Care CEUs

1. Older Americans may be especially hard hit by natural and human caused disasters because of their frailty, great sense of personal loss, and other developmental factors.

2. Natural or human origins disasters are usually characterized by each of the following EXCEPT:

3. The National Institute of Mental Health has conservatively estimated that _____ percent of disaster victims suffer adverse psychological effects.

4. During the heroic phase of a disaster, those who have experienced disaster are likely to share feelings of common purpose and mutual support, engendered at least in part by public and private response to their needs.

5. When older survivors begin to take the lead on their own recovery and reconstruction, they most often feel rejuvenated, useful, and hopeful.

6. "Individual disaster trauma" is defined as a blow to the psyche that breaks through one’s defenses so suddenly and with such brutal force that one cannot react to it effectively.

7. Disaster mental health assistance tends to be psychological in nature in that the focus is to help survivors with problem-solving and decision making in an effort to achieve and sustain emotional stability.

8. As people get older, there is an increased tendency for dissimilarity rather than similarity, which has great significance in disaster relief situations.

9. Which of the following correctly describes the history of the aging population in the United States?

10. The physical well-being of older adults is expressed in terms of __________________ rather than in terms of death rates or extent of certain disease states.

11. For some older people, emergencies may stimulate subconscious emotions related to difficulties encountered earlier in life.

12. The prevalence of dementia is _____ percent among all persons older than sixty-five but increases to more than _____ percent in those over eighty-five.

13. Self-destruction among older Americans is a source of national concern, and suicide rates for the elderly are higher than for any other age group.

14. Older individuals may experience sensory deprivation and age-related slowing of cognitive and motor activity, which makes them particularly susceptible to disaster.

15. Studies report that 84 percent of nursing home residents have at least one psychiatric diagnosis and/or at least two behavioral problems.

16. An older adult patient with altered mental status may be among the most difficult to diagnose and treat because of the spectrum of behaviors that the individual may display.

17. The most effective mode of help after disaster is crisis counseling services delivered through face-to-face contact with older adults in their natural environments, known as reciprocity.

18. Volunteering is high among the older populations of this nation, and it has been estimated that as many as _____ percent of American Red Cross disaster volunteer workers are age fifty-five or above.

19. Senior centers and adult day centers provide services and knowledge that are particularly helpful to disaster workers attempting to promote an atmosphere of calm and certainty.

20. Disaster response workers should be aware of the need for establishing coalitions to deal with specific needs that arise in differing kinds of disaster situations.

21. While disaster workers should be willing to tap the help that family caregivers can provide after a crisis, they should also be sensitive to:

22. Adequate, appropriate mental health services for older persons during times of non-emergency can help assure that such services will be available during disasters, and __________ are effective advocates to assure that this will be the case.

23. Disaster consequences may be influenced by such factors as the economic circumstances of victims, the frequency of disasters in the area, and the effectiveness of relief measures.

24. Older persons report uneasiness and more intense emotions as the disaster anniversary approaches, but an observance or remembrance at or near the first anniversary may help facilitate emotional healing.

25. In the aftermath of disaster, older adults should be regarded as persons with memories and experience that can prove to be invaluable, and should be treated as: