While researching problems of the elderly for a nursing gerontology class taught by Professor Susan Heidrich, PhD, at the UW-Madison School of Nursing, students Sarah Gilman, Kami Johanek, Jessica Luckason, and Rebecca Weld came upon an unsettling fact: One million older adults are admitted to the hospital because of dehydration each year. “Dehydration is an underrecognized and preventable problem,” says Weld, who works part-time as a nursing assistant while completing her baccalaureate degree in nursing. “Research shows that dehydration is one of the top 10 causes of hospital stays among Medicare patients.”

Students’ brainchild rises from H2O

For a required class project, the four students probed a baffling question: If H2O is essentially life-sustaining, why does the simple act of drinking it elude us—particularly the elderly, who suffer dehydration in large numbers? The four designed an educational tool to help seniors combat the problem.

The young colleagues created “Liquid for Life.” Its purpose is to educate seniors about the gravity of dehydration and the importance of today’s health truism—guzzling eight glasses of water per day, or liquids of comparable benefit, maintains daily adequate fluid intake.

This educational tool is fashioned in place mat and brochure formats (see photos), offering valuable information to seniors on sources of liquid that are hydration boosting. With the place mat, the reader can identify at a glance the best sources for hydrating. The three-page brochure answers three crucial questions for seniors about keeping hydrated: Why should I do it? What if I don’t? How do I prevent the worst from happening?

“We really had to focus on simplifying our message and not overwhelming our audience with too many facts and figures,” Weld says. “Kami [Johanek] came up with the idea that many churches had community dinners and coffee hours, so a place mat would be a great way to reach people. …”

Spreading the word

The students worked with Peggy Weber, BSN, RN, coordinator for St. Marys Parish Nursing at St. Marys Hospital in Madison. She served as their preceptor, helping them to carry out project objectives and to appreciate the intangibles of their work.

“The parishioner are so appreciative of the students’ time and interest,” says Weber. “The students demonstrate their interest in making things better for the older populations. … They are making a difference for many people.”

In observing how well the information was received by the parishes’ elderly, Weber spread the word about the project’s utility to members of the Senior Citizen Advisory Committee for the City of Madison. Bernice Owen, PhD, RN, current member of the advisory committee and chair of its subcommittee on health issues, recognized the project’s star quality.

“Dehydration is a common problem in elderly, and, if not prevented or detected early, can lead to significant problems that end in hospitalization,” says Owen. “Our subcommittee is charged with assessing the health needs ofolder citizens and finding ways to fulfill those needs. Liquid for Life is a mechanism for fulfilling that need.”

Owen plans to get approval from the advisory committee to disseminate the information via placemats, fliers and refrigerator magnets in order to drive home the importance to seniors of keeping hydrated. The subcommittee’s targeted audience will be those seniors who are not regularly afforded the information.

“We want to target places like senior centers, parishes … and seniors and caregivers who generally would not have this information provided to them,” says Owen, “unlike seniors or caregivers in health care facilities where nutritional needs are met.”

Project rewards are affirmed

“It is great to know that what started as a small project is being distributed to a wider population of older people and their families,” says Weld. “This project reinforced my responsibility to encourage patients to drink their fluids. It was a great exercise in patient education.”

Gilman adds, “The project made me realize that even I should be consuming more fluids and that I can get these fluids from multiple sources, not just water.”

Heidrich, who has taught the gerontology course for two years, has watched it expand to cover approximately 25 community projects. She strongly supports service projects within the curriculum that benefit both student and community.

“Students learn what the real needs in the community are,” says Heidrich. “They get the opportunity to work with older adults directly. Students get the chance to research evidence-based practices and then learn how to adapt those practices to fit what older people want and need.”

“But above all,” Heidrich adds, “the students learn how resilient and capable even the most frail elder can be, and so they gain a great deal of respect for older adults.”

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This article first appeared in the inaugural issue of Nursing Dimensions, Summer 2005, 1(1).