Upgrade to remove ads
Busy. Please wait.
Log in with Clever
or

show password
Forgot Password?

Don't have an account?  Sign up 
Sign up using Clever
or

Username is available taken
show password


Make sure to remember your password. If you forget it there is no way for StudyStack to send you a reset link. You would need to create a new account.
Your email address is only used to allow you to reset your password. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.


Already a StudyStack user? Log In

Reset Password
Enter the associated with your account, and we'll email you a link to reset your password.

Exam I- Definitions

        Help!  

Term
Definition
Geriatrics   deals with physiology of aging, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases affecting the aged  
🗑
Gerontology   deals with aging in the broadest perspective; the study of growing older  
🗑
Aging   process of growing older; lifelong; perceived by many as deterioration  
🗑
Ageism   a predjudice against people because they are old  
🗑
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)   the kinds of things you do every day; e.g. brushing teeth, feeding yourself, going to bathroom, grooming, washing  
🗑
Advanced Directives   spell out a patient's wishes; define diagnostic and therapeutic treatment; a patient's consent achieved before it is necessary  
🗑
Age Discrimination   unfair treatment of people because of their age  
🗑
Agitated   excessive restlessness; non-purposeful events; associated with anxiety  
🗑
Alzheimer's   progressive degenerative disease of the brain; irreversable dementia that becomes chronic and progressive; due to atrophy of the frontal and occipital lobes of the brain; patients lose their cognitive abilities; confirmed at autopsy  
🗑
Area Agencies on Aging (AAA)   agency that coordinates and provides a wide range of community services for people sixty years or older  
🗑
Burnout   physical and mental relief for family members after they have "lost it'; when stress has overwhelmed the caregiver; physical and mental exhaustion; physical and emotional illness; can't cope anymore  
🗑
Cataract   crystalline lens within the eye becomes opaque; can cause blindness  
🗑
Chronic   persisting for a long time; on-going  
🗑
Cognition   mental process of knowing, remembering, relating and connective thinking; the ability to process information  
🗑
Confusion   not being aware of or oriented to person, place, or time; can be acute or chronic; often seen with elderly  
🗑
Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA)   stroke; sudden loss of consciousness resulting when there is a rupture or an occlusion of a blood vessel in the brain causing a lack of oxygen flow to that area  
🗑
Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COPD)   very debilitating and progressive and can be a fatal lung disease; irreversible  
🗑
Contracture   a shortening of a skeletal muscle making the muscle function resistant to shortening; seen a lot with stroke victims; joint actually freezing- no movement in joint  
🗑
Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)   the heart's inability to work as an efficeint pump  
🗑
Cerumen   ear wax  
🗑
Arteriosclerosis   the loss of elasticity in blood vessels  
🗑
Atherosclerosis   the accumulation of fatty plaque build-up in the blood vessels  
🗑
Aphasia   absence of or the inability to communicate  
🗑
Dysphagia   difficulty swallowing  
🗑
Dementia   a neurological condition with cognitive defects (forget name, where they are, president, etc.)  
🗑
Depression   mental state characterized by feelings of sadness, to feelings of despair and discouragement; can be mild to major types of symptoms  
🗑
Decubitus Ulcer   a pressure sore; the skin acually breaks down (like bed sores)  
🗑
Diverticulosis   an out-pouching of the structure of the colon; no inflammation or irritation  
🗑
Diverticulitis   an inflammation of the out-pouches (when the stool and seeds [from food] become trapped)  
🗑
Demographics   statistics about population, age, sex, race, education, birth, death  
🗑
Ethics   the action and beliefs approved by a particular group of people; standards of conduct; moral judgment; philosophy  
🗑
Gray Panthers   a group of seniors that have economical and political influences in the U.S. like AARP (American Association of Retired People)  
🗑
Extended Care   patients who require long-term custodial or medical care  
🗑
Holistic Health   looking at the person as a whole being; physically, psychologically, sociologically, and spiritually; helps the client to achieve harmony  
🗑
Homebound   unable to leave the home setting due to physiological or psychological reasons  
🗑
Homecare   patient care in the patient's home setting; done by family, friends or professionals  
🗑
Home Health Care   an agency that provides home care services  
🗑
Hospice   a program that provides care for the terminally ill; preparing the patient for death with dignity; also help the family of the patient deal with issues of death and dying  
🗑
Hypertension   high blood pressure  
🗑
Incontinence   the inability of voluntary control to keep bodily wastes within the body (bowels or bladder); either or both  
🗑
Life Expectancy   the number of years an average person is expected to live  
🗑
Medicare   started approximately 1965; a healthcare that is provided to people over the age of 60 or 65 that is federally funded through the social security administration  
🗑
Medigap   a supplemental insurance; it must be purchased; usually covers what Medicare doesn't cover  
🗑
Morbidity   the number of people affected by a particular disease or disorder  
🗑
Mortality   the incidences of death or the number of people who died from a particular disease or disorder  
🗑
Ombudsman   an advocate for patients' healthcare that is concerned with the quality of care and the quality of life of the individual; an advocacy role of state agencies concerned with the quality of life and the quality of care  
🗑
Osteoarthritis   can get it at any age; can be from injury; wear and tear disease; articular cartilage at the ends of bones deteriorates  
🗑
Parkinson's Disease   neurological disorder that affects a person's cognitive ability; causes uncontrolled motion; ticks or tremors; Michael J. Fox  
🗑
Pruritis   severe itching  
🗑
Respite (care)   physical/mental relief for family members caring for a dependent family member; rest for the caregiver- giving them a break; care is short-term  
🗑
Sandwich Generation   the middle-aged population who are care-givers or support persons for aging parents and young adult children  
🗑
Senior Citizen   an elderly person; usually 65 or older; AARP- 50 years old; some places 55 or 60  
🗑
Sundown Syndrome (sundowning)   used to describe worsening behavior problems in the late day or evening  
🗑
Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)   temporary loss of oxygen and blood to the brain; (some people call it a mini-stroke, it isn't)  
🗑
Terminal   the end; incurable or irreversible condition; treatment merely prolongs life  
🗑
Thanatology   the study of death from a biological, psychological, and sociological perspective  
🗑


   

Review the information in the table. When you are ready to quiz yourself you can hide individual columns or the entire table. Then you can click on the empty cells to reveal the answer. Try to recall what will be displayed before clicking the empty cell.
 
To hide a column, click on the column name.
 
To hide the entire table, click on the "Hide All" button.
 
You may also shuffle the rows of the table by clicking on the "Shuffle" button.
 
Or sort by any of the columns using the down arrow next to any column heading.
If you know all the data on any row, you can temporarily remove it by tapping the trash can to the right of the row.

 
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.

  Normal Size     Small Size show me how
Created by: Supernurse
Popular Nursing sets