Health & Illness in the Older Person

This article discusses the health risks and impact of dementia on older Indigenous Australians. It highlights the importance of nurses in preventing and managing dementia and provides information on treatments and risk reduction strategies. The article also emphasizes the need for awareness and understanding of dementia among healthcare professionals.

Health & Illness in the Older
Person

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
PART 1............................................................................................................................................1
Covered in Poster...................................................................................................................1
PART 2............................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
BODY..............................................................................................................................................1
Why is dementia an emerging health risk/ Rationale for health risks....................................1
Why do nurses need to know about dementia / Rational for audience..................................2
What do nurses need to know about dementia/ Rationale for content...................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

PART 1
Covered in Poster
PART 2
INTRODUCTION
Dementia is present in almost all Indigenous Australians that are above the age of 55.
This needs to be addressed by nurses that work in Australia as they will be able to help prevent
and decrease the chances of illnesses caused by dementia. The main aim is to understand
dementia as a persistent illness in Australian first peoples and how its affects their health,
especially in the older age groups. This study will analyse why dementia is an emerging health
risk and why as well as what is important for nurses to know about it. Various treatments and
risk reductions will be given as well and how changes occur in nursing care during different
situations.
BODY
Why is dementia an emerging health risk/ Rationale for health risks
As per the views of Parker (2014) Australian first peoples experience dementia more than
other Australians and it has been consistent for the past few years. This generally occurs between
the age of 45-64 years and there are many factors that cause dementia such as high rate of
obstetric complications in young mothers and malnutrition of children. Indigenous Australians
do not get the proper education that is required, which creates a risk of developing dementia
when they get old. Lindeman et al. (2017) stated that there was lack of awareness about dementia
within the Australian first peoples. This was mostly common in rural and remote areas of
Australia. These places had 12.4% cases of dementia in the age group of 45-65 years. Clapham
and Duncan (2017) argued that 73% of Indigenous Australians suffer from dementia and
Alzheimer's disease. These people who were over the age of 45, had to be admitted in public
hospitals but some of them were unable to survive due to extreme stress. These cases keep
increasing every year. It is important to take certain estimates and measures as this risk is
becoming chronic and the older age group of Australian's first peoples have to be taken care of
(Smith, Ali, & Quach, 2014).
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There have been many cases of dementia in hospitals and treatments were not given on
time. This is because patients do not regularly visit their doctors, mainly due to the lack of
healthcare facilities in areas where they live. The socio-economic and psychosocial factors play a
big role in health risks of Indigenous Australians as well. Parker (2014) states that they are not
aware about their environment and the harmful risks associated with it. 66% of them are
overweight and suffer from obesity, while 20% of them have high blood pressure and most of
them are not even aware about it. 36.5% have uncontrolled high blood pressure, over the age of
50. Diabetes is another risk associated to dementia and 11% of Australian first peoples have it,
which is 3 times more than non-Indigenous Australians. This is due to the unhealthy living
conditions of these people as they reside in villages and areas where there is lack of social
culture and presence of a negative environment.
As per Flicker and Holdsworth (2014) many Indigenous Australians are unable to
perform daily activities and at some point. Traumatic head injury is also a cause of dementia in
older persons. Many of them indulge in smoking, which increase the risk of Alzheimer's,
vascular diseases and cognitive decline. Alzhermer's Australia (2007) argued that Australian
Government recognises that one of the biggest health problems in the country is dementia and it
is 5 times higher within Australian first peoples than other communities. Smith et al. (2014)
argues that large numbers of Indigenous Australians have been living with dementia and have
not been diagnosed. There are no proper and good quality care facilities available for them.
While Goldberg et al. (2018) says that there is a crucial requirement to address the illnesses
caused by dementia and the factors that encourage it. Understanding the issue can help
professionals to promote healthy lifestyles of Australian first peoples so that the risk of dementia
can be reduced.
Why do nurses need to know about dementia / Rational for audience
As stated by Parker (2014) it is important for nurses to be aware about the signs and
symptoms of dementia. This will help them to diagnose the type of illness and perform regular
autopsy on families of Indigenous Australians. They can prevent the chances of dementia as well
(Cahill et al. 2015). Nurses can help patients to reduce the intake of alcohol, as it is one of the
main causes of intellectual disability, with 7.4% of Australian first peoples suffer from dementia
due to misuse of alcohol. Clapham and Duncan (2017) argued that nurses have to ensure that
they conduct regular check ups of blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar levels (de Souza-
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Talarico et al. 2016). They can encourage patients to exercise to keep their bodies active so that
their brains remain healthy as well (Hokanson et al. 2018). Nurses can give them mental
exercises which will ensure that their intellect remains sharp (Gilroy et al. 2017). Most
importantly, they can feed them required foods that will help in meeting nutrition requirements
that is needed by the body (Sullivan, & Theadom, 2017). Flicker and Holdsworth, (2014)
stated that diagnosis has to be done on time so that families can be aware about services that
nurses can provide to them, which will help in managing the disease.
McMillan et al. (2010) states that hospitals and other healthcare facilities can be set up
nearby places where Australian first peoples reside. If they are provided with the right treatments
for blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, then it can easily reduce the risk of dementia,
Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease in old age of Indigenous Australians. There can be
affordable services and medicines that these people can buy as well as provision of caregivers at
certain areas can help in overcoming these illnesses. There can be provision of clean housing that
is affordable for Australian first peoples. They can gain appositive mind set if they live in an
environment in which they are supported socially and where there is no racism as well as a free
culture. This can reduce risks associated with illnesses that can lead to dementia as they will be
able to live in a healthy environment where they can exercise and eat healthy food that is fresh
and affordable to them.
Clapham and Duncan (2017) argued that nurses will be provided with information
sessions so that they can develop supportive care to persons suffering from dementia. They can
learn how to communicate with them, understand their feelings and emotions. It will help them
to ascertain how they have to behave with these patients and reduce risks of increasing dementia
in them. Parker (2014) contradicted that even after being a wealthy country, there are not much
facilities available for Indigenous Australians. According to McMillan et al. (2010) , nurses
need to provide attention to their patients through centred care approaches as they will help build
understanding within the Indigenous Australians so that they can help in maintaining well being
and health of those suffering from dementia (HMRI, 2018).
What do nurses need to know about dementia/ Rationale for content
As per Parker (2014) nurses have to keep in mind that factors such as abnormal health
risks including diabetes, cardiovascular and renal disease in Australian first peoples are likely to
contribute towards dementia. They will have to analyse and plan treatments accordingly. They
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can use the Kimberley Indigenous and Torres Cognitive Assessment so that they can conduct
screenings in order to diagnose appropriate treatments for patients. Buswell (2014) argued that
factors such as population, place of residence, behaviour of individual and culture has to be
analysed by nurses so that they can appropriately determine required treatments. According to
Wu et al. (2017) there are different healthcare systems that can be used by nurses to ascertain
new methods of providing care to patients suffering from dementia.
According to Lindeman et al. (2017) nurses should be aware about traditions and culture
of the patients that they will have to take care of. Analysing and understanding their eating
habits, formal education and smoking habits can help them in gaining a better perspective of how
they have been diagnosed with dementia (Jones, Jacklin, & O'Connell, 2017). There are more
cases of males than those of females and usually depict signs of such diseases at 40 years of age.
But it has been argued by Smith et al. (2014) that nurses are required to know about techniques
that can prevent and reduce dementia instead of analysing factors as it will take up a majority of
their time while diagnosing. They should be creating an environment in which reduction of
dementia can take place. According to McMillan et al. (2010) interventions can be done by
nurses so that they can manage as well as prevent factors that cause dementia in Indigenous
Australians. Alzhermer's Australia. (2007) contradicted this by stating that nurses need to learn
how to counsel and provide advice to families of persons that suffer from dementia so that they
can work consistently as per Australian first peoples community values aspirations and cultural
frameworks. According to Warren et al. (2015) there are many financial barriers that can cause
delays in treatments of dementia. For this, nurses will have to adjust with these situations and
provide as much help that they can. They need to realise that not everyone has the capacity to
pay for their treatments and exceptional cases have to made.
CONCLUSION
Dementia has been prevailing in Australia and especially among Indigenous Australians.
Nurses and patients, both have to understand this disease so that they are able to care, provide
and get treatments to reduce risks of death. There is a need to reduce the mortality rate of
Australian first peoples so that the overall population is maintained and everyone can live a
healthy life. Information about dementia and the diseases that cause it has to be communicated
with nurses in the healthcare industry. They need to be aware about the various treatments, side
effects and medications that can be used in order to help patients with dementia. Families of
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people that suffer from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases have to be well informed about the
illness, so that they can provide the help required to the suffering ones. It has been presented in
such a manner so that it can attract people and make them knowledgable about dementia, its
factors and how it can be cured or reduced.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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Diversity in Policy and Practice. In Ageing in Australia (pp. 103-125). New York, NY:
Springer.
de Souza-Talarico, J. N., de Carvalho, A. P., Brucki, S., Nitrini, R., & Ferretti-Rebustini, R. E.
D. (2016). Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Prevalence and Associated Factors in
Indigenous Populations. Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders, 30(3), 281-287.
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dementia: a review of the research. Australia: Alzheimer's Australia.
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Goldberg, L. R., Cox, T., Hoang, H., & Baldock, D. (2018). Addressing dementia with
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community. Australia: Australian and New Zealand journal of public health.
Hokanson, L., Quinn, M. G., Schüz, N., de Salas, K., & Scott, J. (2018). A systematic review of
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technologies in indigenous communities: critical review. Journal of medical Internet
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Lindeman, M. A., Smith, K., LoGiudice, D., & Elliott, M. (2017). Community care for I
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Lindeman, M., Mackell, P., Lin, X., Farthing, A., Jensen, H., Meredith, M., & Haralambous, B.
(2017). Role of art centres for Aboriginal Australians living with dementia in remote
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McMillan, F., Kampers, D., Traynor, V., & Dewing, J. (2010). Person-centred care as caring
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Warren, L. A., Shi, Q., Young, K., Borenstein, A., & Martiniuk, A. (2015). Prevalence and
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Online
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Retrieved from
<https://www.dementia.org.au/files/20070800_Nat_NP_12DemMajHlthProbIndig.pdf>
HMRI. (2018). Funding boost for Indigenous Australians living with dementia. Retrieved from
<https://hmri.org.au/news-article/funding-boost-indigenous-australians-living-dementia>
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