Essay on Poster & Written Justification

Justification

This assessment will create and analyse a risk reduction poster for the identified health risk of osteoarthritis in older people, targeted to nurses caring for elderly patients, and elderly individuals above 65 (or 55 for Australia’s First People). This justification will provide a rationale and supporting evidence for the selection of the health risk among the elderly in Melbourne, followed by an analysis of the selected audience, poster content and nursing care implications. The justification will end with an evaluation of the implications for nursing care linked to natural, social and governmental changes in the environment that have an impact on the health of older individuals.

Introduction to the condition

Osteoarthritis refers to a condition caused by the breakdown of the underlying cartilage tissue and bone, resulting in swelling, stiffness, pain and paralysis, which typically has a higher prevalence among elderly individuals above 65. If left untreated, the condition could result in depression, sleep disturbances, reduced mobility and interference with daily activities. Patients suffering from osteoarthritis commonly see it occurring in their hands, knees, hips and spine, where the protective cartilage in those regions wears down.

Analysis of the selected poster

The above poster was designed to provide a direct and informative overview of the nature and symptoms of osteoarthritis, the nursing requirements for older people diagnosed with osteoarthritis, and the health impacts and environmental risk factors for osteoarthritis onset in elderly patients. The factual nature of the poster suggests that it would be suitable for trained healthcare practitioners having to manage care for osteoarthritis patients, as well as elderly at risk of osteoarthritis. Furthermore, the key visuals in the poster allow for a quick understanding of the symptoms and medical background for osteoarthritis, while the bullet point approach provides a quick overview of the key health impacts, environment risk factors and nursing requirements for older individuals diagnosed or at risk of osteoarthritis.

The poster is designed to ensure that nurses, in administering care to osteoarthritis patients, are able to quickly understand the key health impacts, such as depression, sleep disturbances and reduced mobility, faced by their patients. The poster also provides a checklist of the key treatment techniques, such as pharmacologic therapy, heat use, orthotic devices, preventive and chronic disease management education, and aromatherapy massages, which nurses should be able to confidently administer to osteoarthritis patients. Nurses, however, should not use the risk reduction poster as a final guide to osteoarthritis treatment, as the poster is mainly intended as a broad overview of the condition.

Rationale for the selection of osteoarthritis among the elderly in Melbourne

Osteoarthritis is a major health risk among the elderly in Melbourne, given that March & Bagga (2004) found that arthritis impacts over 3 million individuals in Australia, with osteoarthritis serving as the chief cause of pain and disability in the elderly, and the third highest cause of life years lost due to disability. This number is only set to rise amid a burgeoning elderly population in major urban centres such as Melbourne. The epidemiological and demographic trends toward an ageing population in Melbourne where over 1 in 7 are aged 65 and above as of 2017, and where from 2014–16, Australian males 65 and above could expect to live another 20 years and Australian females another 22 years, suggests the need for greater awareness of osteoarthritis diagnosis, prevention and treatment in Melbourne (Uritani et al, 2020).

Furthermore, as a rapidly developing urban centre, Melbourne is home to a number of lifestyle factors and comorbidity factors, such as alcohol use, sedentary lifestyles and isolated social living, which have led to the increased prevalence of osteoarthritis among the elderly. This places the population, particularly individuals over 65, at significant risk of osteoarthritis, thus necessitating a targeted approach such as a risk reduction poster to educate the population at large on how to prevent, detect, treat and equip oneself for the onset of osteoarthritis.

Implications for nursing care linked to changes in the environment and their impact on the elderly

The onset of arthritis in the elderly is closely linked to the natural, social and governmental changes in the environment that have an impact on the health of older individuals. For example, Vennu et al (2020) found that in a study of 3,280 men and women who had osteoarthritis, ethnic minorities and non-whites had 2 to 3 times the chances of osteoarthritis, and that the onset of osteoarthritis was tightly correlated with lower education and income levels, as well as comorbidity factors such as obesity, diabetes and alcohol use (Vennu et al, 2020). Furthermore, Sinusas (2012) found that the tendency of the elderly to lead sedentary and isolated lifestyles, or suffer from hypertension and dementia, also led to reduced physical activity which increased the risks for the onset of osteoarthritis. This is especially so in cities, where dense urban environments and modern values have led to many elderly individuals leading sedentary and isolated lifestyles, with improper access to chronic disease management strategies (Luong et al, 2012).

Nurses should also be confident of weighing the advantages, disadvantages and risks of the associated surgical and non-surgical treatment options for osteoarthritis, and be able to advise the patients accordingly on the recommended course of action, depending on the severity of the patient’s condition and their socio-economic status (Jeihooni et al, 2017).

Furthermore, nurses should be aware of changes in the evolving health research and regulatory landscape, and be comfortable with practicing newer therapies such as hand rehabilitation exercise therapy and aromatherapy massages. As shown by a study by Pehlivan & Karadakovan (2019), aromatherapy massages have an empirically positive impact on pain relief, increase in functional state, and improvements in quality of life in elderly individuals suffering from knee osteoarthritis. Likewise, Ravalli et al (2018) found that the administration of nutraceuticals could serve as an effective tool in the preventive management of early-onset osteoarthritis in elderly individuals.

Finally, nurses should be aware of the social impacts of isolation on the psychological state of osteoarthritis patients. As shown by Uritani et al (2020), elderly Australian osteoarthritis patients tend to exhibit depression, fear of movement and pain catastrophizing symptoms, associated with their decline in physical function and higher pain levels arising from their osteoarthritis (Uritani et al, 2020). Nurses should therefore be equipped with counselling training and empathy in their approach to caring for such patients, particularly in communal settings such as public hospital wards and communal hospices.

Conclusion

In conclusion, osteoarthritis is an important health risk for the elderly above 65 in Melbourne, and registered nurses and patients must be able to leverage the above risk reduction poster to understand the key risks, symptoms, nursing interventions and risk factors for this condition.

References

Bennell, K. L., Campbell, P. K., Egerton, T., Metcalf, B., Kasza, J., Forbes, A., & Bunker, S. J. (2017). Telephone Coaching to Enhance a Home‐Based Physical Activity Program for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Arthritis Care & Research, 69(1), 84-94.

Duong, V., Bennell, K. L., Deveza, L. A., Eyles, J. P., Hodges, P. W., Holden, M. A., & Vicenzino, B. (2018). Attitudes, beliefs and common practices of hand therapists for base of thumb osteoarthritis in Australia (The ABC Thumb Study). Hand Therapy, 23(1), 19-27.

Fu, K., Robbins, S. R., & McDougall, J. J. (2018). Osteoarthritis: the genesis of pain. Rheumatology, 57(suppl_4), iv43-iv50.

Jeihooni, A. K., Mousavi, S. F., Hatami, M., & Bahmandoost, M. (2017). Knee osteoarthritis preventive behaviors in women over 40 years referred to health centers in

Shiraz, Iran: application of theory of planned behavior. Int J Musculoskelet Pain Prev, 2(1), 215-21.

March, L. M., & Bagga, H. (2004). Epidemiology of osteoarthritis in Australia. The Medical Journal of Australia, 180(5), S6.

Luong, M. L. N., Cleveland, R. J., Nyrop, K. A., & Callahan, L. F. (2012). Social determinants and osteoarthritis outcomes. Aging health, 8(4), 413-437.

Pehlivan, S., & Karadakovan, A. (2019). Effects of aromatherapy massage on pain, functional state, and quality of life in an elderly individual with knee osteoarthritis. Japan Journal of Nursing Science, 16(4), 450-458.

Ravalli, S., Szychlinska, M. A., Leonardi, R. M., & Musumeci, G. (2018). Recently highlighted nutraceuticals for preventive management of osteoarthritis. World journal of orthopedics, 9(11), 255.

Sinusas, K. (2012). Osteoarthritis: diagnosis and treatment. American family physician, 85(1), 49-56.

Uritani, D., Campbell, P. K., Metcalf, B., & Egerton, T. (2020). Differences in Psychological Characteristics Between People With Knee Osteoarthritis From Japan and Australia.

Vennu, V., Abdulrahman, T. A., Alenazi, A. M., & Bindawas, S. M. (2020). Associations between social determinants and the presence of chronic diseases: data from the osteoarthritis Initiative. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 1-7.