Dementia Care Essay

- Describe how cognitive functional and emotional changes associated with dementia can affect eating drinking and nutrition:

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

Individuals diagnosed with dementia have to face with the prospect of gradual loss of the capacity to make their own decisions. They need to think about and make their choises about care, treatment and money when they are not able to speak for themselves at some time in the future.

There is a need to identify the level and type of support an individual requires when eating and drinking. Any support while eating or drinking is to be provided respecting the service user’s human dignity, while the carer is exhibiting warmth and a calm attitude. The care plan informs whether the service user is able to feed him/herself, or needs assistance. Many service users will feed themselves when starting their meal, but will get tired and will then require assistance. The hands of service users with Parkinson’s may have to be gently directed so that they manage eating independently. The carer may need to cut the food for the service user. Service users with chewing difficulties, or swallowing precautions, or a history of choking need to be supervised while eating. Of course, these service users will also get a soft diet. Service users living with dementia may reject food which to them resembles to gruesome things (e.g., they may think meat bits in a dark sauce are cocroaches), therefore person-centered support is important. Service users with learning disabilities may find it hard to estimate distances, so the carer will make sure plates and glasses are well within their reach.

Communication - The person with dementia may have problems communicating that they are hungry or that they don't like the food they have been given. They may communicate their needs through their behaviour. For example, they may refuse to eat or hold food in their mouth. Giving them a choice of food, or using prompts and pictures, may help.

Dementia is a very common disorder that is more common in the older population. For people aged 60-69 the dementia rate is 1in 100, but in people over 80 the rate is 1in 6(A.Smith, 2011). Dementia is a terminal illness and the prognosis is grim, suffers are only expected to live 3 to 5 years after diagnosis (A.Smith, 2011). Dementia is divided into three stages early, middle and late. People can be in the late stage for many years. During the late stage the dementia patient suffers from a lot of different issues including but not limited to dysphagia, self-feeding, and eating problems. Nearly 50 percent of patients with dementia lose their ability to self-feed within 8 years after the onset of the disease (S.A. Thomas 2014).We know that malnutrition is a serious problem when it comes to dementia

1.3 Outline how other health and emotional conditions may affect the nutritional needs of an individual with dementia

Simon Douglas is a clinical research nurse at the Wolfson Research Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne. He is currently coordinating a number of studies, particularly on dementia in nursing and residential homes and providing input into a new trial of non-pharmacological interventions for dementia. Ian James is a consultant clinical psychologist at the Centre for the Health of the Elderly at Newcastle General Hospital and a

People who suffer from dementia may also be at risk of mal-nutrition. People with dementia rely on others to help them to organise their day to day life such as preparing their meals. People with dementia are at risk of mal-nutrition as they may not be physically able to provide themselves with a balanced diet, there may also be the issue that they are not able to remember whether they have eaten and therefore decide not to make themselves

1 Descride how congnitive, functional and emotional changes asspociated with dementia can affect eating, drinking and nutrition.

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.

Aging is inevitable, with age comes certain conditions, and diagnoses that affect healthy aging in Canadians. In Canada, and across the world, there are institutions that help care for people with these diagnoses. Nurses are one of the members of the health care team, and they help to try and reduce risks that can exist in aging Canadians. The purpose of this paper is to explore the risks of malnutrition in aging Canadians living in institutions who have vascular dementia.

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

Nevertheless, nurses and clinicians can help prevent malnutrition. Education is an essential component of care; especially for male caregivers, who plan meals, shop for food and cook. When providing teaching, the goal is to increase awareness of good nutrition, enhance motivation to eat well, facilitate the opportunity to take action, increase the environmental support for action Contento (2011). It is important to assess the physical environment (Aesthetics, Noise level, table height and style) when addressing the barriers to good nutrition. The American Dietetic Association (Dorner et al., 2010), in its position paper on diet in long-term care, recommends the liberalizing of restricted

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