Dementia

Introduction

Dementia is a progressive disorder that is psychological and mostly affects elderly population. The disorder has a tendency of leading to cognitive impairment and also impacts numerous areas of the victim’s life, mostly in nutrition and memory. The victims are incapable of feeding themselves, and in most cases, they fail to receive the necessary care hence end up malnourished. In most instances, dementia is not diagnosed until it progresses to chronic stages with the victim suffering for a period of time. Malnutrition affects the recovery of the patient, delaying the process (Pulsford & Thompson, 2013). There are some types of dementia such as delirium and Alzheimer which is mostly the common ones to mention the few. Cole (2012) referred dementia as a brain disease which is usually accompanied by progressive and chronic traits. It affects calculation, comprehension, learning capacity and memory capacity.

A Care Plan for Dementia

Dementia participants or residents will possess a care plan for Dementia which portrays more personal details. The care plan is designed to motivate people living with this condition. It is laid down to help the caregivers in understanding the patient (Royston, Mitchell, Sheeran, Strain & Goldsmith, 2017). The following is a care plan for Kelly, a patient who has Dementia.

Kelly

Kelly is a cheerful and happy lady, 80 years old.

She experiences difficulties in communicating and easily gets frustrated especially when words cannot flow smoothly for her.

Kelly often engages in intrusive conducts during the day such as snatching things that are not hers; she can take somebody’s hat off their heads and walk away.

She previously was a very active Parish Church member who assisted with church decoration and fetes.

Kelly is a music lover, country music to be precise, she was a good dancer.

Frequently she gets agitated especially in the afternoons when she insists or wants to go home.

She has difficulties with feeding. She cannot feed herself well.

Goals

• To improve the intrusive or meddling behavior via diverse strategies
• To enhance the efficiency of a two-way communication
• To elicit positive responses from Kelly towards specific planned activities.
• To intervene in her feeding habits

Interventions

• Caretakers will communicate with Kelly in a relaxed and calm way and offer empathetic encouragement while at the same time, give her adequate time for expressing herself (Smart, 2014).
• Kelly will engage in various daily living activities severally during the day to minimize intrusive behaviors for example

1. Folding clothes
2. Dusting and wiping shelves
3. Combing her hair and setting it
4. Washing dishes

• The staff will focus on spending a one on one time with Kelly in the evening taking her out for walks while engaging her in conversations regarding something she used to love in order to reduce her cognitive stress.
• Kelly will participate in something she enjoys for at least four times a week like dancing to the sound of music (country).

• She will also assist staff in preparing church services.

• She will be fed and taught how to feed herself well.

Outcome

The superior management for Kelly lasted for six weeks after which she was diagnosed again to determine whether it was effective. After the diagnosis, Kelly’s intrusive behavior had improved from often to once in a while, she became more cheerful, and her communication improved. However, she still expressed cognitive stress. Her feeding behavior also needed intervention.

Recommendation

The patient is recommended to observe the same management plan for a period of six more weeks.