Ch20: Gerontology Flashcards
(88 cards)
age range: young old, old old, oldest old, elite old
young old: 65-74yo
old old: 75-84yo
oldest old: 85-100yo
elite old: >100yo
average life expectancy at:
- 65yo
- 75yo
- 85yo
- 90yo
- 100 yo
65yo + 18 75yo + 11 85yo + 6 90yo + 4 100yo + 2
the longer you live, the older you are expected to live
% of population over 65yo that is classified as poor or nearly poor
18%
single biggest source of income after 65yo
social security (42%)
limited contribution from pension, earnings, assets, and other sources
the majority of elders >85yo [do vs. do not] need assistance with instrumental ADLs
do not :)
77% do not need assistance
% of elderly who live alone
33%
majority live with a spouse or another relative
Erik Erickson psychosocial task/conflict of old age
ego integrity vs. despair
Butler psychosocial/ developmental theory of aging: retrospection and life review results in …. (3)
serenity, candor, wisdom
(3) conflicts in Peck psychosocial/developmental theory of aging
- ego differentiation vs. work role preoccupation
- body transcendence vs. body preoccupation
- ego transcendence vs. ego preoccupation (happy with what you’ve done, happy with what you’ve accomplished, rather than preoccupied with what you did not)
conflict of Levinson’s season on life psychosocial/developmental theory of aging
individual must ultimately come to terms with the inevitability of death
this theory focuses on relationship of physical changes to personality
physiologic theory of aging: gene theory
suggests that one or more latent, harmful genes become activated in late adulthood, and the individual cannot ultimately survive
suggests the killer gene was there all along, but remained latent
physiologic theory of aging: error theory
as a cell ages, proteins contain more and more errors and eventually a “killer” gene is produced
the more a cell ages and copies, will not work as well as before and more errors accumulate
suggests that errors create a killer gene
physiologic theory of aging: somatic mutation theory
there is an active destruction of a key gene that causes cells to stop dividing
longevity depends on how well the cell can repair DNA
suggests that there is a gene that promotes life, allowing cells to survive
physiologic theory of aging: programmed theory
a senescence factor (aging factor) accumulates in cells, and then finally begins to act in a dominant factor
the aging factor is dominant to young cells
physiologic theory of aging: immunologic theory
imbalance of T cells (cellular immune function),
cellular immune function decreases and auto-antibodies become responsible to the breakdown of the body
physiologic theory of aging: free-radical theory
free-radicals are unpaired electrons (circulate as super-oxide O3 and peroxide H2O2 and hydroxyl free radical)
- three forms of oxygen that are highly reactive or volatile
- aka, reactive oxygen species
- forms of oxygen with a loose electron (O2 is stable, but O3 is not. H0 is stable, H2O2 is not, etc.)
unpaired electrons are produced both intrinsically and externally -> altered biochemical reactions thus result in DNA damage and cell death
physiologic theory of aging: cross-link theory
collagen molecules cross-link in tissues producing stiffness and rigidity
stiff tissues don’t function very well and eventually die
physiologic theory of aging: stress-adaptation
age-related physical changes lead to a decrease in the ability to cope with stressors
related to hypothermia (metabolism slows down, and heat is a byproduct of metabolism), cardiac output decline, and vital capacity result in diminished ability to cope with stress
high degree of variability, which could explain why some people live so much longer than others
author of the transtheoretical model of change - e.g., precontemplation, contemplation, etc.
Prochaska
Prochaska’s stages of change in the transtheoretical model of change (5)
- precontemplation
- contemplation
- preparation
- action
- maintenance
what is competency?
the law presumes that all adults are competent to make decisions regarding their medical care
ONLY a COURT can declare a person incompetent and appoint a guardian to make decisions for them
Impaired judgement does not make a patient incompetent
what is the only entity that can declare a person incompetent?
a judge
Does impaired judgement make a patient incompetent?
no!
you can have transient delirium, or other acute conditions, rendering unable to provide informed consent but doesn’t make you permanently incompetent
who can determine whether a patient can provide informed consent?
providers
does not require a judge, like incompetency does