Aging and Technology

A common myth in today’s culture is that the elderly do not know how to use technology and have no interest in using technology.  There may be aspects of technology that are of little interest to certain populations, but to take an entire topic like technology and make an stereotype about it regarding the elderly is ridiculous.  When I was CNA and home caregiver to a 93 year old woman, she knew the in’s and out’s of her iPad, swiping along between Facetime with her grandkids and a host of games such as solitaire.  There is no age limit to learning, including when it comes to technology.

One of the topics about technology that nurses should be teaching our elderly patients (and all patients for that matter), is the credibility and validity of health information on the internet.  Websites that end in .gov, .edu, or have a hospital’s name in the URL tend to be more reliable in their information.  Examples of these websites include:

https://www.cdc.gov/

https://www.mayoclinic.org/

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/

Going back to the story of my client who used her iPad – providing tablets for elderly to communicate with their loved ones is a great tool, especially during these times of social distancing and isolation.  Whether the elderly person is a patient in the hospital or is living at a nursing home, having a tablet for use with the elderly can promote social interaction and help fight depression.  By encouraging the use of technology, we can bridge the physical distance an elderly person may be experiencing with their family. 

Here is a news report on youtube about a couple women who donated iPads to nursing homes in order for the residents to maintain contact with their family during the corona virus.

Memory and Aging

As we get older we tend to become a little more forgetful.  But what is the difference between the normal aging process vs. when we should be concerned about dementia?  Here are some guidelines to help us out:

Normal aging may look like occasionally forgetting where you left your keys or wallet.  You may feel like you have information on the tip of your tongue that you just can’t quite recall immediately.  Walking into a room and forgetting why you went in is a common one.  However, dementia is recognized as a persistent, disabling decline in two areas of cognition, such as judgment, abstract thinking, or memory.  Warning signs that of dementia may include memory loss so severe that it disrupts work, hobbies, family relationships, etc.  If you or your family notice these memory lapses frequently enough to become a concern, it’s time to check in with your doctor. 

However, just because an elderly person is showing signs of Alzheimer’s or dementia does not automatically mean they have it.  As nurses we should be advocates for our patients and educate them on possible causes of reversible memory loss not related to dementia.  Depression is known to imitate signs of memory loss, causing difficulty accomplishing tasks and poor judgment.  A vitamin B12 deficiency can cause memory loss because vitamin B12 protects neurons and promotes brain health. Thyroid issues that affect metabolism can cause confusion (fast metabolism) or feelings of sluggishness and depression (slow metabolism).  Even dehydration, a common problem in the elderly population, can be the cause of drowsiness, confusion, and memory loss.  By identifying the root cause of the memory loss, there is hope that it can be treated and be reversed.  I think as nurses it is important that we not take the sign/symptom of memory loss and automatically think dementia. There are other causes of memory loss that should be explored in the treatment of this process. 

Here is a youtube titled "Spotting the signs of dementia":