CSW-G cheat sheet
CSW-G · Keep the key ideas within reach.
Gerontology for CSW-G: Aging Processes, Assessment, and Practice
Normal aging physiology: maximal heart rate declines roughly 1 beat/min per year after age 20; glomerular filtration rate falls about 8 mL/min/1.73 m² per decade after 30; lean body mass declines ~1-2% per year after 50 with fat mass rising until ~70.
Hearing loss is the third most common chronic condition in later life; presbycusis begins at high frequencies (>2000 Hz) and impairs speech discrimination more than pure-tone detection, so screening should include speech-in-noise items, not just volume.
Vision changes: presbyopia by the 40s, reduced contrast sensitivity and dark adaptation, and increased glare sensitivity; falls risk rises with multifocal lenses outdoors and with uncorrected refractive error.
Pharmacokinetics in aging: decreased gastric acid and splanchnic blood flow, lower first-pass metabolism, reduced total body water (higher concentration of water-soluble drugs), increased fat stores (longer half-life of lipophilic drugs), and reduced renal clearance.
Beers Criteria use: identify potentially inappropriate medications in adults 65+ (e.g., benzodiazepines, anticholinergics, long-acting sulfonylureas); the criteria are decision support, not an absolute prohibition, and require clinical justification when overridden.
Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) domains: medical, functional (ADLs/IADLs), cognitive, psychological, social, environmental, and advance care planning; CGA with interdisciplinary follow-up reduces functional decline and hospitalization in frail older adults.
Screening instruments: Mini-Cog (3-item recall + clock draw) for cognition; PHQ-9 or Geriatric Depression Scale for mood; Timed Up and Go ≥12 s or 30-second chair stand for mobility; Morse or Hendrich II for inpatient fall risk.
Elder mistreatment epidemiology: roughly 1 in 10 community-dwelling adults 60+ experiences some form of abuse annually; only about 1 in 24 cases is estimated to come to professional attention; neglect and financial exploitation are the most common reported types.
Capacity vs. competency: capacity is a clinical determination (understanding, appreciation, reasoning, expressing a choice) that is decision-specific and time-specific; competency is a legal status decided by a court. Capacity for a specific decision does not require global cognitive intactness.