Nurses are medical professionals who closely and frequently interact with older people. They are often working as primary care providers at institutions for aged people, particularly when older individuals require medical assistance. Consequently, these representatives of healthcare organizations have a vital role in improving and enhancing their fitness (Golinowska et al., 2016). Furthermore, they are crucial for ensuring the well-being of retired citizens to allow them to enjoy their lives to their full potential. Hence, this essay will show the importance of nurses in promoting healthy aging and indicate the evidence-based approaches.
Taking the current demography trends into account, it is evident that the average age of the population is getting older. This fact exerts significant pressure on the healthcare system, as those elderly often have chronic diseases to cope with, and require the assistance of a medical professional for daily activities (Golinowska et al., 2016). The promotion of healthy aging could become the solution to this problem since it helps to educate people on the ways to manage their illnesses and lead an independent lifestyle.
Nurses can increase the elderly’s awareness of health and physiological processes of later ages. Health literacy is one of the most critical factors for healthy aging, and relevant communication with the patients can result in promising results (Wosinski et al., 2016). In turn, this factor can empower the elderly to make informed choices and understand their medical care rights. For example, a successful professional can explain the useful tricks for maintaining blood sugar levels to the diabetes patient. Here, the representative should also keep in mind the psychological factors of help and ensure the client’s positivity and confidence (Kim et al., 2017). As healthy aging includes being conscious about the body and its physical and mental situation, nurses should be active educators to provide the elderly population with the contemporary trends in medicine (Banister, 2018). By furnishing patients with reviewed and reliable information, the nurses give the patients freedom in deciding the issues of their health and help them gain enhanced control of their bodies. These professionals can significantly improve older adults’ knowledge through health-educational work (Razlag et al., 2017). Henceforward, the nurse’s position in health promotion will have to become more outstanding, primarily through their work in reference institutions.
On the other hand, increasing knowledge about diseases and aging physiology can be detrimental for the elderly. The awareness and anticipation of the symptoms of health deterioration could become the reason for the anxiety and depression linked to the fact of growing old. The modern technologies and wearables for tracking the information about vitals were shown to correlate with a negative impact on older adults’ mental state (Urban, 2017). To avoid such an effect of health literacy, nursing professionals should pay attention to explaining the importance of aging processes and promoting decision-making. As some of such worries could be caused by the necessity of colossal expenditure of funds to treatments, nurses should understand and explain the importance and use of health promotion. The preventative measures are cheaper for the patients, which can be another stimulant factor for seeking nurses’ assistance for healthy aging (Arsenijevic et al., 2016). The fair person-centered practice prevents the adverse consequences of health consciousness.
In addition to that, there is high importance of cultural preparation, inclusive approach, and attentive relationships for nurses to accomplish their mission. The studies show that nurses could be reluctant to work with older adults (Neville, 2015). This factor, in turn, is detrimental for successful aging as it disrupts the efficient communication between the professional and the patient and does not provide the necessary level of trust. Moreover, as the representatives working with patients more than other medical professionals, nurses should have a diverse cultural understanding to ensure comprehensive care and secure relationships with patients. As a result, nurses are crucial to possess a high level of communication skills to accommodate non-standard situations at the workplace as well as promote healthy aging.
Moreover, communication skills can contribute to achieving successful aging from a long-term perspective. Persuasive, good-looking, and confident nursing professionals are excellent examples for the members of general society to abide by a healthy lifestyle (Ingunn et al., 2019). The investigations have shown that midlife behavior has a significant effect on the body state in older ages. Hence, corrections of some damaging habits and the prevention of health risks are useful tools for enhancing health for the present and future. Using this tendency of the human organism, the nurses can affect the patients positively and assist them in achieving successful aging.
It should be noted that a healthy lifestyle can improve the body state and the situation of the body organs of people of any age. The importance of lifestyle in healthy aging is not limited to the revision of daily activities and practices in midlife (Goes et al., 2020). It is also efficient for easing the burden of age-related or terminal diseases. Proper nutrition, together with physical exercises, is shown to improve the quality of life for the elderly (Zanjani et al., 2015). Nurses play an essential role in promoting the named procedures as they can identify and recommend the plans for health improvement. They are ideal to be trained for recognizing these opportunities for patients, and subsequently, the health care system.
Moreover, the physical well-being of the elderly is as relevant as their psychological states. There are situations when older adults do not have their friends or family to support them. As socializing is indicated to be crucial for these members of the society, it is suggested that the nurses identify such cases and recommend them to assemble for social groups (Kim et al., 2017). Encouraging mutual aid is one of the evidence-based practices available for the promotion of healthy aging, which is as important as the factors discussed above.
An essential principle in assisting with the healthy aging of the patients is the avoidance of harm. The nurses and nursing scientists need to review the existing practices for usefulness and feasibility in current circumstances and possibly change them for the needs of the system and subjects (Daly et al., 2019). For example, the care today could be provided by telehealth, highlighting the importance of social distancing in the elderly’s minds and saving them from exposure to the virus. Evidence-based practices are the best option for the promotion of successful aging, which is better implemented with constant feedback and reporting. Hence, the nurses ought to be attentive to their patient’s needs and provide the necessary support for their health according to the situation.
To conclude, nursing professionals are responsible for the promotion of healthy aging across the population. As the people of older adults is growing fast, there is an elevated necessity for enhancing their well-being to decrease the workload on the healthcare system. Nurses have a diversified role in this regard as they are the individuals who interact with the patients the most. They should educate, identify the problems, and help to solve them using the best practices.
References
Arsenijevic, J., Groot, W., Tambor, M., Golinowska, S., Sowada, C., & Pavlova., M. (2016). A review of health promotion funding for older adults in Europe: A cross-country comparison. BMC health services research, 16(288), 371-388.
Banister, C. (2018). The effect of ageism on older people and implications for nursing practice. Nursing Older People, 30(5), 34-37.
Daly, L., Byrne, G., & Keogh, B. (2019). Contemporary considerations relating to health promotion and older people. British Journal of Nursing, 28(21), 1414–1419.
Goes, M., Lopes, M. J., Oliveira, H., Fonseca, C., & Maroco, J. (2020). A nursing care intervention model for elderly people to ascertain general profiles of functionality and self care needs. Scientific Reports, 10(1770), 1-11.
Golinowska, S., Groot, W., Baji, P., & Pavlova, M. (2016). Health promotion targeting older people. BMC health services research, 16(345), 367-369.
Ingunn, B., Nordahl, H. M., Stordal, E., Bosnes, O., Myklebust, T. A., & Almkvist, O. (2019). Lifestyle predictors of successful aging: A 20-year prospective HUNT study. Plos One, 14(7), 1-12.
Kim, E. S., Kubzansky, L. D., Soo, J., Boehm, J. K. (2017). Maintaining healthy behavior: A prospective study of psychological well-being and physical activity. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 51(3), 337–347.
Neville, C. (2015). A cross-sectional view of Australian undergraduate nurses’ perceptions of working with older people. Australian College of Nursing, 23(3), 285-292.
Razlag, K. T., Kaučič, B., & Kolnik, T. (2017). The role of the nurse in improving health literacy among older adults. Pielegniarstwo XXI Wieku / Nursing in the 21st Century, 16(2), 23-28.
Urban, M. (2017). ‘This really takes it out of you!’ The senses and emotions in digital health practices of the elderly. Digital Health, 3, 1-16. Web.
Wosinski, J., Cordier, S. B., Bachmann, A. O., Gagnon, M., & Kiszio, B. (2016). Effectiveness of nurse-led healthy aging strategies for older adults living in the community: A systematic review protocol. JBI Database of Systematic Reviews & Implementation Reports, 14(2), 5-15. Web.
Zanjani, S., Tol, A., Mohebbi, B., Sadeghi, R., Jalyani, K. N., & Moradi, A. (2015). Determinants of healthy lifestyle and its related factors among elderly people. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 4(103), 1-5.