Lifestyle Modification to Improve GERD among Elderly Japanese Patients in the Primary Care Setting
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Authors
Dela Cruz, Hidemi K.
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Nursing
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Abstract
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common gastric disorder that affects large numbers of people in the world. The worldwide prevalence of people with GERD is approximately 15 to 25 percent of the world population (Bor, 2015). The elderly especially have a high prevalence of GERD due to the disturbance of esophageal motility, decreased gastric emptiness, less salivary production (Chait, 2010), or taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for arthritis (Zanten, 2008). GERD causes a variety of symptoms such as heart burn, acid regurgitation, loss of appetite, or insomnia, and having those symptoms can significantly impact a person's quality of life (QOL) (Pubmed, 2015). Additionally, further complications may result as chronic inflammation of the esophagus mucosa by GERD also increases the incidence of eosinophilic esophagitis, Barrett's esophagus (BE) or esophageal adenocarcinoma (MC, 2017; Chait, 2010). Normally, most patients who are suffering from GERD are treated by long term pharmacological therapy using proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) or H2 receptor antagonists (H2 blockers). However, an alternative approach may be used in which Nurse Practitioners (NPs) can contribute more to the patient's health promotion by incorporating lifestyle modification for their patients to improve GERD symptoms and reduce medication strength and dosage. This paper will address the basic knowledge of GERD to include relevant published literature review, and propose how to facilitate lifestyle modification for patients with GERD using surveys and educational material by an NP in a primary care facility.
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Capstone Project
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Hawaii Pacific University