Interventions for Older Person with Dementia Living at Home

Running Head: DEMENTIA
0
Older person with dementia living at
home
Essay
student
9/20/2019

DEMENTIA
1
Older person with dementia living at home
Dementia is the overall term used for the diseases and health condition characterized by a
deterioration of memory, speaking problem-solving abilities, and other thinking skills that
impact an individual's ability to perform daily activities. The most collective cause of dementia is
Alzheimer's. This particular health issue mostly affects older individuals from all around the
world (Livingston et al., 2017). Globally, nearly 50 million individuals have dementia, and there
are around ten million new cases are diagnosed every year. It is one of the main causes of
disability and financial impact, not only on persons with dementia, but also on the home carers
like families, and the community at large. Although there is no treatment has been discovered yet
to cure the health issue to stop the progressive course. However there is much can be offered to
the older patient living at home (Satizabal et al., 2016). In this particular essay, an intervention
for an older person that includes independence, self-determination and purposeful activity will be
discussed.
John is a 68 years old individual living with his wife. He has two sons living in a different city.
He has been diagnosed with type two diabetes 2 years ago and has high blood pressure issues. He
also has a history of Alzheimer's, and recently visited the psychiatrist and diagnosed with
Dementia. He developed some symptoms like memory loss, poor decision making, facing issues
in performing daily tasks, and speaking and writing problems. He is worried about his wife as
she will be alone if something happens to him. The physician prescribed Cholinesterase inhibitor
and Memantine (Namenda) for John.
Although John has been provided with pharmacological interventions, he also needs non-
pharmacological interventions to enhance the recovery process. There are different interventions

DEMENTIA
2
can be implemented in case of John to meet his incorporate independence, self-determinations,
and purpose full activity such as reminiscence therapy, validation therapy, reality orientation,
multisensory stimulation and physical exercise. For John, reminiscence therapy interventions
will be used to address the symptoms he is experiencing. The main aim of these interventions is
to manage the behavioural and mental symptoms of dementia. The healthcare profession like
nurse first observe the patient and recognise the trigger and initial symptoms of distress, and
assess John for pain (Abraha et al., 2016). Reminiscence therapy intervention focused on
memory-related issues. It is considered as one of the highly widespread non-pharmacological
interventions can include life story work, usual or general reminiscence and particular or special
reminiscence. This can help John to reflect his life, either individually or in the group, and
consequently, a book or comparable record of John or his permission developed (Woods et al.,
2018).
The general reminiscences will allow him to share common memories with the family and
healthcare provider. With these interventions, john will be encouraged to be social, and his
recreational and educational objectives will be achieved (Cohen-Mansfield, 2018). This
particular therapy uses open-ended stimuli or multi-sensory stimulators to trigger reminiscence
on the topics probable to be of interest to John and other participants and unlikely to stimulate
the painful memories. The reminiscence therapy is more specialized, additionally individualized
and might have an element of life review or the self-evaluation involved. To implement this
particular therapy is must be considered that it is safe, free of noise, and without any other type
of interruptions. Reminiscence therapy might advance the quality of life, enhance confidence and
boost the self-esteem of the patient (Gilhooly et al., 2016). Reminiscence therapy uses different
cues like internet, music, or photograph albums. The theory of ageing that must be considered