Chapter 10. Life Span: Older Adults

Chapter 10. Life Span: Older Adults

 

Complete Chapter Questions With Answers

 

Sample Questions Are Posted Below

 

MULTIPLE CHOICE

 

1. Which of the following is the most common major challenge for older adults?

a)	Dealing with the needs of their children
b)	Chronic health problems leading to the loss of independence
c)	Loss of the ability to reminisce about the past
d)	Decline of intellectual abilities

 

 

ANS:  B

Older adults have many losses to deal with, including the development of chronic health concerns and loss of independence. During the older adult years, children often provide care for their aging parents. Loss of short-term memory is more common than recollection of events involving long-term memory. Older adults have vivid memories of past events. Intellectual abilities do not become impaired with age; short-term memory and reaction time decline.

 

Difficulty: Moderate

Client Need: PHSI/PSI

Cognitive Level: Comprehension

 

PTS:   1

 

2. To which age group do most hospitalized patients belong?

a)	Infants
b)	Young adults
c)	Middle adults
d)	Older adults

 

 

ANS:  D

Half of all hospitalized patients are older adults.

 

Difficulty: Easy

Nursing Process: NA

Client Need: HPM

Cognitive Level: Knowledge

 

PTS:   1

 

3. Which of the following reflects an understanding of the characteristics of older adults?

a)	Fewer than 5% of all older adults live in nursing homes.
b)	Average life expectancy at birth has declined slightly during the past 10 years.
c)	In general, males tend to live longer than do females.
d)	Black men have the lowest life expectancy, but the gap decreases as a person ages.

 

 

ANS:  A

Only 3.3% of people aged 65 years and older live in nursing homes; this rises to 15% for those over 85 years. In the United States, life expectancy at birth has risen dramatically: In 1900, average life expectancy was 49.2 years; in 2005, average life expectancy was 77.8 years. At age 65, white women led life expectancy with 20 years, followed closely by black women at 18.7 and white men at 17.2 years, whereas black men at age 65 had the lowest life expectancy at 15.2 years. The disparity in death rates for people of different races is less for older adults than younger ones.

 

Difficulty: Moderate

Nursing Process: NA

Client Need: HPM

Cognitive Level: Comprehension

 

PTS:   1

 

4. A 75-year-old white female patient says, “I’ve heard that women live to an older age than men do. My husband and I are the same age, so I am afraid I will have to spend some years without him. That really worries me.” Which answer is based on correct information?

a)	“That is a realistic concern, as women do have a longer life expectancy than men. But many things can happen to change that.”
b)	“You need not worry because both you and your husband are white. That statistic is true only for black men and women.”
c)	“It is true that women have a longer life expectancy at birth. However, life expectancy measured at age 65 is almost the same for both sexes. You are both well past 65.”
d)	“That is true only in certain geographical areas, such as those with a high population of newly retired persons.”

 

 

ANS:  C

For infants born in 2005, the average total life expectancy for females is 80.4 years.

Life expectancy measured at age 65 was nearly the same for men and women in 1900; however, women had a lead of about 3 years over men in 2005, narrowing the gap as men age. So the longer men live, the longer they will live. The statistics are true for white people as well as black people. The answer saying, “That is a realistic concern . . .” is only partially true. Women do have a longer life expectancy at birth, but that tends to almost disappear after men reach age 65, and it continues to lessen as they continue to age. In-migration and out-migration have nothing to do with gender differences in life expectancy, although they do affect the population distribution within a state, for example.

 

Difficulty: Difficult

Nursing Process: Implementation

Client Need: HPM

Cognitive Level: Application

 

PTS:     1