In: Psychology
Dementia Patients
Dementia and Alzheimer’s patients struggle with activities of daily
living. How are simple tasks like daily medication a challenge? How
do you provide patient education? How do you communicate with a
patient advocate or caregiver? Write a one-page paper, general
format on the challenges of providing patient care and
communication.
The progressive nature that compromises activities of daily living is one of the challenges dementia and alzheimers patients face. And the conditions being incurable adds to the problem. Hence providing adequate care to the patient should be the main motive. So educating family members/care givers is important in the management of dementia/alzheimers patient. During the initial stages the patient may be provided with medication boxes which can deliver medicines for each day of the week . Patient education can be provided during the time of diagnosis. They need to be made aware of the progressive nature of the disease and measures which can be employed to slow down cognitive decline. For counseling biopsychosocial approach may be made use of. They should be informed that engaging in routine social interactions in stress free environment acts as a protective factor against rapid deterioration of cognitive functions and subsequent standard of living. It is better to suggest patients during the early stages of dementia /alzheimers itself that an attorney's service could be used to deal with legal and property matters before the condition deteriorates and they may not be in the know how or at risk of cheating. This will provide them opportunity to settle financial matters, appoint a legal person to take decisions on their behalf when they are unable to do so and make out a clear plan for their continued care in a safe environment. Then they may be introduced to the cognitive techniques and educated about the importance of daily practice. They may be asked to follow an activity schedule which include time for cognitive training, social interaction, proper diet intake and medication. Second most important thing is care giver education. They should be given adeqate knowledge about the nature and challenges of the condition and care giving. As the dementia progresses the burden of the care giver increases. Hence they should be informed about it and prepared to meet the challenge. They may be introduced to necessary psychological techniques to get over the frustration they may encounter and not to be angry with the patients when the patients are unable to follow the instructions. This is necessary to avoid care giver burnout and to ensure proper care. Also the emotional needs of the care giver /family members should be addressed since the fact that once the patients start not recognizing them , it becomes traumatic experience to the family members. They should also be made aware that the patients might forget to use the correct word they intend to say and this will make the communication a big challenge. Hence it should be the duty of the care giver to try and know the requirements of the patient. Also they should be made aware that when language fails, a caring touch or eye contact can provide some of the benefits of communication and hence is very necessary.