CARE OF THE ELDER PERSON

EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE

EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE
Evidence-based practice is about integrating individual
clinical expertise and the best external evidence.
Efficacious interventions included cognitive, behavioral,
and brief psychodynamic therapies for depression, life
review therapy for older persons with depression and older
persons living in institutional settings, cognitive-behavioral
interventions for sleep disorders, psychoeducational
support groups for caregivers, and cognitive retraining for
older persons with dementia.
Reference: Evidence-Based Effective Practices With Older
Adults, Jane E. Myers and Melanie C. Harper (2004)

COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION

Talk between coworkers is also essential to good

care, but including the resident in conversations is

essential and talking without including the resident
should be avoided
In these situations, the older person may not only
feel ignored, but not valued or appreciated

NON-VERBAL
Nonverbal COMMUNICATION
communication is also effective in

connecting with older adults through social

interaction and may be a preferred mode of
communication for persons with Alzheimers
disease and other dementias. Singing, humming,
and touch have all be identified as important in
communication with older adults in long-term care,
including persons with dementia.
Reference: Evidence-based Strategies for
Communicating with Older Adults in Long-term
Care, Kristine Williams, RN, PhD

MEDICATION ADHERENCE

MEDICATION ADHERENCE
Adherence (adherence) noun steady or faithful

attachment.
Therapeutic goal understood and agreed on by an older
person may not match the one intended by the
prescriber. Thus, achieving full adherence with
medication should not be seen as a goal per se but only
as a means for reaching a satisfactory therapeutic result
and maximizing drug safety.

MEDICATION ADHERENCE
Improved adherence resulted in a significant 41%
reduction in mortality
Successful interventions included medication review with
a specific focus on regimen simplification, individualized
patient education combined with medication reminders or
patient follow-up.
Monitoring and follow-up of the drug's effectiveness
(benefits and potential harms) should be conducted.
Reference: Evidence-Based Strategies for the Optimization
of Pharmacotherapy in Older People, Eva Topinkova (2012)

COUNSELLING

COUNSELLING
The reluctance of older clients to seek counseling is due in
part to historical stigma associated with mental health
service; due in part to lack of public awareness of mental
health services; and due in part to a lack of counselor
preparedness, attitudinally or in terms of skills, for work
with this population.
Counselors seeking to provide services to older persons
may need to be active in recruiting clients from
community as well as institutional settings. This may
require a willingness to talk with groups and individuals
and actively advocate for the mental health needs in this
special population.

 Studies using relaxation have been associated with

positive outcomes for each condition; hence, counselors

are advised to include relaxation strategies in their
repertoire of skills for helping older adult clients.
Reference: Evidence-Based Effective Practices With
Older Adults, Jane E. Myers and Melanie C. Harper
(2004)