30 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • JANUARY 7, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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Medical innovations poised to transform health care in 2021
Experts in healthcare are continuously
Hardiness-coping and aging
BY DR. SHELDON ORNSTEIN
Buff ering and hardiness are terms that
capture the imagination of researchers interested
in determining the diff erence in the
coping capacity of the older individual.
Buff ers are the fabric of social support systems
and are usually seen as an important
coping resource.
Researchers Funk and Houston state,
“Hardiness is a combination of personality
characteristics consisting of commitment,
control and challenge, and that can buff er
the illness-related defects of stress.” Assisting
individuals to regain a sense of control over
their lives and an opportunity for them to
participate in life, can be exciting and emotionally
rewarding. Using coping strategies
acts as a stabilizing factor that helps individuals
to maintain their psycho-social balance
during stressful periods. More broadly, coping
strategies tend to emphasize a coherent
approach toward a healthy stress management,
such as things that people can do to
avoid being harmed by the multiple stresses
of life.
According to researchers Mitchell,
Cronkite and Moos, “Problem-oriented coping
strategies have been known to moderate
the eff ects of adverse life events and that
they are associated with reduced depression.”
Apparently, those who become depressed,
tend to use various coping strategies. One in
particular is known as an “avoidance coping”
mechanism that functions when the depression
becomes more profound.
Here are several types of coping devices.
Cognitive Strategies
• Try to see the positive side of a situation.
• Draw on past experiences.
• Accept the belief that nothing could be
done.
• Pray for guidance and/or strength.
• Take things a day at a time.
Behavioral Strategies
• Talk with spouse, relatives, signifi cant
others about the problem.
• Discuss with professionals such as clergy
or lawyer.
• Get away from things for a while.
• Seek help from persons or groups with
similar experiences.
• Try reducing tension by exercising
more.
• Become busy with other pressing issues
to keep one’s mind off a problem.
Avoidance Strategies
• Keep negative feelings to one’s self.
• Refuse to believe that “it” happened,
• Trying to reduce tension by resorting
to increased use of tranquilizing medications.
• Taking it out on other people when feeling
angry or depressed.
• Trying to reduce tension through overeating.
• Trying to reduce tension by smoking
more, going from moderate to heavy
drinking.
A major problem with coping is having
a chronic illness and always being in danger
of repeated fl are-ups over some minor
issue or change. Because of this vulnerability,
the older person may become obsessed
with everything that can trigger an exacerbation
of that fl are-up and consequently
relate their concerns to anyone who will
listen. To others, the elderly individual
may appear as boring and thus shunned at
a time when they urgently need someone
to listen to them.
Th e following comments are from Jim,
a patient I once cared for as an RN while
working in long term care. I had an
opportunity to interview him on how he
was able to cope with his disability. His
thoughts still resonate with me and in
sync with the concept of hardiness. “I
have to continually try not letting my disabilities
defi ne me nor to present to others
as my identity. It is almost instinctual
to seek others for sympathy. I tend to
avoid groups who will always remind me
of my disabilities, rather than my remaining
abilities.”
Th e researcher, Orem devised a concept
described as a “self-care movement.” It is
based on an increasing awareness of the
older individual’s impact on their disease
and the impotence of professionals to
eff ect a positive change for the depressed
and mentally declining individual. As a
result, he or she is no longer able to cope
nor care.
Hardiness has become increasingly
popular as a research tool that is used
to explain survival capacity of those
who have become frail and vulnerable.
Characteristics of the oldest-old is still
poorly understood other than in relation
to their degree of dependency. Th e one
element they all appear to share is the recognition
that they are old, although many
may still feel the presence of self as not
being old…only their outer trappings.
Might I request that we all try embracing
our age, no matter how old we may
Dr. Sheldon
Ornstein is a
registered
professional
nurse with a
doctoral degree
in nursing
organization.
He has specialized
in the care of older adults
and has published many articles
on the subject. He has done postgraduate
work in gerontology and
has taught at several universities.
In 2013, he was inducted into the
Nursing Hall of Fame at Teachers
College, Columbia University.
be. Continue believing we can make it the
best time of our lives.
We tend to celebrate life aft er 40,
embracing the 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond
as powerful, wonderful years to savor and
enjoy. We all want to live a long life, one
that is healthy and fulfi lling. Th erefore,
allow me to wish everyone a creative
2021, a year that holds positive expectations
for all who yearn for it.
A thought: if you have a tendency
to jump out of bed each morning and
start rushing through the day, and causing
unnecessary stress, I suggest you
“take fi ve” and experience the gratitude of
being alive to pursue your goals.
Each morning, wake with a deep sense
of purpose and a desire to celebrate the
coming of a new day, a brighter tomorrow,
and in the company of loved ones
once again. But most of all, I wish you the
happiest of New Years.
As the saying goes…”Let the good
times roll.”
striving to develop new
innovations that can improve
and save lives. Even amidst the
COVID-19 pandemic, scientists,
physicians, and researchers
continued to advance medical
knowledge, enhance screening
and diagnostic tools, and
improve disease management
platforms, bringing new hope to
patients in 2021.
When it comes to medicine,
there’s a lot to be excited for in
the new year. Here are the top
innovations you should know
about and the potential impact
they may have on healthcare.
Novel blood test detects
over 50 types of cancers
While current guideline-recommended
cancer screenings in
the U.S. are critical, they are limited,
testing for just fi ve cancers
and screening for a single cancer
at a time. Th e Galleri test
from GRAIL strives to transform
cancer care and save lives
by detecting a multitude of cancers
at once and at earlier stages,
when treatment is more likely to
be eff ective.
In clinical validation studies,
an earlier version of Galleri demonstrated
the ability to detect
more than 50 types of cancers
- over 45 of which lack recommended
screening today - with
a very low false positive rate of
less than 1%, all through a single
blood draw. Galleri will be commercially
available in 2021 and
could have a tremendous human
and economic impact.
Life-changing
vaccinations for
COVID-19
With pharmaceutical companies
accelerating vaccine development
timelines to curb the
COVID-19 pandemic, and
healthcare researchers around
the world collaborating and
exploring solutions, hope is on
the horizon: long-awaited vaccines
from Pfi zer and Moderna
have been approved by the
Food and Drug Administration
(FDA). Now in the process of
being distributed, the vaccine
will fi rst be available to vulnerable
populations and frontline
workers most at risk of the virus.
Telehealth and remote
patient monitoring
Resource constraints and a
global pandemic has positioned
telehealth to be more widely
adopted, with many experts
predicting remote healthcare to
become standard practice for
a multitude of applicable purposes,
including routine checkups
and mental health appointments.
Insurance policy changes
are also supporting this option
for connecting patients and their
providers, even when physically
distant.
Although standard telehealth
appointments might take place
via secure video conference, the
potential of virtual healthcare
is even more dynamic. Remote
patient monitoring uses special
technology to connect
healthcare teams to patients in
their homes and can be used in
chronic disease management,
post-op recovery, and much
more. Patients input vitals and
other data and complex algorithms
advise healthcare teams
of trend departures so they
can act quickly and eff ectively,
helping improve health outcomes
and reduce costs.
— Courtesy of BPT
/WWW.QNS.COM
