The Effects Of Long Term Condition Dementia

Literature Review: The Effectiveness of the use of Sensory Therapy for Elderly Adults Diagnosed with Dementia.

‘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.

• 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.

No one wants to lose their mind. But the reality is that the risk of dementia doubles every five years after the age of sixty-five. Is there anything that can be done to prevent this age-related loss of brain function? Are There Ways to Reduce Dementia Through Lifestyle Changes? European researchers analyzed 1,433 people over the age of 65 to determine what lifestyle factors would reduce the risk of dementia the most. After getting a complete medical history on the participants, they tested their cognitive function at intervals over a seven year period. What did they find? According to this research, the two best ways to reduce the risk of dementia is to eliminate diabetes and depression - both of which are dementia risk factors. If both of these factors were eliminated and more people were encouraged to eat fruits and vegetables, the number of new cases of dementia would drop by 21%. There 's some controversy as to whether depression actually increases the risk of dementia - or whether it 's simply an early sign of the disease. This study suggests that depression probably does increase the risk of the disease - and isn 't just a symptom. It 's not surprising that diabetes is a risk factor since it 's associated with insulin resistance. Some studies show insulin resistance increases the risk of dementia. Another way to reduce dementia risk is to encourage people to be literate and educated. This study showed that the number of new cases of dementia would drop by 18% if

Dementia is a term used to describe the symptoms of a number of illnesses which effect the function of the brain. It is an umbrella term describing the progressive decline in a person’s cognitive ability. The type and severity of symptoms varies with each type of dementia and is usually has a gradual onset, is progressive and irreversible. (1)

In this assignment I will be exploring the issues around communication and assessment in relation to the care given to the patient. I will look at how care was delivered and how successful it was. The NMC (2008) states that healthcare professionals must respect a person’s right to confidentiality; to ensure this I will be using pseudonyms for the service users mentioned in this assignment. I will be referring to the patient as ‘John’ and his wife as ‘Brenda’. I have gained consent from Brenda to talk about her husband’s situation in this assignment, as he did not have capacity to grant consent himself due to dementia.

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

This assignment is going to outline possible effects of dementia on an individual’s health and quality of life. There are many different factors that having dementia will effect. As stated above some will affect the health of the person and others will affect the quality of life that the person will have.

(Baillie 2012) explored adult nursing experiences of caring for older people with dementia in acute hospital setting, the findings of this study, suggested getting to know the person and building a relationship, using comfort as a main source of building a trust between the patient and yourself. This study highlighted the need to be approachable, and within the confines of hospital routines. This study allows one to conclude, that certain patients would require a different approach, and in this setting a senior patient with dementia would require a certain level of intimacy which would allow you to build this

Reckless behavior early in life can affect the rest of your life dramatically. Whether it is drinking too much, use of illegal drugs, or even just a simple vehicle accident, it can cause brain damage which can lead to dementia. Dementia isn’t necessarily a disease but rather terminology to describe a set of symptoms. “Severe impairment in intellectual capacity and personality, often due to damage to the brain” (Gazzaniga, Grison, & Heatherton, 2015). In other words, dementia comes with an inability to process surroundings, a difference in character, and, depending in severity, complete memory loss. This loss is because nerve cells in the parts of the brain that are responsible for cognition, like the cerebellum (Molinari, 2002), have been damaged and can no longer function normally. There are many types of dementia, such as, Alzheimer’s, the most common, as well as many others that differ in symptoms. Though many kinds of dementia normally end in pain, suffering and often death, there is no cure. Dementia is a neurocognitive disorder that can affects one’s life drastically, because of memory loss, an inability to preform everyday activities, and personality changes.

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.

Nurses care for patients with Alzheimer’s disease in many different ways, particularly in a long-term care setting, although hospital staff Nurses work directly with the disease as well. It is most important that Nurses understand what Alzheimer’s disease is, the signs

At the time of diagnosis, David and Irene may have protected themselves from negative stigma by saying to themselves that David’s current cognitive and physical capacity does not match their belief of what dementia is. So they remain in a state of instability, until carer roles and understanding of the disease process develops over time (Stirling, Campbell, Bentley, Butcher & Morrissey, 2016). The case manager can support them through the whole journey and ensure central and personalized care as they know David’s history (Hughes, Lloyd-Williams, & Sachs, 2012). They can provide early support and educational information and direct support as soon as possible after diagnosis is made (Downs & Bower, 2014). Early support allows David to be involved in his care planning whilst he still can. Early initiation of an advanced care plan is one way to reduce Irene’s carer stress, by making her aware of available support. Evidence has shown early support delivers longer periods of higher quality care at home (Crisp, Tabberer, Thomas, & Goddard, 2012) and delayed nursing home admissions (Downs & Bower,

Volunteering at a care home was especially rewarding, through carrying out personalised care plans I could understand the needs of the patient and tailor my care for them. However, I also saw the effects of diseases on loved ones. Progressive conditions such as Alzheimer’s were especially difficult for family members as the degenerative effects of the disease took hold. A clinician cannot always make the disease disappear, however through regular check up, multi-disciplinary approach and empathetic communication they can ensure the patient and loved ones are appropriately cared

This particular study was conducted in multiple nursing homes. The qualitative research method was used to conduct this study, due to the fact that questionnaires and responses from the responders were collected. For this study, nurses working with older people who had dementia, and who were permanent employees were selected to participate in this research. The permission to conduct this research was obtained from the section leaders of all the nursing homes in the local community. The samples used in this study were experienced nurses who worked in four nursing homes with older people with dementia (Struksness et al., 2011).