Overview of Dementia Essay - 988 Words

Introduction Margaret is a 77 year old who has a diagnosis of dementia and type 2 diabetes mellitus. She has been recently separated from her daughter who was her primary carer and her husband who were both unable to cope with her agitated behaviour. Margaret now resides in an age care facility. Margaret’s mental and emotional health is a cause for concern and the family are upset and are struggling with feelings of guilt and anger. This paper with discuss the intervention professional healthcare workers can implement to reduce the turbulence of this transitional period for all individuals involved. The reassuring of the family will firstly be discussed as will the interventions used to reduce agitation and unsafe wandering. A description†¦show more content†¦The rationale behind such care plans have been described in recent studies that show a great similarity among marital pairs for known predictors of well-being (Schulz Martire, 2004). This indicates that the influence of the patient may spill over to the care providers, and vice versa. Either initiates a downward spiral that impairs the quality of life, or uplifts the individuals, depending on the stimulus received (Schulz Martire, 2004). This finding proposes clinical interventions that concurrently treat both the care recipient and the carers are likely to achieve the largest effects (Schulz Martire, 2004). With this understanding, it is reasonable to suggest that if Margaret is happy and has a sense of belonging in her new environment that her family will also be at ease. Important aspects of contentment are stability, harmony, protection, joy, privacy, fellowship, power, recognition, ownership, order, control, nourishment, self motivation, recognition, and freedom (Norberg, 2001). To obtain this quality of life Margaret needs to have concentrated support in three areas. Firstly, Margaret needs physical consolation, studies have showed that rocking, music, and touch had a calming effect on people w ith severe dementia (Norberg, 2001). Secondly, psychological consolation is also needed as communion is established when the sufferer is allowed to express his or her feelings such as sorrow, anger, hatred, mediated by a listener who doesShow MoreRelatedEssay Overview of Dementia1381 Words   |  6 PagesDementia is a syndrome, which is usually of a chronic or progressive nature, which causes deterioration in cognitive function. It goes beyond what is expected from normal aging. It causes changes in what you remember, like appointments, or phone numbers. It may cause you to get lost in a familiar setting like driving to the grocery store. You may not be able to balance your checkbook or add up your points in a card game. 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