Essay On Dementia In Nursing Home

Dementia is a progressive disorder that will affect how you’re brain functions and particularly your ability to remember, think and reason. Dementia usually affects older people and are approximately 820,000 people in the UK with the disorder, and around 15,000 are under the age of 65. If the dementia is recognised early enough that are a lot of things that you can be done to make the quality of life better. In a lot of dementia cases the symptoms and quality of life will progress and get worse over a number of years. The most common symptoms of a dementia patient are:

The development of a dementia environment approach will highly impact the improvement of life of people living with dementia involving their family and carers, evidently reducing the stigma linked with the condition. The need to physically and socially design an approach for the progressing ageing population, and better comprehension of the issues affecting the dementia suffering elderly. Life Community Village is a specially designed and self-contained village for dementia-affected people imitating a normal daily life. It visions a change of approach in dementia care in the future and cope with the growing number of issues of dementia in the ageing population. Its mission on the other hand, is focused on delivering a holistic and person-centric approach by leading and optimizing a normal life for dementia-suffering elderly. Also providing a dementia-friendly community and creating a society that the dementia-suffering person can engage in. In the current increasing population of older Australians, there is over a million that has received a form of aged care support and services every year. This is provided through the collaboration of funding and administration of the local, state and federal government. Meanwhile, according to Australian statistics, there are more than 353,800 who are living with dementia. In less than five years, it is projected to rise to 400,000; and due to the fact that there is currently no cure for the condition, and with the

Dementia is an umbrella term used to explain the gradual decline in multiple areas of functions, which includes thinking, perception, communication, memory, languages, reasoning, and the ability to function (Harrison-Dening 2013). Worldwide, 47.5 million people have dementia and there are 7.7 million new cases every year. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia and may contribute to 60–70% of cases. (Alzheimer's society 2014). The complexity of dementia presents a number of behavioural challenges to those who live with dementia and their care providers. Aggressive behaviour seems to be one of the most prevalent challenging behaviours in the different stages of dementia (Weitzel et al 2011). As acute care

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

A topic I learned more of this semester in regards to the older population was dementia. Some loss in memory function is an inevitable consequence of aging, and as one ages, it takes more time to process information and retrieve memories. However, "Dementia is a general term that refers to progressive, degenerative brain dysfunction, including deterioration in memory, concentration, language skills, visuospatial skills, and reasoning, that interferes with a person's daily functioning" (Mauk, 2014, p. 377). This loss of mental skills affects the ability to function over time, causing problems with memory and how one thinks, impacting these individual's overall quality of life.

Caregivers who report caring for a loved one in an at-home environment tend to show more symptoms of depression, and fall into a poorer state of physical and mental health. Depending on the relationship status of the caregiver and the elder with dementia, fewer symptoms of depression may result than expected due to reduction of guilt, resentment, or burden towards the situation. In addition, experiencing pleasant activities on a daily basis boosts the caregiver's and the patient's mood, causing more satisfaction at the end of the day. Implementing a daily routine filled with physical activities, activities promoting cognitive functioning, and other mood-boosting activities guide the individual to engage with his or her community. Although these tasks may become harder to complete in later stages of dementia, it is crucial for maintenance of cognitive functioning along with higher levels of happiness.

Walk into any senior home nowadays and there will be at least one person afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This progressive,

Alzheimer's care is not designed to replace family care and support. Rather, it is there so the family can effectively provide care and support with the best information, guidance, and assistance. From help with the daily chores such as light housekeeping, laundry, and meal preparation to transportation, personal care, and even help eating, Alzheimer's care allows the family to focus on the most important part of the care: spending quality time with their loved

When understanding the personal and social identity of a person who has Alzheimer 's, the place of residence is an important influence on their identity. When interviewing two separate employees of different Alzheimer 's care facilities, each had different perspectives on the stay at home versus facility living identities.A staff member at New Dawn Memory Care, Sky, thought patients who continued living in their home had the greatest control over their environment, as they were probably in the home in which they had lived in for many years, if not most of their life.They still retained control over their daily routine, from when they woke up in the morning, their meal times, and activities in their free time. Sky suggested that there were more objects around the home to aid them in remembering their lives. She also saw that patients in a facility were forced to lead more regimented lives having less free time. Along with only receiving on bedroom and bathroom, common spaces are used for the rest of their daily activities. In addition, there are limits on the number of personal belongings a patient could have. In contrast, Heather at Morning Star at Bear Creek believed patients staying at home were more prone to becoming isolated, and are sensitive to shame about having Alzheimer 's. Additionally, there is only one caregiver with a patient at home, leading to the caregiver to experience burnout. When a patient is surrounded by peers who share the same struggles, shame is less

A new paper suggested that people who never married all their life could have a 42 percent higher risk of developing dementia. The widowed have a 20 percent higher risk, while married people have lower risk, but it was not quantified.

For decades society has been dealing with the dreadful effects of Alzheimer’s disease, from the emotional diagnosis, to family member involvement, and the demanding needs, financially. Scientist and researchers, with the monetary contributions from fundraising organizations like, The Alzheimer’s Association, The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, along with many additional establishments work around the clock expectantly to find a cure for this mind altering disease. Now a days, there are many groups available for any person needing information on Alzheimer’s disease. Personal experience gained from caring for the elderly in my lifetime, is the motivation behind my awareness of this dreadful disease. It wasn’t until my job as a supervisor of an Alzheimer’s unit, that my understanding of this ghastly disease, made me grasp just how tough it is for every person involved. This unbearable disease, becomes a family disease, family members are faced with many heart wrenching decisions and robbed of their loved ones. Just envision, if you will, awakening one morning and nothing is familiar, your wife/husband, children, or friends. Imagine, if it’s your mom or dad, either way devastation is what comes to mind. This disease steals your memories, the life you once recognized has vanished. The topics covered in the following text include, an overview of Alzheimer’s disease/dementia, some statistics, emotional effect on those with A.D., family member involvement

Preventable hospitalization and readmissions are an important health care quality measure that is well described in the literature. Potentially preventable hospitalizations are defined as hospital admissions for certain acute illnesses or worsening chronic conditions that might not have required hospitalization had these conditions been managed successfully by primary care providers in outpatient settings (Bindman, Grumbach, Osmond, et al.,1995; CDC, 2012; Lin, et al., 2013). These admissions are also considered a source of increased healthcare cost and a huge problem for patients, families, and caregivers (Daielo, et al., 2014). The consequence of hospitalization can be grave for older adults with dementia because they are discharging with more decline in their function and higher potential for readmission in a short time. For instance, Daielo et al. (2014) reported once patients with dementia get hospitalized, they are likely to be readmitted within 30 days compared to other patients with no dementia diagnosis. It is also important to note older adults residing in the community and in nursing homes have similar rates of potentially preventable

After reading the case study about John and Lydia, it appears that the individual’s heath is declining. Lydia and John home seems to be showing early signs of dementia, due to their memory declining. According to Broderick and Blewitt (2015) said that “Dementia is a syndrome that affects multiple functional domains due to chronic and progressive disease processes in the brain. Cognitive and emotional progressively diminished” (p. 561). It is important that the couple seek medical attention to determine what the memory is. An overall physical needs to be conducted by their primary care physician. In addition, their living conditions is a hazard to their well- being. John had fall and was hospitalized, due to him not sleeping on a bed that best fits his needs. On the other hand, the son has issues of their own, however is unable to tend to his parent on a daily bases. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 5:8, “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (English Standard Version). On the other hand, the son has interfered with his parents receiving assistance. Even during hard times, it is important that family stick together and help one another. On the other hand, if they are unable to help, help in assisting providing for their needs. At this

Diane Basich has 10 years’ experience working in the field of Dementia. She has spent many years as both a caregiver and as the Activity Director for a memory care unit. Diane has maintained her own personal home care business for the past four years and wanted to branch out into the field of adult day centers. She wanted to combine the personal touch of home care with the social engagement of a day center. Diane believes a day center should be a place of fun, friendship, and activities. She aspires to bring your loved one a renewed sense of purpose and vigor. As owner, Diane insists on being there daily to both participate and oversee activities. She also makes sure that the clients are thoroughly satisfied with the

While the person with the disease is slowly losing themselves and their independence, their family has to deal with the burden of caring for their deteriorating family member, which can be both physically and emotionally draining. The hardships of taking care of a loved one with a disease like Alzheimer’s is the reason why patients are said to make up about two-thirds of those in nursing homes (Prigerson, 2003, as cited in Feldman, 2014). It is important for family members of the afflicted to realize there is help available for those having to deal firsthand with slowly losing their loved one. The Alzheimer’s Association, for example, is there to provide caregivers and family members support and information (http://www.alz.org). While dementia is something everybody fears of possibly developing later in life, it is reassuring to know that scientists are working hard to find new treatments for these diseases, and possibly a cure. As someone who is working towards a career to help elderly patients, I hope I will be learning more on this subject, so that I may effectively help patients diagnosed with diseases like Alzheimer’s, and their