@EBNursingBMJ Twitter Chat: Wednesday, February 6th at 8pm UK Time with @robertaheale Associate Editor, EBN
Society’s across the globe are seeking strategies to address issues related to the aging population. Yes, people have more medical problems as they age, but health concerns with aging are much more complex than simply disease processes. Social, functional declines resulting in frailty and vulnerability impact an elder’s ability to maintain independence. Nurses, working in almost all areas of health care, are perfectly suited to assess people as they age and make recommendations to ensure independence for longer and optimal quality of life. Evidence suggests a complex geriatric assessment (1).
A complex geriatric assessment is defined as a “multidimensional interdisciplinary diagnostic process focusing on determining a frail older person’s medical, psychological and functional capabilities in order to develop an integrated and coordinated care plan to guide immediate and long-term treatment decisions and follow-up care.”(2)
CGAs Allow Nurses to:
- Manage Issues to Prevent Decline in the Independent Performance of ADLs and IADLs
- Screen for Preventable Diseases and Issues.
- Support the Patient’s Values and Preferences
- Suggest Interventions that Can Improved a Person’s Functional Abilities and Overall Quality of Life
- Empower Patients, Caregivers and Families (2)
Join EBN’s Twitter Chat on Wed, Feb 6th at 8pm UK time. For more information about how to participate click on this link:
Consider the following questions
What are the facilitators and barriers to CGA?
What is your nursing role and how does CGA fit into it?
What do you do, or what strategies can you put in place to implement CGA and recommendations?
- Welsh, T J., Gordon, A L, & Gladman, J R. (2014). Comprehensive geriatric assessment- a guide for the non-specialist. Int J Clin Pract. 68(3), 290-293. https://bit.ly/2MLIIoo
- Sinha, S. A Practical Approach to Conducting Comprehensive Geriatrics Assessments (CGAs) .