that shape self-improvement contrast from person to person, resulting in a diverse and complex set of outcomes from one individual to the next. It has been pointed out that there is little agreement among researchers on a universal definition of the concept of assisted living in the United States, with different scholars making different arguments in different ways (Sharif et al., 2018). As the researchers point out, there is currently no globally accepted definition of assisted living applicable universally in all circumstances.
Assisted living is a type of communal housing that, in addition to basic accommodation, provides additional services such as transportation, social activities, and prepared meals. It also provides daily care and support with IADL and ADL services (Wallace & Estes, 2020). While state regulations and standards govern nursing homes, the administration of housing and assisted, living facilities varies according to states because of the accessibility of different expert help administrations and the need for multiple types of adaptive environments in other locations.
There is no denying that federal regulations do not accurately and meaningfully control the behavioral differences between AL and RC. As a result, assisted living varies widely from state to state regarding quality and availability (Sharif et al., 2018). The federal government is not currently involved in developing RC and AL standards. As a result, when it comes to providing elderly senior care and services to meet their adaptation needs, RC and AL can either be a creative option or a weaker system.
Strategies to Ensure Sustainability of Elderly Care
Although it is not widely used, leveraging community networks is a popular strategy. Neighbors appear to play a minor role in assisting seniors with more complex needs. According to research, the role of neighbors is diminishing in the Portland area as a result of the changes, even though parents remain more connected to the community and rely on outside help than alternative forms of sustainability. When available, neighbors do not appear to provide much assistance or relief, but they do serve as a source of control and support in an emergency. More than a decade ago, politicians in the United States recognized the need for parent community networks (Hshieh et al., 2018). COVID-19’s recent experience demonstrates the network’s capabilities when resources and even further-flung family support may be unavailable. As a result, authorities have a critical role in strengthening and promoting these informal networks.
Work-related changes influence internal decisions, and workplace flexibility allows nurses to perform their duties. Job-related changes are common, and while there are few reports of employer understanding, this could be due to the small sample size, as this flexibility allowed them to become nurses. Still, others would not be able to take on the role of caring without it. This is linked to caregivers’ frequent use of vacation time, indicating the need for more days off due to the care situation to improve the caregiver’s quality of life. Workplace solutions must be developed to allow for more vacations and flexible work schedules and make employers more aware of their responsibilities for employee care.
Conclusion
This evaluation provided me with a better understanding of what health education can do for the elderly. Many people are unaware of the dangers of inadequate care and other factors that can increase their risk of falling inside their homes (Briongos-Figuero et al., 2020). If this health assessment had been conducted as a longitudinal study, the results would have been more effective and precise. However, the findings are still significant in this situation. Evidence-based techniques for reducing falls have been proven effective, the quality of elderly care and patient safety is improved by demonstrating these placement tools and making resources available.
References
Briongos-Figuero, L. S., Cobos-Siles, M., Gabella-Martín, M., Abadía-Otero, J., Lobo-Valentin, R., Aguado-De-La-Fuente, A., … & Martín-Escudero, J. C. (2020). Evaluation and characterization of multimorbidity profiles, resource consumption and healthcare needs in extremely elderly people. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 32(4), 266-270.
Hshieh, T. T., Yang, T., Gartaganis, S. L., Yue, J., & Inouye, S. K. (2018). Hospital elder life program: systematic review and meta-analysis of effectiveness. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 26(10), 1015-1033.
Sharif, S. I., Al-Harbi, A. B., Al-Shihabi, A. M., Al-Daour, D. S., & Sharif, R. S. (2018). Falls in the elderly: assessment of prevalence and risk factors. Pharmacy Practice (Granada), 16(3).
Wallace, S. P., & Estes, C. L. (2020). Health policy for the elderly. In Growing old in America (pp. 569-588). Routledge.
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