Walden University WK 5 Intervention Strategies for Dementia Discussion
Respond to at least two different colleagues’ postings in one or more of the following ways: Provide a constructive critique of your colleague’s post. Offer different perspectives about the caregiver burden for the illness your colleague selected. Suggest additional factors that might contribute to caregiver burden that yourcolleague did not post. Provide a constructive critique of the intervention your colleague posted. Identify additional strategies that your colleague did not post for the given illness. Use Reference DB 1— Satori, Post a description of the care needed for the illness you selected. Alzheimer’s Disease is one form of dementia that affects the way people think, behave and remember events in life (Debilitating Diseases, 2013). Symptoms begin with forgetfulness and struggling to multi-task, but with disease progression, memory loss and confusion significantly increases (Debilitating Diseases, 2013). Care needed for a client suffering from Alzheimers includes the development of a routine. Creating a consistent routine helps provide a sense of familiarity or normalcy to the individual suffering from Alzheimers (MediLexicon International). Planning daily occupational activities, such as household chores, exercising, cooking, and outings is a form of care meant to assist someone with Alzheimers. Using effective communication skills with an Alzheimers patient, promoting a nutritious diet, boosting their self-esteem and keeping them safe, is also great ways to care for these patients (MediLexicon International). Explain the nature of caregiver burden experienced by caregivers of patients with this illness. Describe illness-related factors (e.g., access to care, illness complexity, chronicity, outcomes) that might contribute to caregiver burden. Caregiver burden experienced by those who care for patients with Alzheimers can cause stress, fatigue, irritability, and an impact on physical and mental well-being. The perception of disrupted life expectations is one of the factors contributing to caregiver burden. The caregiver feeling deprived of doing the activities they wanted and expected to be doing at this moment in life creates a sense of burden and impairs their psychological health (Lai et al., 2013). Explain specific interventions that you as a medical social worker might implement to relieve caregiver burden. Identify at least three resources in your local area (county or state) that you might use to address caregiver burden for the chosen illness. Explain how these resources might adequately address caregiver burden. To relieve caregiver burden, I would implement self-care strategies. While I may face new challenges everyday, it is important to communicate about my own emotions, get adequate rest, exercise, and accept and understand y negative feelings and emotions, instead of feeling guilty (MediLexicon International). Local resources to address caregiver burden in my area include the Area Agencies on Aging, Meals on Wheels, and Respite programs. The local area agencies on aging is a national social services agency providing general information about eldercare and referrals to age-related services, such as adult day-cares, transportations, meals, legal assistance, and home repairs, to name a few (Caregiver Support and Resources). Meals on Wheels is the largest and oldest meal service organization in the U.S, serving hot meals to older adults across the country (Caregiver Support and Resources). While a caregiver can seek support from family and friends who live near, there are out of the home programs at nursing homes and adult day care centers. This can be useful when you need to run errands or need someone to watch the patient while you take a break. All in all, it is important for caregivers to take care of their own mental, physical, and social health in order to provide the best care and support for their loved ones. References: Caregiver Support and Resources. Caring.com. https://www.caring.com/caregivers/caregiver-support/. Debilitating Diseases - 12 Diseases that change millions of lives. Dodge Park Residential Care. (2013, December 2). https://dodgepark.com/health/debilitating-diseases/. Lai, C., Luciani, M., Morelli, E., Galli, F., Cappelluti, R., Penci, I., … Lombardo, L. (2013, May 20). Predictive Role of Different Dimensions of Burden for Risk of Complicated Grief in Caregivers of Terminally Ill Patients. Sage Journals. https://journals-sagepub-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/doi/10.1177/1049909113490227. MediLexicon International. Caring for someone with Alzheimer's: Our guide and tips. Medical News Today. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326374. DB2 Hannah— Post a description of the care needed for the illness you selected. I decided to base the subject of my post around dementia. It is considered an illness that many individuals suffer from. Dementia is a general term for loss of memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia (What Is Dementia?, 2020). Dementia is not a single disease; it is an overall term, like heart disease, that covers a wide range of specific medical conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease. Disorders grouped under the general term “dementia” are caused by abnormal brain changes. These changes trigger a decline in thinking skills, also known as cognitive abilities, severe enough to impair daily life and independent function. They also affect behavior, feelings, and relationships (What Is Dementia?, 2020). Explain the nature of caregiver burden experienced by caregivers of patients with this illness. Caregiving takes many forms. Many of us help older, sick, or disabled family members and friends every day. We know we are helping, but we do not think of ourselves as caregivers. We are glad to do this and feel rewarded by it, but if the demands are heavy, over time we can also become exhausted and stressed. We think we should be able to handle caregiving roles on top of busy work and family schedules and begin to feel guilty and depressed as our stamina wanes (Nature of Caregiving, 2018). Describe illness-related factors (e.g., access to care, illness complexity, chronicity, outcomes) that might contribute to caregiver burden. Researchers have identified several risk factors that affect the likelihood of developing one or more kinds of dementia. Some of these factors are modifiable, while others are not. The risk of Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, and several other dementias goes up significantly with advancing age (Dementia risk Factors, 2020). This somewhat adds to the complications of the disease for as we grow older our bodies become more and more fragile and sensitive to the outside environment. Also, the fact of something such as losing one’s memory and other similar phenomenon can become a great challenge for any caregiver. For example, the patient could be quite lucid and understanding one day and forget who the caregiver even is the next day. Explain specific interventions that you as a medical social worker might implement to relieve caregiver burden. Interventions used in the care treatment and support of people with dementia can be both pharmacological (drugs) and non-pharmacological.The latter include both environmental and behavioral modification.The section to follow will describe in broad terms these two types of interventions. There is no cure for dementia nor are there any disease-modifying drugs available to combat Alzheimer’s disease and the related dementias.Rather certain drugs and only in some cases, address the symptoms of dementia by slowing down, in the short term, the progression of cognitive loss.These drugs commonly referred to as anti-dementia drugs, can only ever be prescribed by a medical doctor and the choice of drug will largely depend on the dementia sub-type. Identify at least three resources in your local area (county or state) that you might use to address caregiver burden for the chosen illness. A list of resources for dementia is listed below: Alzheimer’s Association – Memphis, TN Providence Assisted Living – Batesville, MS Baptist Memorial Home Care and Hospice – Batesville, MS References Dementia risk Factors. (2020). Retrieved from Stanford Health Care: https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-conditions/... Interventions. (2020). Retrieved from Dementia Service Information and Development Centre (DSIDC): https://dementia.ie/interventions/ Nature of Caregiving. (2018, October). Retrieved from NBHS: https://www.nbhs.ch/de/nature-of-caregiving/ What Is Dementia? (2020). Retrieved from Alzheimer's Association: https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-dementia#:~:text=Dementia%20is%20a%20general%20term,most%20common%20cause%20of%20dementia.
