장기요양시설에서의 치료 및 관리

Abstract

Many elderly persons admit the long-term care facilities due to progressive deterioration of physical or cognitive function constantly requiring medical, psychological, and ADL support. Pharmacotherapy may be required for treatment of medical illness or condition such as hypertension, diabetes, infection, fluid and electrolyte imbalance, malnutrition, or sore. Neurological diseases of chronic or terminal stage including dementia, movement disorder, or stroke may need the disease-specific intervention. Physical or cogntive rehabilitation is also needed for patients with physical disabilities and conitive impairment in the purpose of sustaining the quality of life. Besides many psychiatric problems become the cause of placement in long-term facilities, these may occur sometime during admission. So, psychiatirc approach must be essential. Because many elderly patients cannot manage daily activities to certain degree if not caregiver support, caregivers should be needed. Family members must be considered in the treatment program because they have enduring physical, psychological, psychosocial, and financial burden to gradual functional loss of patients. In long-term facilities, various intervention programs must be settled down for patients or family members through comprehesive approach and mutual interrelation of many staffs.