The purpose of planning nursing actions on the elderly aimed at meeting basic needs such as:
1. Meeting the nutritional needs
The role of nutrition in the elderly is to maintain health and fitness, and slow the onset of degenerative diseases such as osteoporosis and defect common in the elderly, so that the elderly can achieve a healthy old age and remain active.
Nutritional deficiencies that may occur in the elderly can be caused by physical factors, psychological and social. Decreased olfactory and tasting tool, chewing less perfect and less comfortable when eating due to lack of complete dentition or worse, a full stomach and a sense of difficult defecation due to weakening of the muscles of the stomach and intestine will cause a decreased appetite elderly.
Changes in roles and situations in the elderly can lead to the onset of anxiety and despair that can lead to elderly refuse to eat or eat to excess.
Nutritional problems that often occur in the elderly is overnutrition (obesity, malnutrition), malnutrition (anorexia, weight loss), vitamin deficiency, and excess vitamin.
2. Improve safety and security
Accidents often occur in the elderly such as falls, traffic accidents, and fires. This is related to the aging process in which the flexibility of rigid began to decrease, characterized by the onset of mobilization problems due to pain in the joints. The situation is causing elderly are not able to refute her properly. In addition, a decrease in physical conditions such as vision and hearing to make the elderly less able to observe the surrounding situation so that they are prone to accidents.
3. Maintaining personal hygiene
As a result of the aging process, decline or motivation to perform self-care on a regular basis. It could also be a lack of self-care is caused because of memory loss in the elderly and therefore can not perform personal hygiene activities on a regular basis. It also deals with the elderly habits at a young age. If at a young age they are neat and clean, then usually they will continue to do self-care activities as well (if there are no physical limitations).
4. Maintaining the balance of sleep and rest
In general, age experience sleep disturbances due to the aging process. Efforts that can be done include:
- Provide or allow time / comfortable bed.
- Set the conducive environment (ventilation, sound).
- Training the elderly to do light physical exercise for blood circulation and relaxes the muscles.
- Provide a warm drink before bed.
5. Improving interpersonal relationships through communication
A common problem found in the elderly; memory loss, dementia, depression, irritability, irritable, and suspicious. This is caused by a decline in physical function in the elderly, and also because of inadequate interpersonal relationships.
Efforts that can be done include:
- Communicating with the elderly by maintaining eye contact.
- Provide stimulus or remind elderly to the activities undertaken.
- Provide time to chat with old age.
- Giving the elderly a chance to express feelings and respond to verbal and non-verbal responses elderly.
- Involving the elderly in particular needs according to his ability.
- Respect the opinion of old age.