The nurse understands that age-related changes in the neurological system include a decreased number of brain cells, decreased cerebral blood flow, and decreased metabolism
How would these expectations affect the nurse's plan when caring for an older patient at home?
Select all that apply.
1. The older adult will be distracted after a few minutes on the task.
2. The older adult will not be open to learning to perform his or her own dressing change.
3. The older adult will be less reliable at completing self-care activities.
4. When too many stimuli are present, the older adult cannot process and respond in a timely fashion.
5. The older adult has an increased risk for falls.
Correct Answer: 4, 5
The older adult may need additional time to process and respond to verbal stimuli. Age-related changes can cause slower reflexes, which increases the older adult's risk for falls. Older adults do better when learning is limited to 30 minutes at a time, but they can focus for longer than a few minutes. Older adults may have more readiness to learn when the topic is related to previously learned information. There is no proof that the older adult is less reliable, but ability and reliability need to be assessed for each individual.
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