Geriatric: Aging and Memory Loss, Health Issues, and End-of-Life Care

Course overview

Memory loss in the older population generally involves a progressive decline in more than one cognitive domain that interferes with activities of daily living. The four most common types of age-related disorders where memory loss occurs include Alzheimer's disease, Lewy Body Dementia, Vascular Dementia, and Frontotemporal Dementia. Another cause of memory loss is mild cognitive impairment, which includes people who do not have functional impairments that meet the criteria for dementia but whose cognitive function falls within the changes associated with normal aging. Elderly people with dementia are at higher risk of comorbid mental health and physical conditions that are often missed or misdiagnosed. They are also at higher risk of being abused, often within the confines of their own home, by family members, and feel unable to report abuse due to fear of loss, retaliation, and removal from their home. End-of-life decisions are best made with the involvement of all interdisciplinary health team members to help manage the transitions that arise with changes from a home care setting to a specialized community care or long-term care setting, including the possibility of hospice care.