Screenings
As a primary prevention strategy, this screening helps identify older adults at risk of developing hypertension and encourages early lifestyle changes to prevent high blood pressure.
What is a blood pressure screening?
This determinant, heavily impacted by retirement income and pension access, affects older adults’ ability to afford necessities like medications, healthy food, and safe housing.
What is economic stability (or resource availability)?
Recommended annually, this vaccine is crucial for older adults, who are at higher risk of severe complications, including pneumonia and hospitalization.
What is the influenza (flu) vaccine?
This document specifies an older adult’s healthcare wishes in the event they cannot make decisions for themselves, outlining choices for life-sustaining treatments.
What is a living will?
This common stereotype assumes that all aging adults are resistant to this, despite the growing number of tech-savvy seniors using smartphones, tablets, and social media.
What is technology?
As secondary prevention, this annual screening is recommended to detect early stages of colorectal cancer, especially in adults over 50.
What is a fecal occult blood test (or colonoscopy)?
Often invisible yet powerful, these norms and expectations can influence an aging adult’s understanding of their financial options, healthcare navigation, and social support, especially across socioeconomic lines.
What are hidden rules?
This vaccine, recommended for those 50 and older, protects against a painful viral infection that can lead to long-lasting nerve pain, more commonly in older adults.
What is the shingles (herpes zoster) vaccine?
Often included in an advance directive, this designation allows an older adult to appoint someone they trust to make healthcare decisions on their behalf.
What is a healthcare power of attorney (or healthcare proxy)?
Often inaccurately associated only with aging adults, this stereotype implies that all older individuals are affected by this mental decline, even though most remain cognitively healthy.
What is dementia (or memory loss)?
This cognitive assessment, recommended as part of routine check-ups, helps identify early signs of memory loss or dementia in older adults.
What is a cognitive screening (or memory test)?
Limited access to this resource, especially in rural and low-income communities, can reduce older adults' ability to manage chronic conditions and access preventive care.
What is healthcare access?
Given in a two-dose series for those 65 and older, this vaccine helps protect against bacterial infections in the lungs, which can be life-threatening for seniors.
What is the pneumococcal vaccine?
Having this discussion, ideally before a health crisis, ensures that an older adult’s family and caregivers understand their end-of-life wishes, reducing stress and uncertainty.
What is advance care planning?
This stereotype, often applied to aging adults, suggests that they are no longer interested in forming new relationships or maintaining an active social life.
What is social isolation (or being antisocial)?
This screening, often used for older adults with a history of cardiovascular disease, monitors blood flow and assesses for any narrowing of arteries to prevent further cardiac complications.
What is a carotid ultrasound (or vascular screening)?
This determinant reflects the impact of lifelong opportunities or barriers in education and employment, influencing older adults' health literacy and access to supportive services in their later years.
What is social and community context (or educational attainment)?
As older adults tend to have a weaker immune response, this high-dose version of a common vaccine is often recommended to boost effectiveness.
What is the high-dose flu vaccine?
This advance directive, often completed by older adults with serious health conditions, outlines wishes about resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, and other emergency measures.
What is a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order?
This stereotype about physical capabilities wrongly suggests that all older adults struggle with mobility and endurance, despite many participating in sports, fitness classes, and other physical activities.
What is physical weakness?
As secondary prevention, this screening is crucial for early detection of diabetes in older adults, typically performed annually to catch elevated blood sugar levels before complications arise.
What is a blood glucose (or HbA1c) test?
This type of housing, more common among older adults in lower-income brackets, can increase risks of injury, isolation, and reduced quality of life.
What is substandard or inadequate housing?
This vaccination, encouraged for older adults with certain risk factors like diabetes or chronic kidney disease, helps prevent a liver infection that can lead to liver failure.
What is the hepatitis B vaccine?
Older adults are often encouraged to discuss their values, consult healthcare providers, and use state-specific forms when completing this essential document to ensure their medical wishes are respected.
What is writing an advance directive (or completing an advance directive)?
This stereotype assumes that aging adults are set in their ways and uninterested in learning new things, disregarding the fact that many engage in lifelong learning and hobbies.
What is resistance to change?