Assignment Scenario: Rosa is a patient in your care. While providing care for her she chats away telling you about her son Mark, whom she lives with. Fifteen years previously, Mark and his wife had suggested that Rosa move in with them in their home. She sold her home and many of her belongings and used what she had left over from the sale of her home to build an extension on her son's property where she could live.
Rosa did not receive independent legal advice about this arrangement. Her name was not put onto the title of the property and there was no agreement in place about the details of what Rosa would receive in exchange for the improvement she had made to the property. Mark and his family were very busy and Rosa was left to herself. It was challenging being in a new location, away from her friends and she found herself to be very lonely. Her relationship with her son and his family deteriorated over time. Nearly a year ago, Mark lost some investments that he had been relying on and they were struggling to meet their mortgage repayments. Six months later Mark had told Rosa that they had to sell the property and downsize and there would be no room in the new house for Rosa. They refused to repay more than Rosa's initial investment in the property even though Rosa had spent that amount 15 years before and the property had appreciated greatly in value over that time. Rosa seemed very anxious about the whole situation but didn't feel she could do anything about it.
Answer the following questions:
A. Vulnerability is our capacity to be constantly affected by and responsive to other people and the world around us both positively and negatively. True or False.
B. Name two (2) types of elder abuse present in the above scenario.
C. 'Ageing versus Autonomy': Describe three (3) contributing factors to loss of autonomy in the elderly person.
D. Assisted autonomy involves the nurse creating an environment whereby the elderly person is aware of and can access the support they need to make their own decisions and act as independently as possible for as long as possible, as opposed to being a passive recipient of care. Name and describe each of the four (4) activities a nurse can carry out in order to assist the elderly with autonomy.