Caring for the Older Adult: A Health Promotion Perspective

Caring for the Older Adult: A Health Promotion Perspective is a concise, straightforward textbook for student nurses, which covers the essentials of gerontologic nursing from a strong health promotion perspective. The nature of normal aging as well as disorders common to the elderly are discussed. Promotion of both physical and psychological health in an aging population are addressed. The lively, informal writing style is guaranteed to engage and capture the interest of the reader.

· Health promotion focus is the strong backbone for compassionate, knowledgeable nursing care. This is a clear and distinct difference over competing texts in this market
· Culturally diverse older adult population is specifically addressed in Chapter 2 and throughout
· Complementary therapies are discussed in Chapter 2 in the context of culturally sensitive nursing care
· Polypharmacy, a major problem among older adults, is discussed in Chapter 3: Promoting a Safe Care Environment. Discussed are medication use and abuse, the dangers of polypharmacy (use of multiple drugs simultaneously), adverse drug reactions, and the issue of noncompliance
· Health Promotion Tip is a brief paragraph on a current health promotion topic related to the chapter content
· Nutrition Tip includes health promotion-related tidbits of advice and information regarding nutrition as it applies to the older adult
· Medication Safety Tip highlights critically significant information to promote the safe administration and use of medications by older adults
· Signs and Symptoms Tip identifies specific atypical signs and symptoms to alert the nurse of the presence of possible disorders
· Case Study is a brief, paragraph-long client case history found at the beginning of chapters where appropriate
· Chapter Outline and Objectives provide the structure of and goals for the chapter content.
· Key Terms are listed at the beginning of each chapter and defined in the Glossary at the back of the book
· Special boxes and tables found in practically every chapter help make the content easy to study.
· Summary at the end of each chapter is a bulleted list that covers all of the chapter content and makes an effective study tool
· Study Questions at the end of each chapter include Multiple-Choice Review and Critical Thinking problems. Answers to the Multiple-Choice Review questions are on the inside back cover of the book.
· Resources found at the end of every chapter list both Internet sites and organizations related to the chapter content
· Selected References, the last feature in each chapter, provides a current and cutting-edge bibliography for students interested in further information on the chapter topic
· Appendix of Assessment Tools includes two unique among the competition, the Stroke Risk Screening and Determine Your Nutritional Health, as well as the Mini-Mental State Examination, Minimum Data Set, and the Braden Scale for pressure ulcers
· Appendices of Sample Advance Directive and Laboratory Value Alterations with Aging complete the package
· Illustrations and photographs heighten the effect of the text and emphasize its health promotion focus

Professor Patricia A. Williams works in the Department of Nursing at De Anza College, Cupertino, California.