Use Of Psychotropic Drugs In Elderly Patients In Hollywood Florida Nursing Homes (Research Paper Sample)

Use of psychotropic Drugs in Nursing Homes
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Institutional Affiliation
Date
Use of Psychotropic Drugs in Elderly Patients in Hollywood and Florida Nursing Homes
Introduction
The purpose of this research will be to access the use of psychotropic medications in nursing homes based in Florida and Hollywood. Psychotropic medications ae used to affect how the brain functions, and the activities that are associated with behaviour and mental processes. These drugs that have that effect are known as psychotherapeutic or psychoactive.
Background
The need to provide quality care to the elderly has increased given that the number of the older population has continued to rise. Nursing homes care for the dependent older people who need assistance with activities of daily living. These old people suffer from certain old age conditions that require medical attention such depression, anxiety, and dementia. Practitioners working with these elderly people need to monitor them closely so as to identify the kind of medication they require.
Literature Review
There are four categories of the psychotropic drugs. These are anti-psychotic, anxiety suppressants, anti-depressant, and hypnotic drugs. Various neurologic and psychoses conditions are treated using anti-psychotic drugs. The conditions ae schizoaffective disorders, schizophrenia, delusional disorder, acute psychotic episode, psychotic mood disorder, and Huntington’s disease. When these anti-psychotic drugs are used for long, they lead to mental organic syndromes such as dementia and other agitated features that are shown by certain behaviors that may be harmful to them o those around them. These drugs are classified as either atypical or conservative. The conventional ones have severe side effects and this is why the atypical dugs were introduced.
Anti-depressant drugs are often used to treat agitation and depression. In low dosage, they are used to treat insomnia. Like any other drugs, they also have side effects such as rapid heart rate, excessive sedation, confusion, constipation, dry mouth, urinary retention, and orthostatic hypotension. Most of the depressants administered to the elderly have a long half-life such that those that have low tolerance levels need smaller doses, or take them less frequently.
The anti-anxiety medications help in managing insomnia and nervousness. Hypnotics are used as short term sleeping aids or the elderly. The two drug categories lead to the patients being unable to carry out daytime activities and they often result to disorientation and misperception.
Research indicates that some of these drugs that are administered to the elderly are considered hazardous (Dwyer, Han, Woodwell, & Rechtsteiner, 2010). There is a list of anti-psychotic drugs that are misused and unnecessary. There are several programs that have been established to monitor nursing homes and the quality of care they offer to the elderly. These programs can help fight against the inappropriate use of psychotropic drugs. It is important for all Medicaid and Medicare working in nursing homes to have the required federal qualifications. These certifications are given after routine surveys are conducted
Methodology
Five methods will be used for this research. A review of the medical record of all the elderly residents in the nursing homes in both Florida and Hollywood that are taking the psychotropic drugs. Secondly, an analysis of these nursing homes certificates and supervisory program data. Thirdly, assessing the nursing homes’ drug review. Fourthly, there will be onsite visits to at least three hundred nursing homes in Florida and Hollywood. Finally, telephone surveys will also be conducted on the staff working in these nursing homes.
A two-staged cluster sample will be used for the inspection of the nursing homes and the elderly living there. The first sampling will use the OSCAR survey and choose samples randomly in over 300 nursing homes in both Hollywood and Florida. For each of the nursing homes selected, an enrolment census will be requested to determine which residents were receiving which drug. Out of the three hundred nursing homes in both regions, we expect to receive responses from at least two hundred of them.
In the second sampling, we will randomly select a sample of 800 residents in these nursing homes. From each of the two hundred nursing homes we expect responses from, we will select four residents who will either receive anti-anxiety, anti-psych...