Elderly care. Automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

The automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillators (AICD) is a commonly accepted treatment for an increasing number of elderly clients at high risk for ventricular dysrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. With increasingly successful use of AICDs, a unique group of gerontological patients has emerged with special physical, educational, psychosocial, and emotional needs. Gerontological nurses will encounter these clients in acute care settings as well as in home health care, nursing homes, senior citizen centers, and adult day health-care centers. Nurses need basic information about AICDs to plan for the continued care, teaching, guidance, and reassurance of these clients and their families.

Family caregiver versus nursing assessments of elderly self-care abilities.

An assessment guide to be used by family caregivers would provide positive reinforcement oriented to what elderly family members can do in caring for themselves. Findings from this study indicate that there is an acceptable level of agreement between assessments of elderly self-care by family caregivers of dependent elderly and nursing assessments of the same self-care abilities. By actively involving family caregivers in the assessment of self-care abilities of their dependent elderly, family integrity and functioning may also be enhanced and families may feel more competent and less burdened as they provide assistance to elderly family members.