Nursing Case Studies on Improving Health-Related Quality of Life in Older Adults

This book fulfills a substantial need among the gerontological nursing literature. It highlights a number of commonly occurring issues among older adults. The first section examines global issues that are important to quality of life (QOL). As in the entire book, each chapter opens with a case study, reviews the literature, and provides specific strategies for improving QOL for individuals and families. The cases showcase the experiences of older people as they struggle to maintain autonomy, dignity, and a sense of self amid the aging process and declining health. The chapters provide a lens through which to examine challenges of aging and strategies that may be implemented to promote QOL. The middle section of the book is organized around 15 chapters that direct the lens toward a number of environmental issues that impact the QOL of older adults. The cases contained in this section explore the experiences of older adults at home and in assisted living and nursing home environments. Evidence-based literature reviews enhance the discussion of care issues that impact older adults and their families. The authors of these chapters use clinical experience and the evidence to improve understanding of issues that impact the QOL of older adults across these multiple care environments. The final section of this book is organized around 12 chapters that may function as a clinical resource guide for clinicians. Cases are presented to improve clinical reasoning and improve understanding of issues that older adults encounter in preventing and managing acute and chronic disease states. Some of the chapters focus on commonly occurring medical issues; others explore less common health care conditions.