Older Adults With Dementia Research Paper

I completed my service learning at The Arbors of Bedford, a nursing home for older adults suffering with memory loss due to dementia. Their mission is to care for the whole person in a manner that promotes freedom, choice and the opportunity to live a meaningful life (n.a., 2017). The Arbors of Bedford promotes a therapeutic environment by creating an open and welcome environment and by giving the residents as much choice in their lives as possible. For example, they can choose whether to sit by the window in a seat by themselves, or in a living room chair with a group of people. There is usually a television or music playing in one section, while another section is quiet which allows the residents to choose the setting that is best for them. They host a variety of activities that focus on different therapy areas. The activities offered include listening to spiritual hymns, tai chi, craft designs, piano performances, and invention trivia. These components together, along with a caring and competent staff, allow The Arbors of Bedford to fulfill their mission statement.

Rapid development and urbanization in the past century has led to a wave of 'silver tsunami” sweeping across the developed world, with the number of dementia patients expected to double to 75.6 million by 2030. In place of traditional nursing homes, the Netherlands has pioneered the first dementia village in the world, the De Hogeweyk, a 1.5-hectre self contained model village in Amsterdam. We imagine how a similar–styled village can be built in Singapore, and its feasibility. The principle of the dementia village is to create a safe environment for dementia residents to live in. We want to preserve their freedom, accord them dignity and respect, and maintain a good quality of life.

Regular nursing homes need to adopt a program of this type with such a lenient approach. It is bad enough that these people are elderly and must be taken from their homes but they also suffer from different forms of dementia that must be confusing and frustrating for them. This program offers them the ability to live a much more normal life. Comer (2014) states that, dementia patients at Beatitudes are allowed practically anything that brings comfort, even an alcoholic “nip at night”, whatever your vice is, we’re your folks (pg. 492).

The client group for this sector varies from people living with dementia, learning difficulties and those who are in need rehabilitation, or those with certain physical disabilities. The different types of care which Baillieston Care home offers are Dementia Care, the staff have training on dementia care and have an understand of the challenges which may occur with living with dementia and are trained to look beyond the dementia diagnosis and to see the person as a unique Individual, to better understand them, and help encourage them live their lives in the way that they would prefer.

The program is designed to create a friendly and active environment for older or disabled adults with health condition an enjoyable opportunity for meeting and reunion during the day. Participants can make new friends with other adults, join a variety of activities, visit children, and receive support from medical programs in the house. Day care service will also offer nursing services and therapy to ensure their health condition at any time. Old people tends to feel isolated, thus, group activities like exercising, dancing, or playing with children will improve their physical health, satisfy their social needs as

There are residential care facilities for people with dementia, but they are only located in urban areas and towns.

The report proposed the introduction of a Dementia Care programme, proven to increase the quality of life by supporting them to increase standards of care and patient outcomes.

The partnerships for older people’s projects (POPPs): Dementia Care provide more low level care and support in the community to improve the health, well-being and independence of older people with dementia, preventing or delaying the need for higher intensity and expensive, reducing avoidable, emergency admissions and/or bed- days for PWD, supporting more PWD to live at home or in supported housing such as sheltered or Extra-care housing as opposed to in long-term residential care. The Partnership for Older People Projects (POPPs) was funded by the Department of Health to develop services for older people. The services were specifically aimed at promoting health, well‐being, and independence and preventing or delaying their need for higher

A great deal of research has taken place to understand the effect of one’s environment on older patients with dementia or Alzheimers and the importance of personal adjustment to various types of institutional or home settings. How patients feel about the environment they are in is relevant and directly related to how the patients progress within their diagnoses and their ability to maintain cognitive function. (Chuck, Milke, & Beck, 2005, p. 330)

facility that has features of a hotel suite, efficiency or an apartment complex. It is a community-based residential facility used by self-sufficient seniors and by those with mild cognitive impairment, who wants to maintain an independent life, which gives them a sense of control. Some benefits of assisted living facilities are schedule activities, and having a social life with their peers. Other benefits are providing care and assistance to the elderly adult, helping them maintain their activities of daily care such as dressing, bathing and the preparation of meals. Another is flexible living space which adapts to changes in the health of an older adult. The facility also provides laundry services, housekeeping and transportation services

These centers have been around for several decades and have become increasingly more popular in the last several years. According to the study “Adult Day Health Center Participation and Health-Related Quality of Life”, ADS has become a beneficial program for both families and the older individual. Adult Day Services help maintain or improve an individual’s functional ability through health services and socialization. ADS differ across the world. Many centers offer a social model where they help with a person’s nutrition, their social status, and their activities of daily living. Since mental health and dementia are a rising problem, many centers are starting to specialize their care in order to help those who experience these types of illnesses. There are also centers across the country who have a medical model, where they offer rehabilitation and skilled nursing along with their social

The process of aging presents numerous challenges to the individual who is aging and also to those surrounding and caring for that individual. In many circumstances, older individuals are in need of support 24 hours a day. It may be as simple as an individual just needing assistance to the restroom a few times a day, to as complicated as an individual requiring constant supervision and guidance when suffering from severe dementia. In either case, and in all the cases in between those two on the spectrum of care, the caregiver and those being cared for could benefit from adult day services.

If you could help your grandma with dementia get better and be able to better communicate with you, would you? What if you could help that little kid in the park with autism be more social and make more friends? Would you find a cure for your best friend that has been recently diagnosed with a crippling depression if possible? Well, using music therapy may now be an option for treatment to all of that. Recently, qualified therapists and scientists have, through studies and experiments, found that music therapy has a positive effect on many several health issues. Music is not only enjoyable, but it is also being used as therapy for people with depression, autism, and dementia.

With close to 76 million people who will be retiring in the next 10 or so, the big question is “Where are they all going to go?” (Dohm, np). Although they will not all need the care right away, they will need it eventually and with the limitations as of right now it will be very hard to get around this dilemma. One option could be increasing the availability of home health care. Home health care is simply a nurse who does rounds to people’s houses. This helps with those who have had surgery, or in this case who need a little assistance with daily tasks or frequent monitoring (“What’s Home Health Care?”, np). The inevitable changes that occur when aging include; dry, loose skin; gray, white, thin hair; muscular and skeletal problems; heart and circulatory/respiratory issues; deteriorating nervous system; changes in digestion urinary and endocrine systems. The progressing of theses occurrences mean the increasing of amount of help needed. However, this option allows for a decent amount of independence; which in turn will help the patient feel more secure and safe, and help with those with memory illnesses such as Alzheimer's and dementia to experience less confusion and displacement (Simmers, 270-277). Another option would be building upwards on pre-existing nursing homes. By adding other layers, all

“Music can heal the wounds which medicine cannot touch” Mridha (n.d). Music is a part of most people’s lives; from birth, to death. In fact, Schaeffer (n.d.) relayed that “the ideas of music as a healing influence able to affect health and behavior is at least as old as the writings of Aristotle and Plato” (Carpente as cited by Schaeffer, n.d). It has been shown that music can evoke emotion, improve cognition, lower stress hormones, ease pain, and assist in rehabilitation and learning. It has been established that our senior community is among the fastest growing of all populations, and because music can reach such a large sector of this population, and can help in so many aspects; incorporating music into elderly care can enhance their quality of life.