Professional Practice and Cultural Safety

Running head: PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE AND CULTURAL SAFETY 1
Professional Practice and Cultural Safety
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE AND CULTURAL SAFETY 2
1 Introduction
Dementia is not a particular disorder; instead, it is a group of conditions characterized by
the gradual impairment of brain function (Dyer et al., 2016). It usually affects an individual's
ability to reason, think, and remember together with impacting their character and damaging
other critical operations of the brain. In 2017, dementia prevailed as the greatest cause of
mortality in women, and the third leading in men’s deaths was generally accounting to 13,729
deaths, where females account for 64.5 percent of all dementia-affiliated deaths. There is an
estimation of 447,115 Australians living with dementia in 2019 left out of a therapeutic
improvement, and the figure of individuals with dementia is anticipated to escalate to 589,807 by
2028 and 1,076,129 by 2058 (Harrison et al., 2019).
In 2018, about 3/5 (61percent) of individuals with dementia were women, and 2/5 (43
percent) were 85 years and above. An approximation of 8.7 percent of individuals of 65 years
and above in Australia had dementia in 2018. Nevertheless, the proportion of dementia varies
amid population subgroups. For instance, the incidence of dementia is approximated to be two to
five times greater amid the indigenous individuals than among the non-indigenous Australians
(Radford et al., 2018). Also, indigenous Australians face various risks for dementia-like tobacco
use, heart disease, and diabetes at greater percentages in comparison with non-indigenous
Australians (Flicker & Holdsworth, 2014).
The essay discusses the type of health care delivery and explains the assumptions about
individuals and their wellness or illness which underpins that type of health care delivery. Also,
the types of health care delivery in dementia will be discussed, and poverty as a social
determinant of health will be explained how it affects those living with dementia. Finally, the
essay is focusing on cultural safety and person-centered care by applying codes and standards.

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE AND CULTURAL SAFETY 3
2. Body
2.1 Choose One Types of Health Care Delivery and Explain the Assumptions about People
and Their Wellness/Illness Which Underpin That Type of Health Care Delivery
In Australian health care system, there are types of care delivery available for individuals
living with dementia. Primary health care is the frontline health care system of Australia, and it
involves a wide range of services and providers over the public, private along with non-
governmental sectors (Gardner et al., 2018). It is offered at home or community-based setting
like community health, in general practices, local government, and other private practices along
with non-governmental service environments such as Aboriginal Community Controlled Health
Services.
Primary health care delivers services encompassing of health promotion, early
intervention, prevention, and screening, along with therapy and management. There are
assumptions which underpin this type of health care delivery. Services might be aimed at
particular population like maternity and child health, elderly persons, individuals living in rural
and isolated areas, the health of youths, refugees, and people from socially and linguistic
different or low socio-economic backgrounds (Javanparast et al., 2018).
Moreover, primary health care services might point at particular health and lifestyle
situations, for instance, drug and alcohol services, asthma, obesity, sexual health, diabetes,
cardiovascular disease, psychological health, oral health and tumors (Javanparast et al., 2018).
Primary health care services also aim and function distinctly as one move from metropolitan
regions to rural and remote environments.
2.2 Types of Health Care Delivery in Dementia and Their Underpinning Values

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE AND CULTURAL SAFETY 4
The two types of health care services are the Dementia Behavior Management Advisory
Service (DBMAS) and Cognitive Dementia and Memory Service (CDAMS) (Ervin & Reid,
2015). DBMAS assists individuals to support someone living with dementia in conditions when
their behavior is affecting their care. It can evaluate the person, offer nursing support, advice,
and information, and assist with care planning along with short term case management
(Arnautovsk, Robleda, Jackson & Pachana, 2016).
The assessments in DBMAS are free of charge for people exhibiting behavioral along
with psychological symptoms of dementia, and it can make referrals to other support services.
The principle of this service is to enhance the quality of life of people through working in
partnership with the individual with dementia and their care network to understand the triggers,
which resulted in changes in behavior (Arnautovsk et al., 2016).
On the other hand, CDAMS is a specialist service which helps people with loss of
memory or changes to their thinking and caregivers who support them. It offers information on
proper treatments, gives direction in planning for the future, and provides an expert clinical
diagnosis (Wong, Coles, Chambers, Wu & Hassed, 2017). Furthermore, CDAMS provides links
for individuals with dementia and their caregivers to other services and community supports,
together with giving information on dealing with daily issues. A CDAMS evaluation involves
medical along with allied health consultations and may include a visit to the person's home
(Westphal, 2013).
The principles of CDAMS include person-centered care, where it focuses on developing
an understanding of the patient and meeting their needs and evidence-based and quality services,
where they offer services based on current evidence (Westphal, 2013). Also, family/carer-
centered care is another principle where it works with families and caregivers to identify their