• Suggest alternative assessment tools and explain why these tools might be appropriate for your colleagues’ patients.
• Recommend strategies for mitigating issues related to use of the assessment tools your colleagues discussed.
• Explain other health promotion considerations for patients in this population or with related issues.

Reply to this discussion:

Evaluation plans can assist healthcare professionals in increasing the quality of life of the older population by identifying areas of improving the geriatric’s health. Health assessment is the primary component of an evaluation plan. Identifying the appropriate assessment tool will produce a good quality of life. The Hendrich II Fall Risk Model is a mastermind approach created to prevent falls among geriatrics and to practice safe mobility. This assessment is also utilized to determine patients’ functional status. Hendrich II fall risk assessment help hospitals and facilities to distinguish the patients that need bed alarm from those that do not (Hendrich, 2020).

Other assessments that could be done include observing how the patient gets up from the chair and checking the patient’s affected limb for atrophy. Mr. Perkins is using a cane to ambulate. The patient’s cane length should be appropriate for the patient’s height. The provider should assess how the patient uses the cane. The patient should receive education on the safe use of the cane to prevent falls or injury(Reuben et al., 2020).

Osteoarthritis is a joint disease that occurs due to the breakdown of cartilage and the core bone. In the older population, cartilage alterations intensify the matrix’s remodeling. Symptoms of osteoarthritis are stiffness and joint pain. Geriatrics with osteoarthritis complain of pain, stiffness, and swelling in the hands, hips, and knee joints. Osteoarthritis can be diagnosed through x-rays, labs, and physical assessment. Osteoarthritis has no cure but can be managed by increased activity, weight loss, and physical therapy (CDC, 2020).

Mr. Perkins came to the provider’s office for an annual physical exam. The patient should be assessed from head to toe and interviewed about needing an assistive device to ambulate. The provider should assess the extent of the patient’s osteoarthritis to know if there is a need for an x-ray, lab work, or referral to a physical therapist. The patient must receive a flu vaccine to protect himself and his family from the flu. The older population also needs pneumonia, herpes zoster, tetanus, and pertussis vaccines to prevent infections(Coll et al., 2019).