One of the goals of geriatric care management is to promote the independence of the elderly people as much as possible. This cannot be achieved without a careful and proficient functional assessment of the elderly people. A functional assessment refers to an evaluation of the older individuals’ functional abilities (Cress, p.37).
It is a crucial test because it provides the medical personnel with information that can be used to capitalize on an elderly person’s functional abilities either through medical, social or mechanical interventions. Most importantly, a functional assessment is instrumental in enabling an individual to maintain his or her independence as well as their quality of life. Functional assessment is performed by a proficient and certified geriatric care manager (GCM) through a couple of tests. These tests include activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL).
The ADL involves testing the abilities of the elderly people to carry out basic activities such as bathing, eating and dressing on their own. The IADL involves testing the elderly people’s abilities to perform more complex activities such as tracing their way back home and dealing with financial issues effectively (Cress, p.37).
Functional assessment plays a key role in the geriatric assessment. According to Cress (p.37), “one of the goals of a responsive health care system is to assist clients in maintaining their functional well-being.” The functional ability of the elderly people is fragile because of the decline in the functioning of the body organs which is characterized by the aging process as well as actual and potential acute and chronic illnesses which increase the rate of functional decline. Functional assessments are used to assist the elderly in a number of ways. First, functional assessments are used to determine the types of living arrangements that are suitable for the elderly people (Cress, p.38).
The Essay on Functional Behavioral Assessment
When it comes to adolescent children they endure several risk factors within their lives. Some of these factors often produce many glitches that have teachers speculating if there are ways they can help deal with behavioral problems that children have. Risk factors may be invisible and families may not recognize them (Kaiser & Sklar Rasminsky, 2012). Within this paper, there are three risk ...
The older individuals whose functional abilities are not yet impaired can live comfortably on their own (that is independently).
On the other hand, the elderly people whose functional abilities are impaired cannot be allowed to live independently because of the risks involved. Such individuals have to be assisted in living. This means that they require a living arrangement with other people, either their relatives or professionals, who can assist them to carry out their day-to-day activities such as bathing and grooming.
Secondly, functional assessments enable the medical professionals to detect and diagnose the onset of diseases (Cress, p.38).
This is because a change of an older person’s functional ability also translates into a disease or disorders such as heart failures or urinary tract infections. Early detection of such illnesses enables the health professionals to address and treat them early before more damage is done. In addition, functional assessment assists in effective treatment and medication. The elderly people whose functional abilities are impaired are not in a position to follow the drug prescriptions either because they cannot drive on a routine basis to their pharmacist to collect drugs or because they simply cannot remember when they are supposed to take their medications. Lastly, functional assessments protect the elderly people from abuse by their families, friends or strangers. Abuse of the elderly people – particularly the abuse of their finances and wealth – is a common occurrence that is perpetrated by people who take advantage of their vulnerability (Summers and Hoffman, p.16).
The Dissertation on Three Essays on Health Care
This dissertation has been motivated by the question of how countries should optimally structure health care. Especially, there are two important economic and policy questions asked that extend beyond the area of health economics. The …rst is how the expansion of health insurance coverage a¤ects the utilization and health of its bene…ciaries (extensive margin); the second is how generous should ...
Once a health professional determines that an elderly person’s functional abilities are impaired, she will take the necessary steps to ensure that her client is protected from abuse.
Works Cited
Cress, Cathy. Handbook of Geriatric Care Management. New York: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2007, p.37-38.
Summers, Randal & Allan Hoffman. Elder Abuse: A Public Health Perspective. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, 2006, p.16.
