Many factors, including age, weight, environment, lifestyle, gender, affect the health condition of people. Patients who get to the hospital have unique variables that have led to the appearance of diseases that should be carefully examined. One of these variables is nutrition that can harm a person’s health state. In the case of a 78-year-old female client, a few essential points must be highlighted. Several physiological changes put the patient at risk for pressure injury. First is the decreasing metabolic rate that was not managed substantially by the patient to address the big weight (Nix, 2016). Second is menopause, which indicates the end of a woman’s childbearing years and the estrogen production process’s termination associated with hormonal changes (Nix, 2016). These physiological changes influenced the increase in body fat and the risk of chronic diseases, and the decrease in lean tissues.
I believe that the client’s nutritional status had an indirect impact on developing a pressure injury. The food that the patient has eaten (macaroni and cheese from a box) has low nutritional value. These dishes do not have enough macro- and micronutrients and vitamins to help her sustain better health conditions and weight management. Aging people must get enough calcium and vitamin intake to support muscles and bones’ control, especially if the patient is in a wheelchair, suggesting that the patient’s muscles are weak.
To address the situation and promote skin integrity and wound healing for this client, the LPN can suggest using the Physical Activity Guidelines and Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It is suggested that guidelines and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) utilization would help the patient eat healthily, get the expected level of vitamins (Zn, vitamin A, and C) from food to ensure skin integrity fast wound healing (Nix, 2016).
Reference
Nix, S. (2016). Williams’ basic nutrition & diet therapy (15th ed.). Mosby.