Aging Theory and Medication Adherence for Geriatric Patients

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Aging Theory

There are myriads of aging theories that have been explored by biological scientists for some decades. Whereas aging may be a broad area of discussion, it is still possible to study various theories and hypotheses that expound on aging especially when the topic is divided into two major categories. The first category of discussion should investigate the reasons why aging in organisms usually takes place. Second, it is imperative to study how the process of aging takes place (American Federation of Aging Research, 2011). Since several theories on aging have been put forward by scientists, the Practicum Experience will only discuss one specific aging theory to guide the practice. The following will be the goals and objectives of the Practicum Experience in this course (Hines & Murphy, 2011). It is vital to mention that these goals and objectives are in tandem with the geriatric competencies that will be gained in this course (American Federation of Aging Research, 2011).

Goals and objectives

  • Define the phrase ‘theory of aging’
  • Explain how the aging process can be altered. Are the current theories of aging in agreement with each other in terms of the various schools of thought?
  • Identify and discuss aging mechanisms
  • Discuss aging as a non-programmed developmental aspect
  • Discuss the evolutionary senescence theory of aging
  • Explain how late-life traits are affected by the natural selection failure
  • Expound how later life can be influenced by the reproduction process
  • Deliberate on the differences between the senescence theory of aging and the mutation accumulation theory
  • Give examples of antagonistic pleiotropy in human beings
  • Discuss how mitochondria contribute towards the process of aging
  • Explore how organisms can regulate their body cells to extend their lifespan.

Medication adherence for geriatric patients

For most old patients, adherence to medication guidelines is a major challenge. In most cases, geriatric patients are expected to adhere to multiple medications. Hence, pharmacists must offer corrective actions to address the challenge. Healing curable conditions, extending the quantity of life, and addressing symptoms of illnesses for patients in old age are crucial undertakings. From my experience, I have noted that patients who are over sixty-five years are highly likely to take over ten medications at the same time (Gavrilova, Gavrilov, Semyonova & Evdokushkina, 2004). There are several cases when underlying medical conditions affecting old patients demand multiple drugs. However, it has been found that adherence challenges are encountered when multiple drug intakes are proposed by pharmacists. The worst affected age group is the old generation. Adherence challenges are faced by most elderly people who are under at least one type of medication (Hoskins, 2011).

It is also unfortunate to note that there are several adherence issues that physicians have not fully explored. For example, meaningful communication between geriatric patients and physicians is common in most healthcare establishments. Clinicians must interrogate old patients whether they are adhering to medication. They ought to ask open-ended questions that are also non-judgmental while interrogating patients (Budnitz, Lovegrove, Shehab & Richards, 2011).

There are myriads of tools at hand that pharmacists can use in the process of identifying and seeking corrective actions toward patients who are facing non-adherence problems. It is also interesting to note that caregivers and family members can be used by clinicians to persuade geriatric patients to fully adhere to medication because the old patients have a lot of trust in them. In addition, an adverse effect may significantly contribute towards non-adherence to drugs by old patients.

References

American Federation of Aging Research (2011). Infoaging guide to theories of aging. Web.

Budnitz, D., Lovegrove, M., Shehab, N. & Richards, C. (2011). Emergency hospitalizations for adverse drug events in older Americans. The New England Journal of Medicine, 365(21), 2002–2012.

Gavrilova, N.S., Gavrilov, L.A., Semyonova, V.G., Evdokushkina, G.N. (2004). Does Exceptional Human Longevity Come With High Cost of Infertility? Testing the Evolutionary Theories of Aging. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1019, 513–517.

Hines, L., & Murphy, J. (2011). Potentially harmful drug-drug interactions in the elderly: A review. American Journal of Geriatric Pharmacotherapy, 9(6), 364– 377.

Hoskins, B. L. (2011). Safe prescribing for the elderly. Nurse Practitioner, 36(12), 47–52.

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