Dementia: Understanding the Symptoms, Risk Factors, and Management

This poster provides information on the symptoms, risk factors, and management of dementia. It highlights the need for greater awareness and dissemination of information amongst family members, caregivers, and nurses involved in aged care. The poster aims to educate the target audience on the different types of dementia, risk factors, and management strategies. It also emphasizes the importance of creating a dementia-safe environment and promoting healthy lifestyle habits.

Dementia
Poster+Justification
Name of the Student
Name of the University

Dementia
• A group of symptoms related to a
decline in the thinking skills and
memory, and behaviour
• Symptoms impact greatly on the
ability of the person to conduct
everyday tasks ultimately causing
interference with a persons social
and working life
• Alzheimer's is the most common
form of dementia
(Alzheimer's Association, 2018).
What is dementia?
Signs & Symptoms
Risk ReductionCauses
Risk Factors
• Tremor
• Memory distortions
• Balance problems
• Difficulty in swallowing and eating
• Restlessness and wandering
• Visual and perception problems
Depression
• Apathy
(Sutin, Stephan, Luchetti & Terracciano,
2018; Burke, Hall & Tariot, 2013)
• Age
• Cardiovascular diseases
• Smoking (Baumgart et al., 2015)
• Alcohol use
• Diabetes
• Atherosclerosis
• High Cholesterol
(Booker, Jacob, Rapp, Bohlken & Kostev, 2016)
Alzheimer’s disease
• Two abnormal structures: tangles and
plaques accumulate in the brain
• Characterized by beta-amyloid deposits and
tau proteins (Reitz & Mayeux, 2014)
Vascular dementia
Dementia with
Lewy bodies
• Thinking, and movement (Mayo & Bordelon,
2014) Second most prevalent dementia form
• Lewy bodies accumulate in the nerve cells in
regions involved in memory
• Usually develops after occurrence of a stroke that
blocks an artery present in the brain
• Reduces circulation, depriving the brain of
essential nutrients and oxygen (Carr, 2017).
Frontotemporal
dementia
Mixed dementia
• Progressive degeneration of frontal and
temporal lobes
• Affects behavioural control, decision-making,
language, and emotion
• More than one kind of dementia is found in the
brain
• Vascular dementia & Alzheimer's disease is
most common
• Cardiovascular care; controlling hypertension,
quitting smoking
• Avoiding sedentary lifestyle; walking and
moderate aerobic exercise
• Healthy Eating
• Enjoying social activity; participating in the social
activities
Management
• Psychological therapies that include reminiscence
therapy, behavioural interventions, emotion-oriented
interventions, and stimulation-oriented interventions
(Livingston et al., 2017).
• Medications (Kalisch Ellett et al., 2014)
• Agitation management (Jutkowitz et al., 2016)
• Pain management
• Alternative medications like massage and
aromatherapy
• Palliative care (Downs & Collins, 2015)
Nursing Interventions
• Educating the patient and providing support
• Reducing chances of injuries due to falls
• Reducing agitation and anxiety
• Advocating for the rights of the patient
• Involving family in the process of clinical decision
making
• Reducing isolation by befriending
• Assessing pain and reducing its severity
• Orienting patient
• Assisting with personal care
(Sakamoto, Ando & Tsutou, 2013; (Liu, Cheon &
Thomas, 2014)

Introduction
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) a major portion of the nation’s population comprises of older adults (aged more than 65 years) (Aihw.gov.au,
2018). Adequate healthcare facilities have resulted in an enormous increase in the life expectancies across the world. Furthermore, the population of the world is aging
at such as rate that people aged more than 60 years form around 10% of the total world population. Besides this the number of the aging population is expected to
increase to more than 20% by the year 2050 (Economicsonline.co.uk, 2018). Augmented longevity is one of the major achievements of economic development, with
lifetime expectancy an acknowledged and dominant indicator of global development. Nonetheless, an ageing populace does not originate without noteworthy costs
and rears countless issues that should be addressed by the healthcare professionals and the policy makers. Of swelling concern is the matter of ‘healthy life’
expectancy, or living lengthier but without substantial disability. Hence, the primary role of the care professionals hint at adoring the responsibility of enhancing the
health outcomes of the aging population, the community and the entire nation.
The cognitive disorder of ‘Dementia’, implies a detrimental reduction in the mental capabilities of the concerned individual, pertaining to functioning outlining
cognitive capacities, memory and storage of required information and the resultant detrimental impact upon skills outlining logical and reasoning tasks, required for
the healthy functioning of everyday life (Gaugler et al., 2017). Dementia exhibits occurrences primarily in the geriatric population comprising of individuals aged
beyond the age of 65 years, as a secondary response to severe cognitive disease implications such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s as well as several vascular conditions
(Goodman et al., 2015).
The following paragraphs of the report highlight the salient features outlining the rationale and justification behind the preparation of the supplementary poster, along
with brief discussions concerning the audience to be targeted for imparting knowledge concerning the same, and the required treatment objectives.
Discussion
The following paragraphs highlight the rationale, justification and the required audience focussed upon for deliverance of the poster.
Rationale
The prevalence of dementia in Australia, continues to showcase alarming trends of increase, posing as one of the major reasons for mortality amongst Australians. A
major portion of males and females in Australia, as opined by the ‘Dementia Australia’, an organization focusing on provision of dementia care for the elderly, succumb
to malfunctioning pertaining to dementia, amounting to over a population of over 16% (Standfield, Comans & Scuffham, 2018). There is hence a need for the provision
of greater concerned towards the treatment pertaining to dementia, due to an estimated population contribution of over 250 Australians inflicted with the possibility
of dementia every day. Further, the need for the hour is to impart greater and awareness amongst the general care practitioners as well as the required family
members of the concerned patients inflicted from dementia, as evident from the present dearth of information and research conducted outlining the key features,
signs and symptoms and treatment of dementia (Radford et al., 2015). Despite the efforts by the Dementia Australia Research Foundation attempting to encourage and
provide capital for the purpose of research concerning the salient principles of dementia, which is based upon community contributions, the prevalence of lack of
information and required knowledge is still prevalent amongst young students, potential nurses and novel researchers (Chenoweth, Cable & Pond, 2015).
Due to the debilitating cognitive conditions attained as a resultant factor due to the infliction of dementia, there is a loss in the functioning capacity of the concerned
patient concerning the performance of activities pertaining to the daily life performance. Hence, familial duties where associated family members of the concerned
patient uphold care and assistance responsibilities of the concerned patient, form the cornerstones of the treatment principles of dementia (van Wezel et al., 2016).
However, an elaborate and extensive survey, was conducted by a emerging organization in Australia, Ipsos, known for its conductance of required marketing research.
The survey aimed to assess the current knowledge pertaining to the signs and symptoms, along with the key treatment principles of dementia amongst the general
population. The results of the survey exhibited alarming implications revealing a consequent lack of knowledge concerning the background information for dementia
amongst Australians (Manthorpe & Iliffe, 2017). There is hence a further need for the provision of greater awareness and knowledge regarding the pathophysiology of
dementia, the resultant signs and symptoms and the required treatment procedures for the same. Hence, generating enhanced public awareness forms the foundation
principles behind the rationale of outlining information for dementia, which will be imparted effectively through the creation of the required visual aids. Along with the
general population comprising primarily of the family members of the concerned patients, greater provision of dementia awareness and knowledge is also required
amongst caretakers responsible for treatment of the same, further leading to enhanced care procedures, which is highly required amidst a backdrop of emerging
dementia trends in Australia (Cahill et al., 2015).

Taking into consideration the fact that the older people often get affected with dementia, a progressive neurological disorder, it holds several
serious implications for the entire society and for the healthcare industry. With an increase in the prevalence of dementia and other associated neurological
disorders among the older population, it becomes imperative for the nursing professionals to increase their awareness of the probable behavioural changes
among the older adults, the interaction of prescribed medications, and strategies that must be taken to address their deterioration of cognitive faculties. Nurses
have always been considered a dynamic share of a healthcare team and frequently join forces with peers and allied health care professionals (Woods et al., 2014).
Owing to the fact that nursing professionals are usually the chief point of contact for all patients and their family members, they are well suitable for handling the
organization and communiqué of integrated approaches for the enormously complex types of senior patient care. While dealing with multifaceted challenges
modelled by senior patients, these expertise prove beneficial. The poster will also educate the target audience on the different types of dementia, of which
vascular dementia is the second most prevalent cause. The poster will also elaborate on the different risk factors that are associated with the onset of dementia,
such as, heart problems, increased blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Thus, it will facilitate the identification of the conditions and their treatment at
the earliest opportunity.
It is also worthwhile to mention that registered nurses as well as various assistants-nurses are concerned with the provision of conducting
optimum treatment procedures and care plans for patients inflicted with dementia, for the assistance of their daily life activities. Hence, there is also a need for
nurses to acquire sufficient information concerning dementia, for advancement of their care processes (Burns & Mcllfatrick, 2015). However, considering the
geriatric principles outlining dementia, nurses are often observed to exhibit a lack of knowledge concerning the same, due to not being specialists in the
gerontology (Surr et al., 2016). Hence as per the rationale concerning the principles of this report, there is a need for greater awareness and dissemination of
information amongst nurses appointed in clinical setups, concerning the disease outlines of dementia, resulting in greater treatment procedures. Major steps that
should be implemented by nursing professionals while interacting with a dementia patient include (1) planning a conversation in a non-threatening and familiar
environment; (2) explaining about its importance; (3) Using examples to elucidate on the self-management steps; and (4) fostering an open conversation, while
being direct and honest (Hendriks et al., 2014).
The poster will help in increasing awareness of the target audience on the fact that dementia is not any single neurological disorder but is an
umbrella term that comprises of a range of symptoms that are responsible for damaging the brain in old age. The major symptoms that are manifested by older
adults who are affected with dementia include short term memory loss such as, failure to remember recent events, in comparison to past events. The aged
dementia population also suffers from problems that arise in reasoning and thinking, and gives rise to depression, agitation and anxiety about memory loss. The
poster will also help in promoting awareness on the fact that dementia patients can even get confused when they are present in a familiar environment. Further
implications of the poster can be associated with its role in promoting the construction of a dementia safe environment that becomes vital with the progress of the
neurological disorder (Black et al., 2013). Safety measures adopted by the nursing professionals with the aim of improving wellbeing can avert injuries and aid the
person with dementia, feel calmer, less overawed and uphold his or her individuality longer.
Target Audience
The target audient for the concerned poster would be family members of the concerned patient, the care takers involved in the provision of residential care along
with nurses involved in the treatment and care process of individuals involved in aged care. As observed form the survey, there is a lack of information amongst
the general population concerning the pathophysiology and the required treatment of dementia (Manthorpe & Iliffe, 2017). Since, family members are the key
individuals involved in the care process due to their presence at the immediate vicinity amidst the patient, the lack of information is a pressing cause for concern.
Hence, the poster will aim at imparting education to the concerned familial population regarding the various signs and symptoms followed by adoption of required
principles for risk reduction. As outlined in the poster, undertaking debilitating activities of social isolation along with adherence to a sedentary lifestyle are key
risks leading to the aggravation of symptoms pertaining to the disease condition of dementia (Kitagawa et al., 2016). Hence, as opined in the poster, family
members can be informed about necessary information, where they can encourage the concerned patient to engage in healthy social relationships along with
partaking in required physical activities. Cardiovascular disorders also form a key risk dementia patient, and the concerned family members can strive to encourage
the patient to engage healthy dietary and lifestyle habits, along with eradication of harmful behaviours such as smoking (Rosenberg et al., 2018).

An additional target audience concerning the imparting of knowledge regarding dementia could be nurses who are involved in aged care of
elderly patients inflicted with dementia. As outlined in the poster, the concerned nurses like the family members, can also be involved in reducing the risks, by
engaging in empathetic conversation with the patients, along with encourage them to engage in required social relationships, fulfilling dietary and lifestyle habits
and avoidance to socially isolate themselves from general communication. The nurse can further engage in several intervention strategies for the purpose of
mitigating of symptoms outlining dementia (Pulseford, Duxbury & Carter 2016). As outlined in the poster, the nurse should engage in empathetic conversation
with the patient, along with involvement of the concerned family in the treatment process. The nurse should also engage in counselling in order to effectively
alleviate the psychosocial symptoms of the concerned patient. The prevalence of falls amongst the elderly is also an emerging trend, with high susceptibility
amongst patients suffering from dementia due to their loss in logic and reasoning concerning spatial aspects of surroundings and resultant loss in cognition (Booth
et al., 2016). Hence, as outlined in the poster, one of the key intervention strategies to be undertaken by nurses would be the assisting in the mobility of the
patient, and preventing the occurrences of falls amongst the same. Concerning the importance of antioxidants and maintenance of optimum heart health for the
purpose of mitigation of symptoms, nurses involved in care of the dementia patient, should also aim to ensure adherence to sufficient dietary principles (Morris,
2016). In addition the concerned nurse, can also aid in provision of sufficient lighting and hand rails for the purpose of support for the dementia patient, along
with assessment and evaluation of patient, as mentioned in the required poster (Lach, Harrison & Phongphanngam, 2016).
In addition, the target audience of the concerned poster would also be care takers involved in home treatment of the patient, who can follow
the above principles as mentioned in the poster, followed by administration of the required drug treatments as the intervention strategies for dementia.
Conclusion
Hence, as outlined by the previous paragraphs mentioned in the concerned justification, it can be concluded that there is hence a need for greater awareness and
imparting of information concerning the disease principles, signs and symptoms, the various negative health implications pertaining to the mental disease
condition of dementia. The need of the hour is to further work towards provision of increased and more dedicated treatment pertaining to the disease condition
of dementia, for which the acquisition of key disease information is of utmost requirement. Nurses involved in aged care, care takes and in house nurses appointed
for residential based conventional treatment procedures, along with the family member of the concerned patient, form the salient collaborative workforce
pertaining to the care and treatment of the individual suffering from dementia. Concerning the emerging trends of dementia affliction followed by the lack of
knowledge pertaining to the same amongst the individuals involved in the treatment plan, there is hence an immediate need for the greater provision of
awareness and information regarding dementia, as will be conducted by the successful deliverance of the concerned poster.

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