Reflective written analysis of clinical incident - copy 2

Answer

Poster and Written Justification: Depression in Older Adults

Part 1: Poster

Part 2: Justification

Rationale for Health Risk Selection

The population of Australians aged 65 and over keeps increasing every day. Currently, well over 1 in 7 people in Australia is made up of those aged 65 and over (Beyond Blue, n.d). Among this population of older Australians, over half need varied types of care either terminally or from time to time. About 1 in four older adults experience varied forms of depression within Australia at any given time (Beyond Blue, n.d). It is, therefore, essential that the healthcare system of the country is aligned with the needs of this population. This is also partly because healthcare institutions tend to overlook the mental health side of these people and focus on their physical deterioration. As people age, there is a tendency for them to naturally withdraw from strenuous physical activity and even often, close relatives (Casey, 2017). This social isolation and lack of exercise make depression a major health issue for adults over 65 in Australia.

For the healthcare system in Australia specifically and the other systems in general, depression in older adults takes a huge toll. Because of its role in exacerbating some of the most challenging and terminally problematic conditions, depression has a negative consequence on health (Dempsey et al., 2018). Depressed older adults, it has been noted, tend to have by far thoughts of suicide thus greatly lowering the quality of life they live and hindering them from recovering from other old age related illnesses that they may have. The overall risk factors for these older adults within this healthcare system includes medical conditions like stroke or cancer, genetic factors, stress that these adults receive from people like their caregivers, problems related to their sleep, social isolation and loneliness, lack of exercises and physical activity and others like addiction. The poster narrowed down on depression in older adults as a health risk following its increasing trend, its wide ranging consequence and impact on the overall quality of life for this section of the Australian population.

Audience Selection Justification                                                      

The selected audience for this poster include both the registered nurse or caregiver and the older adult who may either be at risk or already undergoing health challenges related to ageing in Australia. For older adults, the registered nurse has a huge responsibility of ensuring that their well-being is catered for. For the nurse who looks after the older adult patient, knowing how to accurately diagnose the depression in the patient, talk to the adult about it and convince them to adopt varied treatment and management mechanism is supreme (Kotval-K et al., 2020). The supremacy of this is premised on the fact that depression is a progressive condition, and may manifest itself from the mild of little stress to the extremes of suicidal tendencies. While this need distinguishes itself as an acute one, there is little evidence to support the assertion that the Australian nurse is prepared to handle the emerging mental health issues in older adults, with depression being key among them.

The registered nurse has to understand that in the spirit of multidisciplinary care plan and patient-centred care, there is need to provide culture-specific mode of care (Brocklehurst, 2018). This then calls on the nurse to understand and appreciate the fact that cultures change from time to time. It also entails the realization that the cultural differences will cause different older adults to show their pain and depression differently (Fancourt & Tymoszuk, 2019). While some may cry while overwhelmed, others will be smiling even when they are at their lowest. The registered nurse then has the role of customizing care in such a way that each elderly care patient is offered the care that best suits them (Barnett et al., 2018). Understanding this enables the older adult patient to be confident that someone will not only look after him or her, but that they have a chance at re-discovering their former healthy selves.

A number of environmental changes may influence the occurrence of depression instances in older adults. Such include the emergence of pandemics like COVID-19 that increasingly make the older people more at risk because of their pre-existing conditions, limited availability of services that aid in mobility for these people and lack of patient emotional support for this segment of the Australian population. The role of the nursing staff in this regard then is to ensure that the older adult patients are helped to overcome some of the challenges they may encounter as a result of the mentioned barriers to care. This they may do by offering general integrated care and having the needed patient education that would help alleviate some of the risk factors that the poster identifies.

The poster content features demonstrate relevance to the target audience. The message of the title is simply and easily conveyed through the use of its title— “Depression in Older Adults.” The poster clearly demarcates the varied parts and ideas expressed within it. By having the nursing requirements on one hand and the environmental changes on the other, the poster provides a clear distinction of the same. A reader would easily follow what the poster attempts to communicate by a casual glimpse. The imagery of the setting sun highlights the depression while the flower in the top left offers hope.

Environmental Change Evaluation

Changes in the natural environment can have varied implications for nursing practice in relation to older adult care. The control and containment of COVID-19 for instance that limits the older people from the socialization they so much need to manage their depression would be an essential step to helping the older adults manage their conditions. The nursing staff can do this by ensuring that the older adults are all fully vaccinated, that they keep to the simple protocol related to the disease and that they are fully assessed for all the comorbidities that may put them in heightened danger.

The social environment changes entail those changes that are related to the older adult’s interaction with others and how these help alleviate depression. These changes would include increased interaction with close family members. The intention of such interactions would be to emotionally bring the older adults to an emotionally balanced state. Casey (2017) argues that this would help the older adult to care more and feel less detached or undervalued. Consequently, they would be happier and thus less depressed. In addition, the social change would also be seen in the introduction of the older adult to relevant support groups from which they can have varied similar experiences, form new bonds and feel like they still contribute to their own well-being and that of others (Kok & Reynolds, 2017).

The government can also initiate changes that can be of benefit to these people or to their detriment. Allocating more resources for example would have the effect of improved quality in the manner that services are offered to this population. The healthcare schemes that the government has for this vulnerable group would also determine whether they have poor or better services (Barnett et al. 2018). Policies that are generally mindful of the adults over the age of 65 would contribute in lowering the risk factors that this population is faced with.

(1496 words)

294 words- Poster

1202 words- Justification

art skills.