Dementia: Risk Factors and Prevention Methods

Running head: EVIDENCE-BASED RESEARCH 1
Evidence-Based Research
(Author’s name)
(Institutional Affiliation)

EVIDENCE-BASED RESEARCH 2
Dementia
ASSESSMENT 2A
Background
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2016, dementia is
described as a syndrome rather than a disease characterised by continuous impairment of the
brain function. Currently, Australia has more than 400, 000 people who have dementia of which
55% are women ("Dementia statistics", 2018). More than half of individuals with dementia live
in government aged care facilities (AIHW, 2016). In addition, about 1.2 million people in the
country are involved in the care of someone with dementia. Other than that, studies show that, by
2025, there will more than 500,000 people with dementia in Australia (AIHW, 2016). More than
100 diseases are associated with dementia, but the most common ones are the vascular diseases
and Alzheimer disease (Cations, Radisic, Crotty & Laver, 2018). Alzheimer disease is believed
to cause about 80% of all cases though only 50% of these are estimated to be caused purely by
the Alzheimer disease.
Importance to Nursing
Although dementia affects aged people above 65 years, it is not a normal component of
ageing (AJDC, 2018). Various skills are usually affected when individuals have dementia. These
include personality, memory and cognition (Cations, Radisic, Crotty & Laver, 2018). However,
no symptoms of dementia are displayed early enough thus ongoing assessment is crucial.
Currently, there is no known cure for dementia, but evidence shows that certain lifestyles
contribute to early onset and development of the disease (AJDC, 2018). Nurses with
collaboration with other healthcare providers have an obligation to act as advocates and inform
the community the habits and lifestyles associated with dementia in order to prevent the disease

EVIDENCE-BASED RESEARCH 3
occurrence, avert dementia complications and provide early caring (Cations, Radisic, Crotty &
Laver, 2018). Other than that nurse have other responsibilities when caring for people with
dementia such as patient education, acting as team managers, and participating in policy making
that enhances the quality care of the patients(McMaster, Sanchez-Ramos & Kaunitz, 2015).
Personal Reflection
Reporting: While I was doing a visit to an aged-care rehabilitation facility, I came across
patients who have dementia. Surprisingly, the number of patients with mild to severe dementia
was about 50% of all clients in the facility. The patient had difficulty in remembering even the
names of their family relatives.
Responding: I looked after a patient with dementia and tried to connect him with family
members. The patient refused to talk to his son saying he has never seen him before.
Relating: In this scenario, I came to realise that encouraging family members to visit patients
with dementia is crucial. Frequent visiting from family always promotes or triggers a memory of
individuals with dementia(Mitchell, Hall, MacBeth, Gardner & Halton, 2015).
Reasoning: The event taught me why personal care centred which involve families and other
healthcare providers are essential when caring for individuals with severe dementia.
Reconstructing: In the future, I will study both the library and online sources about caring for
individuals with dementia and their families. I will try to incorporate families during care and
encourage them to support their relatives who have dementia.