[Comprehensive geriatric assessment and nursing practice]

Abstract

The elderly now constitute 9.86% of the population of Taiwan. Seventy-three percent of them have at least one chronic disease. The medical costs of the elderly are double those of young adults. This article introduces the concept of the comprehensive geriatric assessment, which has been defined as, " multidimensional, often interdisciplinary, diagnostic process intended to determine a frail elderly person's medical, psychosocial, and functional capability and problems, with the objective of developing an overall plan for treatment and long-term follow-up." The article introduces geriatric physiological diseases, mental states and physical functions, and the multi-disciplinary, comprehensive geriatric assessment itself, with its multi-dimensional diagnoses and procedures, the population at which it is targeted , the principles under which it is carried out, its content and outcomes, and a brief explanation of its relevance to nurses. The value of the comprehensive geriatric assessment is similar to that of a health advancement and disease prevention strategy for elderly people. Only by adhering to the theory and insisting on care of the whole person, providing comprehensive geriatric care in groups, can the best quality of care be achieved for elderly patients.