Dementia Intervention Paper

The research illustrates the sociological imagination by understanding how to examine causes that predict signs of aggression in patients with dementia. The study of a group of patients with dementia by reviewing factors that signal aggression and develop a plan of action to prevent aggression and without the use of medications. Those suffering from dementia can exhibit aggressive behavior and pose challenges for caregivers. The study consisted of a hundred seventy one Veterans sixty years of age or older with a newly diagnosis of dementia. Those participating had not displayed any aggression following the diagnosis and the caregivers would take part in the study. The longitudinal study time frame was twenty four months and the data was

Phillips states that individuals with dementia often display resistance to care, confusion, disruptive or aggressive behaviors: For these reasons, many seniors who are not actually suffering from psychosis are given antipsychotic medications. The goal of the pan-Canadian Reducing Antipsychotic Medication in Long Term Care program was to encourage long-term care facilities and nursing homes to discontinue the use of unnecessary antipsychotic medications to experiment with alternative therapies.

Observing the situation as a whole, wandering, patience, and finding ways to mitigate challenges associated with dementia are all important factors. As individuals with dementia age, things will often decline over a period of time. It is not only important for the nursing staff, but also families to be become aware of the challenges associated with working with dementia residents. In order to become more aware, we will have a better chance at delivering better client care and quality of life for the individuals with dementia. this is evident around the topic of falling and forgetting to use a walker. It is in these times where the resident is most at risk. During on of my first shifts at Providence Place, I was informed that

The purpose of Zeller, Dassen, Kok, Needham, and Halfens (2012) retrospective cross-sectional study was to explore the caregiver’s experiences with aggressive behavior from residents in long-term care facilities in Switzerland. Of the 1,572 questionnaires sent out, 804 caregivers

Background information that the authors provided about past studies on the topic was there was a prevalence of 1 in 4 Canadians who are older that were affected by dementia, and behavior was associated with cognitive impairments in people who are older. When a patient misinterprets and responds to something responsive behavior occurs with restlessness and physical aggression. And it is challenging for a professional to help manage the individual’s behavior

It is vital to communication to realize that the patients’ actions can just be the illness manifesting itself. Therapeutic communication can help the patient calm down, and allow for the proper care to be delivered. Dementia patients exhibit fear and have acts of violence or aggression because of perceptual disturbances that distort the way in which they see things. Unrelieved pain can also cause the patient’s behavior to change, such as increased irritability and agitation. In order to fix this, healthcare providers need to implement better pain assessments and pain management. If the patient is unable to communicate, looking at their behavior can give insight as to whether the patient is experiencing pain or

Compiled by Stephen Long (2014), “Nursing Essentials in Long-Term Care Facilities” is an instrumental book that provides an extended overview into the practical strategies that can be utilized in the prevention, reduction, and elimination of disruptive behaviors. Long views challenging behaviors as any conduct that may lead to emotional or physical harm. The challenging behaviors that are displayed by long-term care residents have the risk of harming either the individual doing the act or another person. Dr. Long explains an upbeat, person-centered approach that focuses on encouraging positive behaviors, utilizing teamwork, and finding solutions to behavior problems will allow for care providers to better understand why long-term

Dementia is a cognitive disorder that is not commonly vocalized to the public and generally does not have much awareness surrounding it. Considering the fact that if all of the people in the world diagnosed with dementia lived in one place, the population would be greater than the population of Canada. Like it was stated in the video Dementia, The Unspooling Mind, this disorder is sought to be an epidemic because it comes on with no warning and no treatment. Loved ones and family members will be diagnosed without and warning signs or reasons why. After the loved one is diagnosed, that is when life will turn upside down for both the patient and the family. Many people choose to not talk or deal with this topic as well because when it is done so, there is more times than not, a negative stigma that is surrounded by this disease.

Dementia is a generic term used to describe symptoms that indicate significant loss of intellectual and cognitive functions which includes memory, thinking and communication such as changes in social behaviour and problem solving and the ability to carry out day-today activities (Alzheimer’s society, 2014). The current estimate of people living with a form of dementia in the United Kingdom is around 850,000 and has predicted to increase to over 1 million by 2025 and over 2 million by 2051 (Alzheimer’s society, 2014). Of those affected with dementia, 90% eventually develop behavioural and psychological symptoms (Hort et al, 2010; Steinberg et al 2008). Behavioural and psychological symptoms include agitation, aggression, restlessness, depression and anxiety. These symptoms cause higher morbidity and a poorer quality of life for patients and carers (Nilamadhab, 2009; Cerejeira, 2012). More than one third of people living with dementia have behaved aggressively, particularly in the moderate to severe stages of the condition (Alzheimer’s society 2014). Reasons for aggressive behaviour

The early symptoms of dementia include language problems such as using the wrong word or forgetting simple words.Furthermore, they have difficulty to perform everyday tasks, like playing games.As the disorder becomes worse over time , they may see things that are not real or believe things that are not true. Also, dementia causes physical symptoms such as muscle weakness, weight loss and changing in sleep

For this study 68 residents were chosen and were divided into two groups; 33 residents whom completed the yoga training and the control group of 35 residents. Before the start of the study, data was collected to create a baseline and was collected again afterwards for comparison between the two groups. The researchers were able to collect the data needed through questionnaires and physical measurements, such as measurements of body composition, muscle strength and endurance, depression and problem behaviours. At the end of the 12 week study, significant differences were found between the control group and the yoga group. Some of the differences found included changes in all physical health measurements, expect boy fat, and mental health had improved for the yoga group, while the control group experienced physical health deterioration and no improvement in mental health. The research question intents to find interventions that would provide positive behavioural changes for those with dementia. Therefore, the mental improvements found by this study provides evidence to support the research question. Furthermore, the data collected about the mental health improvements, such as the decreased wandering, sleeplessness, and the increased sociability, adds

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), first described and named after Dr Alois Alzheimer in 1906, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, neuropathologically characterised by gross cerebral atrophy, extracellular senile plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (Zetterberg & Mattsson, (2014). Clinically, AD is characterised by memory loss, cognitive impairment and behavioural and psychological changes (Carter, Resnick, Mallampalli & Kalbarczyk, 2012). The Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) have a significant impact on the quality of life of the person with dementia and the caregiver (Rouch et al, 2014). The existence and intensity of the BPSD has a greater negative impact on caregivers then the actual cognitive decline (Rouch et al, 2014).

From a public health perspective, dementia presents challenging issues to the sufferer, carers, and the health services (DH, 2009). The world Alzheimer Report (2013) indicates that the number

Dementia is a disease where mainly elderly people start losing their memory. I saw people spilling their cereal, dribbling, wandering aimlessly and cleaning their teeth with a spoon. It would have been so easy to look ahead and walk quickly out of their area, dismissing them as people without feelings and knowledge behind their appearance. One old man with a blank stare staggered around seemingly oblivious to our family. Then he stopped and glared at me.

The incidence of dementia increases as the general population ages and one source estimates approximately two billion individuals being affected by the year 2050 (Vasionyte & Madison, 2013). The nature of dementia results in cognitive decline that may lead to inappropriate behaviors, such as aggression, agitation, mood disorders, and eating problems, which can be a severe impairment when treating these patients