Case Study:
You are initiating home health for an 84-year-old male with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and mild cognitive impairment who lives with his son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren. You find him in his room smoking cigarettes with oxygen running. You ask him to extinguish the cigarette and proceed with your assessment. In your patient teaching, you explain he cannot smoke with oxygen and assess how well he can apply and remove his nasal cannula and turn his oxygen on/off. He says, "Oh you know how forgetful us old codgers are; I won't do it again." You speak with his family and reinforce no smoking with oxygen running. On your next three visits, he is not smoking but you notice multiple cigarette butts in an ashtray. On the fifth visit, you again find him smoking with oxygen running but also some bruises on his arms which he says he received when he fell down.
Addresses the following:
Q1. Discuss the risk factors and/or indicators of elder abuse are observed in this case study.
Q2. Discuss the nurse's approach to further investigation of this situation and any additional details would be important to assess.
Q3. Examine how the mandatory laws in your state may apply to this situation.
Q4. Describe steps you would take to ensure the client's safety.