Dementia, Alzheimer's disease, degenerative disease, nursing care strategy, dementia patients
Dementia is one of the most difficult symptoms for patients to cope with. There are three main forms of dementia. The most common cause, Alzheimer's disease, is responsible for dementia. It afflicts 4 million Americans (Dolhi and Rogers, 2001). It is a degenerative disease that affects the brain and is caused by changes in structure and functionality of the beta-amyloid and tau proteins.
[...] Challenges for professional care of advanced dementia. International Journal of Nursing Practice 41- Dolhi, C. & Rogers. J. (2001). Dementia, Nutrition, and Self-Feeding: A Systematic Review of Literature. The Haworth Press, Inc Jones, J. et al. (2006). Dementia related aggression in acute sector: Is Code Black really the answer? Contemporary Nurse 103- Malloy, D and Hajjistavropoulos, T. (2004). [...]
[...] Nurses must be trained to understand the manifestations of the disease, to capture the necessary information during assessment, to properly care for dementia patients and improve their quality of live, and to educate caregivers so that they can fully contribute to the process. Nurses should follow an action plan designed to decrease patient care strain on nurses and to increase functionality in dementia patients. The steps of the action plan are: Interact with family members of dementia patients to obtain patient history. Recognize patient discomfort as exhibited by dementia patients and administer suitable pain management. Individualize patient care in accordance with best practices guidelines. [...]
[...] The problem of pain management among persons with dementia, personhood, and the ontology of relationships. Nursing Philosophy 147- National Guideline Clearinghouse (2008). Dementia. In: Evidence-based geriatric protocols for best practice. Retrieved April from http://www.guideline.gov/summary/summary.aspx?ss=15&doc_id=12254&nbr=63 38#s Robinson, J. (2007). Utilizing best practice in dementia care. Canadian Nursing Home 22- Wrigley, H. (2003). Dementia: An Extra Dimension to Nursing Care. Whitireia Nursing Journal. Retrieved April 15th from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4138/is_200301/ai_n9325186. [...]
[...] As a result, nursing practices for dementia patients must be geared to take these differences into account. Fletcher (2008) details the core nursing practices as: parameters of assessment, nursing care strategies, and follow-up. During assessment, various different tests must be performed to establish future care. Cognitive parameters, mental status, functionality, behavioral changes, physical condition, and caregiver status are all to be assessed. Tools such as the clock drawing test, the mini- cognitive test, the Activities of Daily Living the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), and Functional Activities Questionnaires (FAQ) play roles in this assessment stage (National Guideline Clearinghouse, 2008). [...]
APA Style reference
For your bibliographyOnline reading
with our online readerContent validated
by our reading committee
