Patricia Smith: A Case Study Of Dementia

“Alzheimer`s disease is called a family disease” (ALZlive), because it impacts every family member who is slowly watching a loved one decline. Alzheimer’s disease has an impact on caretakers because caregivers can lead to a variety of emotions, from guilt to anger. When dealing with a client who has Alzheimer; caretakers have a huge responsibility, which can cause stress or depression. If the caretaking is a family member it might lead to finical problems, which can lead to the hard and controversial decision of putting someone in a nursing home, that is better equipped. Guilt is the main emotion that a caretaker can express “I have never spoken to my mother`s doctor, it occurs to me that other children of

‘A retired teacher, Betty (65 years old), was diagnosed with Dementia. She lived at home with her husband Arthur (70 years old) who had been caring for her for several years. When she was diagnosed, No information was given to the couple. They had no relatives that they could rely on around them for support.

Instead of treating all people with dementia the same – it makes the care you give

• Every individual, including individuals with dementia, has their unique life history, lifestyle, culture and preferences, including their likes, dislikes, hobbies and interests, which makes an individualised approach in care necessary.

Living with dementia can be overwhelming, stressful and emotional. There is a lot to take in, appointments and assessments to attend, sorting out what support you are entitled to, care preparation, wishes and preferences.

This assignment will explore the effect of the long term condition dementia. It will focus on a service user who has recently been admitted onto an assessment ward and their family. It will explore the nurse’s role and how they will support and manage the patient’s illness. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2015) state that individual’s rights to confidentiality must be respected at all times, therefore all names mentioned in this assignment have been changed to maintain confidentiality.

Dementia does not only impact the people with symptoms and it also disturbs the people who must care for the person. It is estimated that 1.2 million people are involved in the care of people with dementia. It has a financial burden on the Australian economy $4.9 billion in 2009-10. (1)

Focusing on dementia, it is not constantly possible to involve the dementia sufferers in the decision making course of their care without encouragement and assistance by

Dementia which was views as a disease is now viewed as a disability. It allows us to view people with dementia as individuals coping with their own impairment and entitled to an adequate quality of life and comfort. To do this it is necessary for us to shift our way of thinking from focusing on dementia as a disease that degenerative without a cure, to focusing on the whole person and seeing dementia as a disability of certain parts of the persons

This essay will aim to introduce the term dementia including the types, causes, prevalence, young onset and models of care. This essay will continue to address what skill could be implemented to provide person centred care with understanding of health promotion and recovery concepts.

The main motives include providing more knowledge and understanding of dementia and also its effect on behaviour as well as it progression rate. Provide carers with an impressive understanding of available local support services and how they can be accessed. It also aims at assisting in surpassing the shock relating to an initial diagnosis of dementia as well as ways to maximize life and well-being.

Dementia is an extremely common disease among the elderly, with 4 million Americans currently suffering from the Alzheimer’s type alone. Figures show that 3% of people between the ages of 65-74 suffer from the disease, rapidly increasing to 19% for the 75-84 age bracket, and as high as 47% for the over 85s. Therefore, it is easy to see why Dementia is such a large part of many people’s lives, whether they are suffering from the condition themselves, or have an elderly relative who requires full time care just to undertake simple day to day tasks. The disease can be extremely traumatic for the patient and their families, as the person, who may have been extremely lively and bright throughout their

I worked closely with the activities director in the dementia care unit. I was tasked with setting up activities and games, preparing snacks, and transporting residents. This experience confirmed the importance of having patience and compassion, and the value of having a proper bedside manner when interacting with others. I was also able to see how difficult it was for the families of those residents with dementia and realized the support they needed when making decisions for their loved one. I found myself listening to families’ grievances and desired a higher level of understanding of medicine to treat patients with disabling

One of the advantages by placing a parent with Alzheimer’s in a care facility, aside from the fact they are very experienced, is the family can still be very involved in the care of their loved one. Mannion (2008) explained that many of the times family help assist in the care of their parent in the early stages of the disease and will continue to care for them while their parent is in a care facility, which averages approximately nine hours a week. Children tend to feel the need to provide care for their parent with Alzheimer’s, but can have negative side effects. One may feel cut off from social activities and may become depressed, anxious or develop anger from caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s. Every loving, caring child needs to take a break from time to time when caring for their loved one, and respite care (temporary caregiver) is a wonderful way to achieve the needed time away (p.28). Caregiving, regardless of whether it’s the parent’s child or in a care facility, can be very difficult physically on an individual, especially in the late stages when they need a great deal of assistance in bathing, dressing, and moving from one place to another. Whoever the caregiver is, there are many services the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America can help with, such as finding support groups as well as social workers available for counseling to help caregivers caring for those with Alzheimer’s. Being a caregiver is a tremendous responsibility for an individual. Mannion stated “the wellbeing of a person with Alzheimer’s depends directly on the wellbeing of the person who is providing their care”

This assignment critically discusses about dementia, a widespread disability among older adults today. It provides an introduction to dementia and analyses its prevalence in society. The various forms of dementias are elaborated with description about dysfunctions and symptoms. Nursing Assessment and Interventions are provided in the further sections which discusses about actions nurses should take on while evaluating patients and treating them. Finally, communication, an important Activity of Daily Living (ADL) is explored and patient/carer advice is presented so as to maintain good health conditions in the patient.