Community Assessment of the Older Adult

Community Assessment of the Older Adult

The development of a comprehensive assessment of the community of an older adult is critical as it serves to advance the community to an age-friendly environment. It evaluates the initial state comprehensively, identifies gaps, areas, and assets that require improvement, evaluates the community's progress and establishment of the community standards, and finally motivates community performance and develops a future game plan (Wang et al.,2018).  Most older adults prefer living in their homes and communities for as long as possible than moving to health care settings and nursing homes.  Therefore, there is a need to evaluate and ensure that communities and neighborhoods are transformed into age-friendly.

The identified needs for older adults, which entails individuals aged sixty-five years and above, should be emphasized to increase their ease of accessing these services.  Health care has been placed among the top three needs, especially for older adults living independently. Health and nutrition have been highlighted, especially since most people have co-morbid disorders such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, heart diseases, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, and dementia (Zubala et al.,2017). According to Mansfield, TX, the pharmacy is located 2.6 min away from the community. However, they compound some medications and do deliveries to clients. That is an added advantage for Mrs. E since she doesn't have to travel far, especially at night. There is a need to offer community preventive educational programs on the relationship between exercise, diet, and general health. Also, Mrs. E can receive educative programs on drug prescriptions, compliance, and drug interactions at her home during drug delivery.

Since most of the older population have co-morbid disorders, they have frequent visitations to hospitals and frequent medical emergencies due to compromised immune systems, and with old age, they are susceptible to injuries and frequent falls. Mrs. E lives 2.5 miles away from the hospital, 5.7 miles away from the Texas Health Family Care, and 4.2 miles away from the Broad Park Family Dentistry. The health services are quite accessible since the distance is short from her neighborhood. Moreover, the hospital has 262 beds. Its magnet is recognized and offers a wide range of services, which means Mrs. E will likely have all her medical requirements in that hospital without traveling further. She has also rated the hospital 4.9/5 stars and the doctors 4.7/5 stars. It shows that she has received quality services from the hospital, and she probably has a positive attitude towards the facility and the doctors. This is a significant factor in catering to her health care needs. The presence of emergency services such as EMTs, fire extinguishers, and the police are critical in ensuring the safety of these older adults. Free toll numbers for the respective emergency services should be offered to facilitate quick response by the teams.

Older adults have perceived transportation as a challenge and need (Frost et al.,2017). According to Mrs. E, she doesn't experience many challenges since she can order groceries from the comfort of her home. Also, if she chooses to pick out her produce, the distance is not too far, and there is no need for highways.  Considering that most old age people live alone and since most of their children live in cities, Mrs. E has an advantage that grocery services can be delivered at her doorstep. It helps meet her nutritional requirements. Also, her neighborhood has several options she can choose from for her banking services. She doesn't need to travel far away to the city, especially with her old age. She can easily make her transactions from the banking services offered in her neighborhood to cater to her financial challenges, especially since most older adults are retired and rarely go to cities. However, making such a service close to their proximity is important to sustain their livelihood.

 Many of the older people are religious and devoted to worship. According to Mansfield, TX, there are worship places in the neighborhood with popular ministries and interest to the older adults. Uber applications and Taxis are significant in offering transport services to the church. For Mrs. E, she doesn't have the uber app, but she can always get help from a relative or anyone else from the church or the senior center with the setting. Moreover, bus reservation pick-up is usually made early enough since she attends fellowships, plays games, do crafts, and dance. These are essential activities that promote fitness and exercise, promoting health for older adults.

Older adults have also perceived safety concerns, especially while walking on roads. Most older people may have eyesight problems which may pose a challenge while walking on the same road with vehicles. According to Mansfield, TX, there are perfect sidewalks in her neighborhood that are good enough for her and the dog to take a walk. Also, food for her pet is usually delivered to her doorstep by the pet store. Therefore, she doesn't have to travel that long. Uncooked prep meals and meals are delivered from restaurants as she can order them from the comfort of her own home. Her nutritional needs are catered for at the comfort of her home.  Also, most old age people are unable to do regular cleaning activities. Therefore the availability of lawn and house cleaning and laundry services are critical in ensuring cleanliness and hygiene in their environment despite their old age.

References

Frost, R., Belk, C., Jovicic, A., Ricciardi, F., Kharicha, K., Gardner, B., ... & Walters, K. (2017). Health promotion interventions for community-dwelling older people with mild or pre-frailty: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC geriatrics, 17(1), 1-13.

Wang, T., Molassiotis, A., Chung, B. P. M., & Tan, J. Y. (2018). Unmet care needs of advanced cancer patients and their informal caregivers: a systematic review. BMC palliative care, 17(1), 1-29.

Zabala, A., MacGillivray, S., Frost, H., Kroll, T., Skelton, D. A., Gavine, A., ... & Morris, J. (2017). Promotion of physical activity interventions for community-dwelling older adults: A systematic review of reviews. PloS one, 12(7), e0180902.