Introduction

A chronic condition refers to an illness that lasts for an extended period in an individual’s life which limits the average performance of several activities by an individual and furthermore it requires ongoing medical care (Thorne & Paterson, 2000). Chronic illnesses have a profound effect on the quality and health of life of elderly adults hence necessity to receive health and home care services from multiple providers. In addition to this, they bear a financial burden which is commonly linked with long-term diseases.  Most people believe that since many chronic diseases can afflict senior adults, ailing from some of these conditions is just part of growing old (Boling, 2009). Hence nothing can be done to change that.

Contrary to the common belief, the truth is that the majority of these conditions and illnesses are treatable when addressed by health care providers and appropriate support to the elderly. Community-based services and support are developed to assist community-dwelling senior citizens to continue living safely in homes. The support services provider and also act as links to unique resources for the elderly adults and their care providers including; nutritional support, wellness programs, counseling services, educational programs about aging and health, Plus overall assistance with home safety, finances and housing. The following report explores the concepts of the support services and structures for elderly adults including those ailing from chronic conditions. In the paper, the meaning of the term support structures and services for older adults is defined, it also includes, the different individuals who provide the support services and various types of resources and support structures that are available plus how they are of benefit to the specific population suffering from chronic diseases.

Defining Support services in the context of senior adults

Support services refer to the unique service offered by a given community or even individuals to older people with chronic conditions such as dementia and many others (Brown & Censullo, 2008). These support services include compensation of the unpaid carers, provision of nutrition service programs, the establishment of old people’s homes, free medical care and offering self-management support.

Compensational support for unpaid nurses.

Most of the old people with chronic diseases require people to take care of them especially if their families have neglected those (Charlton & Andras, 2005). Such people need to be paid which motivates them to offer the best services to the old people. Offering to pay those people is one of the most crucial support anyone can offer to old people with chronic disorders. This would enable those carers to provide continuous service to the old people.

Provision of nutrition support programs

Most of the old people with chronic diseases are usually on a special diet which is usually quite expensive for them. This necessitates the need for support in the feeding program. Well-wishers should be ready to offer the old people with a subsidized diet which is very crucial in their health condition. Various organizations that cater to human welfare should fund the feeding program for the old people with chronic conditions in various societies which shall be very important as far as their health and wellness are concerned.

Establishment of unique homes for them

This shall be very important because they shall be taken care of by the relevant personnel making their life enjoyable. This shall reduce a lot of stress and depression that is usually experienced by most of the old people with chronic disorders. The unique homes can also receive many fund donations from various humanitarian organizations enabling them to cater to various expenses of the old people with chronic disorders.

Free medical care

The old people with various chronic disorders should be provided with free medical care especially when it comes to regular checkups. This is to prevent the depression experienced by most of them that usually result in suicide when they think of the medical expenses. Free medical care would be sufficient support because it shall not only enhance good health for people living with chronic disorders but shall also increase their life span.

Offering self-management support

Self-management refers to anyway through which an individual with a chronic disorder manages the condition on his or her own under the guidance of a specialist. This is a long continuous process that is usually achieved after a long period. The victims should have much patience and be ready to cooperate with their instructors to achieve the best results under this method (Clarfield, Bergman & Kane, 2001). Long-term conditions can hurt the life of individuals. Supporting such people to manage their conditions becomes very important especially among the old people who are usually affected by more than one condition. Offering self-management support to such kind of people is very important because it enables them to handle their conditions effectively. Self-management support is the provision of the patients with the appropriate knowledge that shall enable them to choose healthy lifestyles enhancing a positive transformation which usually has an impact in their health by a great extent. Supporting people to self-manage is a very crucial part of coping with the growing burden of long term chronic conditions in society.

     Characteristics of any self-management support

The support should be appropriate for individuals with different categories of chronic disorders (Muskett, 2014). A diabetic patient should be offered individual support and a cancer patient his or her support in a unique way. The support should focus on reducing the inequities in health for the individuals for efficiency. The self-management should reap positive results for the patient, and if not then another approach can be used. The self-management programs should be in a position to empower the people with an essential self-drive to take an active role in care planning concerning their medical conditions. It should give them a clear insight into the reason they should put the tips given into practice. Psychological support for the victims is an essential part of the self-managed program. It enables them to be free from depression and stress which are very destructive. The self-management program should enable the victims to follow a given plan for treatment which is usually very useful to prevent their condition from worsening further. The program is usually instrumental when an individual shares his progress with the health professionals who in return offer a piece of appropriate advice. An efficient self-management program monitors and manages the signs and symptoms of the condition of the victims. An effective self-management program encourages individuals to adopt lifestyles that promote good health.

The expected outcomes of self-management support

It should enable people with chronic conditions to leave longer due to the effective health strategies applied. It should enable individuals to be more independent in life due to the knowledge they acquired.

Models of support used by nurses to care for old people with chronic illnesses.

The social model

This entails the coordination of the subsidized housing sites for the elderly with various chronic ailments (Dowzer, Basford, Booth& Poon, 2000). The model focuses primarily on the supportive needs of the elderly in any given society. This model advocates for the use of technology among the old people to interact with other people in the world. According to the research done, loneliness induces stress among the individuals who might worsen their healthy condition, hence interaction of the old people with chronic ailments through various social media platforms make them feel part and parcel of the society despite being under the roof day and night. Giving them company and sharing old time stories with them is very crucial for their health because it makes them happy and forgets about their condition which gives them more strength to see another day.

The medical model

This is where there is a free health care service for individuals with chronic ailments (Stone, 2015). This initiative helps to reduce the death rates among people with chronic illnesses in society. It also reduces the extent of poverty in the society as people do not incur many expenses to cater for the continuous medical expenses. This model coordinate services through diseases management programs, serving beneficiaries with a specific diagnosis and primary care case management services for beneficiaries with complex social and medical conditions that place them at high risk of hospitalization and adverse outcomes.

Reasons why nurses should care for old people with chronic conditions

To prevent their condition from getting to the worst.To create a sense of belonging to them. To increase their lifespan due to less stress experienced. To monitor their health condition which is very crucial for consistent medication. To keep them informed about the dangers of individual lifestyles. Enhances the development of a person-centered approach to the provision of medical care and other relevant services. To understand the complexity of older people’s health care needs better.

How to support older people living with chronic illnesses

Helping them with cleanliness since they cannot work on their own. Some are not even able to walk; hence they need assistance. Some of them are even unable to eat well; hence they need someone to feed them. Involving them in their health care by introducing them to the technology that might enable them to monitor their health progress. Regular screening to curb new infections that might deteriorate the health of the victim’s.Building an efficient care plan to undertake the process strategically after a thorough assessment of their needs. There should be a carer to help the old people with various activities. Efficient and timely remuneration of the carers to obtain their commitment to taking care of the old people. Provision of useful feedback by the carers which is very vital for quality improvement which enhances good health for the old people living with chronic ailments. Identification of individuals with additional care needs and handling their situation in a unique way. Adequate assessment of the care needs for various individuals for effective allocation of the resources. Use of health service community-based programs to provide appropriate treatment to the individuals during their regular medical checkup. Effective hospital inpatient care for individuals who need very close attention at a subsidized price.

Supporting old people with chronic ailments to maintain their functional status

There is nothing significant for an individual in the society such as maintaining the functional status. Functional status refers to the activity that an individual actively involves himself in which makes the person happy (Strokes, Jacob, Gifford, Squires& Vandyk, 2017). The person might be a lover of music, football, and many other things. They might be running businesses which they are directly responsible. All these things should be made accessible to them in one way or the other which might have a positive impact on their health and wellness.

Some of the ways of helping them to maintain their functional status are as follows.

             Giving them reports of their businesses

They might not be in a position to manage their business hence regular reports should be provided to them which makes them feel the real control of their businesses

Taking them to where they want

They might have been used to visiting some places, but since they cannot do so alone anymore, their carers should take them there so that they do not have regrets with their condition in life.

    Efficient nutrition

They should be provided with adequate nutrition for the excellent health which might make them independent to some extent.

Increasing their functional mobility

The functional mobility program should be incorporated into the older person’s care plan, where appropriate enhance effective functioning of various parts of the body. They can be scheduled a walk twice per week to ensure that they are physically active.

Effective prescription

The carers should ensure that they stick to the prescription procedures given at the hospital for home medication. This ensures that the patient becomes active especially when he is used to sleeping since the medication usually has an impact on his health. When a victim consumes the prescribed medicine at the right time, his health cannot deteriorate hence maintaining an effective normal functioning.

Conclusion

No one chooses to suffer from chronic diseases in this world. This implies that those people who suffer especially the old should not be neglected at any cost but should be taken care of adequately.

References

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Brown M.C. & Censullo M. (2008) Supporting safe transitions from home to healthcare settings for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation 24 (1), 74–82.

Charlton B.G. & Andras P. (2005) Modernizing UK health services: ‘short-sharp-shock’ reform, the NHS subsistence economy, and the specter of health care famine. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice 11 (2), 111–119. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2753.2005.00515.x

Clearfield A.M., Bergman H. & Kane R. (2001) Fragmentation of care for frail older people – an international problem. Experience from three countries: Israel, Canada, and the United States. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 49 (12), 1714–1721.

Dowzer, C., Basford, L., Booth, A., & Poon, L. W. (2000). Living with multiple chronic health conditions: A systematic search and literature review (AARP Andrus Foundation Report). Athens: The University of Georgia Gerontology Center

Muskett, C. (2014), Trauma-informed care in inpatient mental health settings: A review of the literature. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 23, 51-59. doi: 10.1111/inm.12012

Stone, R. I. (2015). Factors affecting the future of family caregiving in the United States. Pp. 57-77 in Family caregiving in the new normal, edited by J. Gaughler and R. L. Kane. London: Elsevier

Strokes, Y., Jacob, J., Gifford, W., Squires, J., & Vandyk, A. (2017). Exploring nurses’ knowledge and experiences related to trauma-informed care. Global Qualitative Nursing Research, 4, 1-15. doi:10.1177/2333393617734510

Thorne, S. E., & Paterson, B. L. (2000). Two decades of insider research: What we know and do not know about chronic illness experience. In J. J. Fitzpatrick & J.Goeppinger (Eds.), Annual Review of Nursing Research, 18, 3-25