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“Health is, therefore, seen as a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living.”
—Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion
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LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this chapter, readers will be able to:
16-1. Articulate the relationship between health management, sleep, and occupational therapy with older adults.
16-2. Relate age-related changes and common health conditions in older adulthood to health management and sleep.
16-3. Apply theoretical knowledge to health management and sleep in older adults.
16-4. Select common occupational therapy assessments to use when addressing health management and sleep for older adults.
16-5. Create occupational therapy interventions supported by evidence that promote health management and sleep for older adults.
16-6. Apply knowledge of health management and sleep to a case scenario.
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Mini Case Study
Gladys is a 78-year-old Asian American female who uses she/her pronouns, with diagnoses of diabetes, hypertension, and diabetic retinopathy. Gladys sustained a cerebral vascular accident (CVA) 5 years ago, with residual left-sided weakness, decreased balance, and mild cognitive deficits. Since her CVA and progressive visual impairment, Gladys receives assistance with community mobility, mostly for doctors appointments and grocery shopping. Gladys also receives assistance for instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), including cooking, cleaning, and check-ins on her medication management.
Before the pandemic, Gladys enjoyed spending time with family and friends, socializing at the senior center, and living a healthy lifestyle with her partner. Gladys lived with her partner of 30 years in a one-bedroom apartment until they recently passed away due to COVID-19.
With the pandemic and the passing of her partner, Gladys has experienced decreased mood with disruptions to her sleep and social participation. Gladys’s partner drove her to medical appointments, but since her passing, Gladys has missed several follow-up visits and medication refills. She attempted to use telehealth but has found the use of technology frustrating. Gladys has also found exercising and healthy eating to be challenging. Gladys feels unsafe walking around her neighborhood due to her balance but also feels she does not have the space to exercise in her apartment. Her partner cooked most of their meals, because Gladys has a difficult time reading ingredient labels and recipes. Gladys is now eating one meal a day because of challenges with cooking and financial difficulty since the passing of her partner.
This chapter will provide you with the knowledge, assessment tools, and interventions to address Gladys’ concerns with managing her health.
Provocative Questions
What factors of health management and sleep is Gladys demonstrating difficulty with during her daily routine?
What occupational therapy assessment and intervention strategies could address Gladys’s management of her health conditions?
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Health is a complex concept that consists of many factors, including physical, mental, social, and spiritual wellness. Presence of chronic conditions and poor health affect quality of life and occupational performance; therefore, effective health management routines are critical for older adults to achieve high levels of wellness (Barile et ...