Geriatric assessment entails Multidimensional assessment designed to ensure older adults improve health outcome, quality of life, and prevent possible disabilities while reducing nee3eds for hospitalization (Medcom, 2006)

Geriatric assessment entails Multidimensional assessment designed to ensure older adults improve health outcome, quality of life, and prevent possible disabilities while reducing nee3eds for hospitalization (Medcom, 2006). These enable them to live longer independently. It is used medics to evaluate older adult’s functional ability, mental health, physical health, cognition ability, and environmental components. Precisely, it evaluates multiple health problems associated with elderly people and aids the diagnosis and treatment plans.
The elements of the comprehensive geriatric assessment include physical health, cognition, mental health, environmental factors, and functional status of the patient (Reuben, 2012). Physical health evaluation tries to examine the conditions with possible intervention to cure or restore. It obtains medical history on the risk of malnutrition, incontinence, difficulties in ambulation, hearing and vision impairments, and immobility. Mental health involves examining the cognition, emotion, and behavior of the patient.
They focus mainly on disorders such as depression and dementia (Reuben, 2012). Environmental components involve evaluation of the patient’s physical environment to establish the safety of the patient’s environment. Mainly it evaluates ease of accessibility of essential services such as hospitals, shopping centers, as well as transportation. This enables the nurses to determine how friendly the environment is for the patient (Reuben, 2012). Lastly, functional status focuses on assessing the physical functionality of the patient. It evaluates the ability of the patient to perform daily activities such feeding oneself, toileting, and bathing as well as ability engage actively in social activities.
Nurses should keep special consideration in mind when performing the geriatric evaluation. We must observe the different limitations when applying the physical examination to the geriatric patient. They must respect the autonomy and dignity of the elderly, as well as the general well-being of the patient. Therefore, the patient should be informed in a simple language all the steps that will be performed in a physical examination and its impact (Medcom, 2006).
References
Medcom, Inc. (2006). A Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment. Cypress, CA: Medcom, Inc.
Reuben, D. B. (2012) . Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment and Approaches to Geriatric Care. Geriatric Medicine, 195-203. doi:10.1007/0-387-2