Body Systems, Aging, and Meeting Physical, Emotional, and Developmental Needs
What this domain covers
Know the major systems and how aging changes them: skin (thinner, drier, slower healing), musculoskeletal (bone loss, stiffness, slower gait), cardiovascular and respiratory (reduced reserve), nervous (slower reactions, hearing and vision changes), gastrointestinal (constipation, reduced absorption), genitourinary (reduced kidney function, incontinence risk), and endocrine and immune (slower responses, higher infection risk).
Normal aging includes presbyopia, high-frequency hearing loss, decreased thirst, and reduced muscle mass. Disease is not aging: new confusion, weight loss, incontinence, or falling is a change to report, not an excuse.
Meeting needs means caring for the whole person. Maslow's hierarchy reminds you to meet physical needs (air, food, water, safety) before higher ones, but emotional needs - belonging, self-esteem, autonomy, spiritual and cultural identity - matter just as much. Grief, loss, sexuality, and depression are real in later life; do not dismiss them. Developmental stage matters too: a young adult with a disability has different needs than an older adult.
Traps
Saying 'that's just old age' about a new symptom, ignoring a client's spiritual or cultural requests, assuming an older adult is not interested in intimacy, and treating every client identically regardless of developmental stage.
Rule of thumb
Any new or sudden change is not 'just aging' - observe it, report it, and document it.