Psychosocial Needs of the Elderly (2 CEU)

Assisting residents to meet their basic needs includes their emotional and mental well-being, also called psychosocial needs. These needs are as important as the physiological needs discussed previously. All residents living in a long-term care facility are no different from other people who need to feel worthwhile, loved, and secure in their relationships with others. Having these needs at least partially met can contribute to their overall health and welfare.

“Psych” refers to the mind or mental processes of an individual whereas “social” refers to society or the need for companionship which in the elderly can best be experienced in community living. Erik Erikson explained psychosocial as mind and social relationships. According to the Oxford dictionary, psychosocial means the interrelation of social factors and individual thought and behaviors. Therefore, psychosocial needs of the elderly involve mental, social and physical needs among the aged. We will address some of these needs and some possible management to promote comfort and dignity.  

In the U.S., with the baby boomers having a longer life expectancy, the population aged 65 years and above is growing rapidly. This may be due to breakthroughs in medicine and technology increasing life expectancy in both men and women. Unfortunately, aging is associated with declining health. Common psychological issues affecting older patients may include anxiety, depression, delirium, dementia, personality disorders, and substance abuse. Common social and emotional issues may involve loss of autonomy, grief, fear, loneliness, financial constraints, and lack of social networks. As mentioned above, the population that is 65 years of age and older has grown by over 20% in the last decade and this increase is expected to continue. With each passing year more and more of the population will be elderly and there will be many more people who fit the traditional description of old age – 65 years or older. 

Learning Objectives and Purpose

After finishing this course, the Nurse Assistant will be able to;

1. Explain the concept of psychosocial needs among the elderly
2. Understand the basic aspects of psychosocial needs among the elderly
3. Identify the physical, psychological, intellectual and social needs of the elderly.
4. Understand and handle attitudes during health and illness
5. Learn how to identify signs of symptoms of depression
6. Understand how to provide patient-centered care to the elderly

Instructions for taking the course

To complete the course successfully, you must go through all the lessons below. You MUST mark each lesson as complete by clicking the MARK COMPLETE BUTTON. If you do not click the mark complete button, you will not be allowed to proceed to the next lesson. Please notice that all lessons have a minimum set amount of time that you are expected to spend on each lesson. You will not be allowed to Mark the Lesson Complete until the timer resets to zero; that is, until the minimum time set for the course has passed. For example, if lesson A has an allocated minimum time of 10 minutes, you will have to wait 10 minutes before you can mark Lesson A complete. The Mark Complete button for lesson A will be grayed out and will not become active until 10 minutes are over.

WARNINGIf you forget to click the Mark Complete button done, you will be prompted to go back to that lesson again and have to wait till the allocated timed minutes resets to zero again before the Mark Complete button becomes active. After all lessons are completed and they are Marked Completed, you will then be allowed to take the post test. If you successfully pass the quiz, you will earn CEU’s for this course and you can proceed to print out your certificate.

LESSONS & QUIZ BELOW