What Is A Research Proposal? Simple Definition + Examples

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Research Proposal
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Research/Statement question
What is the impact of dementia on the health and well-being of the elderly population above
the age of 65 years in UK?
Introduction
Dementia is a growing challenge globally. Dementia is a neuro-degenerative disorder
that affects the cognitive thinking skills of the affected person while promoting loss of
memory. It is estimated that nearly 67000 people suffer from dementia in England and
676,000 in the UK. Dementia mainly affects the older adults who are at the age group of 65
years and above (NHS 2019).
The following research proposal is based on the UK based older adults with dementia
and attempts to create a research format for elucidating their health and well-being. Thus
dementia is selected as the specific health issue in this research proposal. In doing so, the
research proposal will initiate with a detailed background about dementia patients, brief
overview of previously conducted research along with rational of conducting this research.
Papers that are published within the last 5 years will be included in the review. This will be
followed by highlighting the aims and objectives of the research based on the gaps there are
being highlighted in the brief review of literature. The second part of the research proposal
will highlight the detailed methodology that will be used in order to conduct the overall
research. Primary research methodology will be used for this research. At the end, the
proposal will highlight the ethical consideration that will be used in this research followed by
during the recruitment of the participants for the primary research. The ethical consideration
will be followed by the project outline and research time table with the help of the grant
chart.

2RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Background and Rationale for the study
According to World Health Organisations (WHO) (2019), dementia is a syndrome
under which there occurs deterioration in thinking, memory processing, behaviour and the
ability of a person to perform activities of daily living. Dementia mainly affects the older
adults. However, it is not a normal part of ageing. Alzheimer’s is one of the most common
form of dementia leading to prime reason of disability and dependency over the older adults.
Dementia case a strong physical, social, psychological and economic impact over the
survivors and their family members along with the society at large. Leist (2017) stated that in
the progressive disorder like dementia, there is a need for supportive care to conduct ADLs
starting from first to last. The need for residential care follows from bathing, grooming,
dressing, walking, toileting and eating. Challenges with dressing begin with moderate
dementia and when the disease moves on to its moderate phase there occurs challenges with
toileting followed by need for support in eating during severe dementia. This loss of
independence to conduct the ADLs promote poor quality of life and hamper in the
comprehensive mental and physical well-being. Thus it is important to understand the
guidelines for care and the proper utilization of the evidence-based strategies in order to
promote ADL function. This must be reflected in the practices that are associated not only to
the ADL itself but also to the degree of the diminished cognitive capability of the person who
are living with dementia (Prizer and Zimmerman 2018).
Vernooij-Dassen and Jeon (2016) stated that the review of literature helped in
understanding that no significant breakthrough has been made in the process of the dementia
research in order to find possible cure during the last few centuries. However, a significant
amount of progress has been made in analyzing the pathophysiology of the disease. The
damage that is being cause by the neurons cast a multifaceted impact on the physical,
psychological, neuropsychological and on the social life of the individuals at large. The

3RESEARCH PROPOSAL
societal impact of the dementia over the life of the affected older adults and their families
further cast a significant financial harm (Vernooij-Dassen and Jeon 2016). Algar, Woods and
Windle (2016) conducted a study in order to measure the quality of life along with well-being
of the people suffering from dementia. The review of the peer-reviewed observational studies
showed that inability to perform the ADLs affect the life of the older adults leading to the
decrease in the level of social participation leading to social isolation and depression. The
study also showed that problem in eating and walking and communicating further hampers
their mental and physical strength hampering the overall quality of life further. However, the
study was conducted over a review of only 11 articles moreover. The observational analysis
of the articles was based on the understanding of the caregivers or the nurses and not solely
by the affected individuals. The topic of well-being from the perspective of the dementia
patient is increasingly becoming significant in the present day dementia care. Personhood of
the individuals who are suffering from dementia suggest that the subjective well-being of
these people can be described in terms of the inclusion, comfort, identity, occupation and
overall attachment. In the domain of the Tom Kitwood’s model of the psychological needs,
Kaufmann and Engel (2016) conducted a study based on the self-reported questionnaire for
elucidating the psychological needs and well-being of the dementia patients. Nineteen people
under long-term care having moderate to severe dementia were included in the study. Semi-
structured interview was used for data collection. The analysis of the data through conceptual
framework showed that psychological needs of the dementia patient align with the Tom
Kitwood’s model of care. According to this model, the main components of the dementia care
include valuing and respecting person with dementia and their unique needs. The model also
stress on seeing the world from the perspective of the dementia patient, understanding the
person’s behavior and the approach of communication with dementia while creating positive
social environment under which the individuals with dementia can enjoy comprehensive