Nursing Care of the Postmenopausal Woman, 3rd Edition
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el includes community services such as meals, adult day care, and transportation services. When a woman has a serious, ongoing health condition, she may need full-time services and may need to move into a residential facility where she can be assisted around the clock as needed (NIA, 2017). The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many challenges for older adults, espe- cially those with chronic illness (Gilbody et al., 2021; Polenick et al., 2021). Older adults are at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, and having one or more chronic illnesses increases the risk even more. Initially, everyone was advised to stay home, and even after the initial lock- downs, older individuals were advised to continue staying at home and adhere to social distancing guidelines to decrease the spread of COVID-19 and avoid un- necessary risks related to contracting the disease. However, this disrupted daily routines and severely reduced social con- tact. Many older individuals felt that they should not see their families, or the only way they saw their families was through windows or computer programs (Polenick et al., 2021). Many older adults suffered from severe depression and loneliness. Although little is known about exactly how self-isolation affects chronic diseas- es, the increased stress related to the COVID pandemic and loneliness have negatively impacted women with chronic illnesses (Gilbody et al., 2021; Polenick et a., 2021).
Chronic stress, whether from illness or loneliness from isolation during the pan- demic, is detrimental for one’s health. Stress can cause blood pressure to in- crease, headaches, depression and anx- iety, and gastric reflux, and if the stress is unresolved over a long period of time, it can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke (NAMS, 2022). Chronic stress can also affect the immune system. This makes women more susceptible to ill- nesses, infections, and even cancers. Stress affects a woman’s general sense of well-being and her quality of life (NAMS, 2022; see Table 3-3).
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