Capstone Project: Approaches to Dementia Care in Aged Care Settings

This capstone project focuses on the treatment of dementia in residential aged care facilities in Australia. It highlights the importance of hygienic routines, timely schedules, and physical activities in managing dementia. The study explores various aspects of care, including communication strategies, spiritual and emotional support, social interaction, personal care, and healthcare provisions for dementia patients. It outlines learning outcomes related to treatment methods, patient behavior, nursing evidence collection, and follow-up procedures. The project details the operational steps for developing a capstone experience, emphasizing communication, well-being, social interaction, personal care, physiological health, and cultural needs. It includes a critical reflection framework based on nursing experiences and concludes with recommendations for enhancing dementia treatment processes. This resource is available on Desklib, a platform offering study tools and solved assignments for students.

Capstone Experience in Health Care
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Literature review........................................................................................................................2
Importance of communication in residential aged care.........................................................2
Importance of spiritual and emotional wellbeing of the patient............................................3
Social interaction and lifestyle change...................................................................................3
Personal care..........................................................................................................................3
Healthcare..............................................................................................................................3
Learning outcomes.....................................................................................................................4
Operational steps to develop capstone experience project.........................................................4
Critical reflection framework.....................................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................9
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Introduction
The dementia is increasing keeping compatibility with the growth of aged people in
Australia. The dementia is treated in most of the residential aged cares in Australia. Hygienic
routine, sharp timing formal, timely sleep and waking time and engagement in the physical
activities are the courses that are measured in the residential aged cares in Australia for the
treatment of dementia patients. The healthcare kinds of stuff used to deliver equal care to
each dementia patients. Moreover, all the symptoms are noted and treatment is provided
according to the symptoms. There is a wide variety of dementia having different symptoms.
Thus, the caregivers of the residential aged cares follow the impact, progress, and treatment
of each patient. Then study will unfold the methods and techniques through which care and
treatment are provided to the dementia patients in the old age care homes (Arendts et al.,
2010). The learning outcomes for the treatment of dementia in the aged care homes are
related to a method of treatment, the behavioural attempt of the patient, collection of nursing
evidence and following up the cure procedure. The operational outcomes of the study will be
developed by taking cues from the learning outcomes and the treatment procedure for the
dementia patient at the aged care homes. Later, the study will critically reflect on the
knowledge that is gathered from the study and the importance of evidence-based nursing to
care for the patients with dementia. Moreover, the reflective part will also highlight the ways
through which the researcher can implement the nursing experiences in the future. The
concluding part of the study will summarize the whole discussion and will outline a key
recommendation for the overall development of the dementia treatment process (Ashurst,
2008). The study will be developed in the context of capstone experience and will be helpful
for the future use.
Literature review
Importance of communication in residential aged care
Communication is an important aspect of nursing care management. Effective
communication must be prevailed by the care staffs of the old aged care homes to conduct
efficient treatment for dementia. First, it requires removing the language barrier. Both verbal
and nonverbal communication is required to eradicate the communication problem of
dementia. The auditory and sensory issue of the old aged dementia patient must be identified
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and develop communication according to the problem with calmness and politeness (Bennett,
Ward & Scarinci, 2015).
Importance of spiritual and emotional wellbeing of the patient
Spiritual and emotional care must be provided to the old aged patients who are suffering from
dementia. A respectful attitude towards the spiritual beliefs of the patient must be shown by
the caregivers. The caregivers of the aged care homes must not be judgemental about the
patient and must be respectful towards the community and family members of the patient. To
achieve this feat, the care staffs of the old aged care homes must respect the cultural diversity
and maintain a spiritual attachment to the patient (Calma, Dudgeon & Bray, 2017).
Social interaction and lifestyle change
The caregivers of the old age care home must respect the social and community interaction of
the dementia patient. This includes the leisure activities, community activities and
participation in the religious activities must be respected. Moreover, intimate relationships,
hobbies and meaning aspects of the patient's life must be explored by the caregivers to
increase the level of influence in the patient. This acts as a motivational part of the dementia
treatment and the patients become friendly and responsive towards the caregivers (Gaskin et
al., 2012).
Personal care
Dementia affected patients mostly suffer from cognitive impairment of the memory power.
This increases the forgetful behaviour of the patient. Due to the forgetful behaviour, dementia
affected old aged persons cannot be equivocal on his preferences. Thus, the caregivers must
provide a personal care to the patient. The caregivers need to provide the patient with a
timely meal, hygienic foods, healthy practices, help in body movements and helps in a
change of pattern in the daily life. The caregivers must monitor each step of the patient and
track their activity for their further treatment (Green, 2012).
Healthcare
Dementia affected patients use to suffer from various healthcare related problems like skin
rash, the degenerative situation of a neuron, cognitive decline and inactive physical
movements. Thus, the caregivers must provide sufficient clinical care to the patients and
detect their problems and aches. A proper cultural and religious belief towards the patients
would be helpful for the caregivers to provide effective health care to the dementia patients
(Haugen & Musser, 2012).
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Learning outcomes
The capstone project is generally considered as the important course in all the science
curricula. So for the nursing career, it is important to learn the professional course through
the capstone project. This project offers the student to learn something special to reflect their
knowledge on the professional career. This project enables the student to obtain the general
knowledge by which she can deliver the technical solution to the problem. The second
semester of the course offers the student to learn the how to execute the design of the project
and how to perform the plan in the professional field (Hunnicutt, 2010). As the nursing is
serious job profile so they need to aware all the plans and should know how to execute the
plan in the field. The dementia is a serious problem for the aged persons. Through the course
time, the nurse has been taught how to take care of such patients of dementia. The course of
the capstone project sometimes is completed in a year or sometimes takes two years to
complete. It can be mentioned that this course is one of the most challenging courses for both
the engineering and the nurses. All the students of the science, in general, take the course of
the capstone project. Through the project course, the students are given the proper guidelines
to follow and taught to solve the critical problems relating to the subject of the student.
The project-based learning of the capstone project is a well-recognized approach which
generally motivates the student. This learning enables the students to learn the additional
information on the subject. The project-based learning helps the students to discuss the
project openly. This project allows the student to discuss the critical learning openly. The
project-based learning allows the examiner or the instructor to launch the oral and the written
communication. The project-based learning is the most important preparation for the students
to grab all the learning of the capstone project (Jane Brooke, 2013). The course framework of
the capstone project enables the student to design the project plan and the execution of the
plan in the project field. The students often refer to the capstone project is the learning
experience. By gaining the learning of the capstone project, the students can gather the
additional knowledge apart from their subject matter.
Operational steps to develop capstone experience project
In the age group of people, dementia and cognitive impairment are one of the major problems
exist. It is one of the practical problems of the nurse phase during serving in the aged care of
the country. The main problem of dementia is totally related to the age of the people. In the
older age, it is seen that the total grey matter of the brain is reduced in weight and many
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elderly people show the sign of dementia and cognitive impairment. Dementia term is related
to the reduction in the person's mental and physical ability to do work. There is one major
problem of dementia in its initial stages the symptoms are not very prominent so a perfect
operational and management plan cannot be taken (Leydecker, 2017). The Alzheimer's
disease is one of the major diseases which is caused to the aged care person after the one set
of dementia. The disease comprises of memory loss and lacking in the ability of cognitive
and the psychomotor domain.
The operational plan should be based on the initial symptoms of the aged care person. It is
very important to assess the whole situation properly when making any nursing care
operational plan. Often it is seen in the dementia patient that their mood and behaviour
changes and sometimes and at the later stages their dialogue becomes irrelevant. This
condition should be assessed properly for the nursing care plan (O'Connell, Ostaszkiewicz &
Hawkins, 2011).
The operational and managed care plan for dementia patient in the aged care units is as
follows.
1. Communication
2. Spiritual and emotional well being
3. Social interaction and lifestyle management
4. Personal care 5.physiological health care
6. Behaviour and cultural needs
7. Environment
Communication- Proper verbal communication counselling should be done in an emphatic
way by the nurse who helps in mental health development of the patient. Since the problem is
related to cognitive domain impairment so the patient will have difficulty in making proper
communication which should be handled with care (Parker & Clifton, 2014). The body
language of the patient should be analyzed and the plan should be taken according to the
body language of the patient.
Spiritual and emotional well being – In the case of the aged care, the spiritual and
emotional well being is very important. Since sometimes the aged care patient feels no self-
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worth are emotionally very vulnerable that effects there mental and physical well being. This
should be considered in the nursing care plan holistic approach should be taken to promote
the self-worth of the people. Spiritual thought and beliefs should be respected during the
nursing care of the dementia patient because it is a very sensitive issue. Musical therapy is
sometimes performed on the patient of the dementia care it helps to decrease the stress level
of the body. Patient in aged care suffering from dementia often gets angry; this situation can
be handled by spiritual activities like meditation (Reymond, Israel & Charles, 2011).
Social life and interaction- It is very important to develop a social life for the patient with
dementia. In aged care interaction should be done by the nurse to develop to reduce the level
of stress.
Personal care – In case of Dementia patient due to the memory loss they often cannot
memorize and maintain their personal hygiene. Maintenance and monitoring of the personal
hygiene are one of the most important points in the case of aged care patient suffering from
dementia.
Physiological health- The physiological condition should be considered properly because in
the case of the aged care person with dementia sometimes they cannot express their problems
in the proper way (Sherratt & Bell, 2014).
Behaviour environment and daily health care – the Operational plan should consider the
specific daily activities and environment of the aged care patients. It is very important to
develop a healthy diet for the patients. In dementia regular breathing exercise helps to reduce
the stress level of the body. The environment of the aged care should be calm and cheerful so
that the patient has a joyful sensation. It will help to improve on their behavioural parameters.
The cultural beliefs should be respected during the implementation of the operational plan
(Shin, Lee & Miller-Day, 2013).
Critical reflection framework
In the critical reflection is based on the total experience of the nursing issue. I think it is very
important to assess the situation and in the problem, in a proper manner, in this case, it is
dementia for the aged care.
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Description- The first step of success is a proper assessment of the problem considering the
overall parameters. The proper description of the problem should be done so that different
viewpoints of the problem can be found out.
Feelings- In this case, the personal feeling of the nurse is very important. After considering
the problems of dementia my personal feeling the patient in the aged care should be dealt
with empathy (Westbury et al., 2010).
Evaluation- In my opinion, this is another important part which should be considered
properly. After the description and feelings evaluation of the overall situation is very
important. In the case of a dementia patient in the aged care proper evaluation of their
psychological and physiological state is very much important.
Analysis- In this point, the analysis should be done on the real-life capstone problem which
here it is dementia in the aged care people. After evaluation of the overall perspective
properly analysis and diagnosis should be done from which an inference or conclusion can be
drawn.
Conclusion- After the proper analysis it is important to reach a conclusion. I think according
to the capstone problem here the conclusion should be reached about the stage of dementia.
Action plan- I think in this part operational and management nursing plan should be taken
for implementation. These wills enable to solve the problem (Arendts, Dickson, Howard &
Quine, 2010).
Conclusion
Dementia is not considered as the disease. Overall it is a symptom which associated with the
different mental loss or the memory decline. It is enough to reduce the ability of the human to
think and to act everyday activities. It is found in most of the old man. Most of the time
dementia spread slowly among the older persons. The disease like dementia is caused by the
damage to the brain cells. The damage of the cells of the brain leads the human not to think
further. The diagnosis of dementia cannot be revealed as per the doctors are not be able to
find the exact solution to the problem (Bennett, Ward & Scarinci, 2015). But the only
treatment of dementia can be done with the help of the history of the patient. For this
particular disease, the patient needs special care and affection. As the capstone project is
related to identify the exact problem and takes the necessary steps to curb the disease.
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Through the study of the capstone project, the nurse can take the appropriate steps to handle
the dementia-like disease.
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References
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