Recognizing Risk Factors and Symptoms of COVID in Older Adults скачать в хорошем качестве

Recognizing Risk Factors and Symptoms of COVID in Older Adults

Recognizing Risk Factors and Symptoms of COVID in Older Adults Right now, there are multiple cases of COVID-19 in all 50 states, and COVID-19 is highly contagious. Older adults need to think about not only their “risk for exposure” but also their “risk for severe illness” – but what do these terms mean exactly? Tune in to this week’s podcast to learn more. In this week's episode, you'll learn about: -What does “risk for exposure” and “risk for severe illness” actually mean? -What are the risk factors for COVID-19 in older adults? -How do you know if you have “multiple chronic conditions”? (also called chronic co-morbidities) -How symptoms of COVID-19 may show up differently in an older adult than a younger adult Part One of ‘Recognizing Risk Factors and Symptoms of COVID in Older Adults’ What does “risk for exposure” and “risk for severe illness” actually mean? Therefore, if you live in a community that has a higher number of cases, it can spread much more quickly and easily in your community and therefore increases the “risk for exposure”. If you have cases of COVID in your community, that means the virus can be spread by people who have been infected by the virus (known as “community spread”) – and do not know where or how they became infected. Also, a person may have COVID and not have symptoms or even know that they are sick. When we use the term “risk for severe illness”, this means that there is a greater risk of getting sick enough that you need to be hospitalized, have a greater risk of developing a complication, and/or have a greater risk of dying from COVID if you get the virus. Older adults (those aged 65 and older) have a greater risk of severe illness and the older you are, that risk increases. In fact, case-fatality (death) rates for COVID-19 increases dramatically with age: 65 to 70 years old 3%-6% 75 to 85 years old 4%-11% Over 85 years old 10%-27% If you are 65 or older, you're at higher risk but not all older adults age in the same way. Unlike childhood that has developmental milestones we all meet (for example, babies crawl, then walk, then run). With aging, normal aging doesn't have a normal trajectory of decline; a lot of that depends on your lifestyle choices: Did you eat right? Did you exercise? Did you smoke? Did you drink? Did you get enough sleep? All those things within our control when everybody does them a little bit differently. As people age, you need to consider age PLUS what other chronic conditions that person has when sizing up your risk for severe illness if you are infected with the virus. What are the risk factors for COVID-19 in older adults? Age itself is not the only thing that puts you at risk. But knowing if you are 65 or older is easy enough to recognize as a factor that puts you at higher risk for serious illness – most of us know how old we are. Living in a nursing home is another easily identified risk factor for serious illness. Older adults who do end up living in a nursing home are the frailest, most debilitated, and the majority of residents have multiple chronic conditions in this population. Age combined with these factors is why they are the highest risk population for not surviving this virus if they are exposed and infected. But for anyone, at any age, what are the other things that can put you at a higher risk for experiencing serious illness if you are infected with COVID? Tune into the full episode to find out! About Melissa Batchelor I earned my Bachelor of Science in Nursing (‘96) and Master of Science in Nursing (‘00) as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) from the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) School of Nursing (SON). I truly enjoy working with the complex medical needs of older adults. I worked full-time for five years as FNP in geriatric primary care across many long-term care settings (skilled nursing homes, assisted living, home, and office visits) then transitioned into academic nursing in 2005, joining the faculty at UNCW SON as a lecturer. I obtained my PhD in Nursing and a post-Master’s Certificate in Nursing Education from the Medical University of South Carolina College of Nursing (’11) and then joined the faculty at Duke University School of Nursing as an Assistant Professor. My family moved to northern Virginia in 2015 and led to me joining the faculty at George Washington University (GW) School of Nursing in 2018 as a (tenured) Associate Professor where I am also the Director of the GW Center for Aging, Health, and Humanities. Find out more about her work at https://melissabphd.com/.