Narrative Essay On Dementia

* Forgetfulness, maybe forgetting names of people that you have been in contact with every day, or forgetting what you did just hours or days ago.

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

During an average lifetime, one can expect to have at least occasional memory lapses from time to time. Usually it's something as simple as forgetting what you just did a few minutes ago, forgetting if you turned the stove off, or if you left your keys on the table or in the bathroom counter. Such lapses are relatively normal, but when they become a recurring theme, it's a more serious problem.

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

Allow the person with dementia and their family plan and make arrangements for the future

Prior to diagnosis the individual may show signs of forgetfulness due to an incline in memory functions. They may even show signs of a decline in reasoning and communication

In the United States there are approximately 5.4 million people living with Alzheimer’s. Every sixty-nine seconds a person is diagnosed. This is an ongoing issue, and unless something is done, sixteen million people will be affected by 2050 (Latest).

Dementia care offers support and services to an individual affected by the disease itself, which is dementia. It addresses the right and needs of the person with dementia and their families. Improving quality of life and changing attitudes towards dementia is the main goal of dementia care. Dementia care also provides quality of care, maintain dignity and promote health, security and comfort in consideration with the standard of care and ethical guidelines (Adams & Manthorpe, 2003).

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.

In 1901, a fifty one year old woman named Frau Auguste D. was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Frankfurt, Germany. She had an unusual bunch of symptoms. While she had no history of prior psychiatric illness, her husband had noticed that Frau D. was becoming increasing paranoid, hallucinatory, agitated, disoriented, and having increasing difficulties with language functions and memory.

Alzheimer’s disease slowly steals a person’s dignity and erases precious memories. The “Alzheimer’s Disease Guide”, found on WebMD explains that tasks become more difficult to do often leading to confusion and behavior changes. The article further explains the progression of the disease also brings hardship to family and friends (1). To best cope with Alzheimer’s we must better understand the disease.

Alzheimer's Disease is a condition that affects 50% of the population over the age of eighty five, which equals four million Americans each year. It is becoming an important and high-profile issue in today's society for everyone. There are rapid advancements being made in the fight against this disease now more than ever, and the purpose of this essay is to educate the public on the background as well as the new discoveries. There are many new drugs that are being tested and studied every day which slow down, and may even halt the progress of the disease.

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.

1.1Dementia is caused by damage to brain cells and in many ways, from alcoholism, brain injury, drug abuse, side effects to medications, depression, age, thyroid function abnormalities, and vitamin B12 deficiency. Alzheimer’s Dementia is caused by a build-up of proteins which the body no longer breaks down and this affects the transmission of signals.

Out of the rapidly inclining population in the world, there are people who develop dementia every 66 seconds(“2016 Alzheimer’s Disease”). Being such a common disease in the elderly, there are 47.5 million people in the world with this disease(“2016 Alzheimer’s Disease”). Once families start to realize that their parents and grandparents have developed this, they start to wonder if they are able to live on their own. Within a few months, a decision is made whether if it is best for them to be put into a nursing home. Most often, those with dementia do happen to end up in nursing homes. Many wonder if being put into a nursing home will actually cause their dementia and their ability to live on their own to worsen. With the effects of activities, this could change. Activities help slow the deterioration of the brain(Smith). The activities and exercises performed by nursing homes to help improve the overall cognitive development in dementia patients. Nursing homes should induct purposeful daily activities to improve cognitive, social, and psychological development in dementia care