title: Assessment of the older female surgical patient.
abstract: Many older women enjoy better health than ever. Improved health care for women creates populations of older women who also have mental illness, chronic illness, are mentally impaired, or have dementia. Although aging itself may not be considered a surgical risk, those coexisting conditions predispose many older women to be vulnerable or at risk for a surgical procedure. A few of the major problems recounted by caregivers are reviewed here. Among them are disorientation, incontinence, and decubitus ulcers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Angelo State University, San Angelo, TX, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Balzer
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Willeke
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D016743:Mental Competency; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods; D019990:Perioperative Care / Q000379:methods / Q000451:nursing; D013527:Perioperative Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D016387:Women's Health