Introduction
The aim of this paper is to explore and critically analysing two research articles. The critical analysis will explain the importance of the study, evaluate design and research method used in those articles. To identify any gaps it will provide the literature review in those researches and possibility for the new study. The project plan, for the possible research will be developed on a potential gaps and the essay will finish with the conclusion.
A study in 1997 points out that in the UK between 38-57% of people, in long-term care, have a moderate to severe form of dementia (Elliot et al 1999). Most recent information shows that in the UK almost 800,000 people are affected by dementia, which translates into a financial burden costing £23 billion a year to the economy. It is also predicted that by 2040, the number of people affected by the disease is expected to double (Alzheimer's Society Dementia Report 2012)
This condition is preceded by a decline in the baseline performance that is thought to be abnormal for the person’s age and abilities. Mild cognitive impairment is characterised by beginning of changes in memory as well as performance of daily. Severe cognitive impairment is compounded with the more serious loss of performance of the mental processes, resulting in that a person cannot live on their own (Fann et al, 2005). The health, social and economic impacts of cognitive impairments are clear to many health care providers. However, there has not been enough national attention given to this health concern.
According to Zwakhalen et al. (2006), half of the people in nursing homes are cognitively impaired. Most evidence suggests most of elderly people have persistent pain, which cause unnecessary distres...
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...(2012) Alzheimer's Society Dementia A national challenge. Report. Available from: http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/download_info.php?fileID=1389 [Accessed 3 February 2014]
Massano, J. (2012)Cognitive impairment and dementia – an update. Frontiers.Frontier in neurology.3(52 )pp7
Sheikh K, et al. 2011. Building the Field of Health Policy and Systems Research: Framing the Questions. PLoS Med, 8 (8)
Stein, W. M 2001. Pain management in the elderly: pain in the nursing home. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, 17, 575-594.
Zwakhalen,S., Hamers,J., Abu-Saad.H., Berger,B 2006. Pain in elderly people with severe dementia: A systematic review of behavioural pain assessment tools.BMC Geriatrics. 6(3) .Available from: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2318/6/3 [accessed 1 March 2014]
Patton,M.( 1990) Qualitative evaluation and research methods, 2nd ed. Newbury Park: Sage
Pah-Lavan, Z. (2006). Alzheimer's disease: the road to oblivion. Journal of Community Nursing, 20(5), 4. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Dementia is a disease which causes mental debility and affects one’s way of intelligent, attentiveness, recollection and problem-solving (NHS, 2013). As a result of dysfunction of brain cells in some parts of the brain it affects the thinking process then dementia occurs and it usually comes with age (Ibid). It is estimated that 560 000 people suffer from dementia in England and as a result the NHS and Social Care spend about 3.3billion (National Audit Offices)
care to the residents suffering from dementia. Banner et al (2009 as cited in Lee J.et al.2012)
Nerney, C. (2014, April). Dementia. Lecture conducted from Massachusetts’s College of Liberal Arts, North Adams, MA.
It is evident from the literature that, the adverse effects of dementia make changes in patients quality of life by changing their behavioural and functional abilities including expression of feelings or communicational skills. As a result, it becomes a challenge for the health care provider to assess or identify pain or symptoms of pain in dementia patients when they are unable to articulate their needs. Using a pain measurement tool helps the health care provider to meet this challenge, thus improve the pain management in persons with severe cognitive impairment. Throughout the research, in order to find out the suitable diagnostic tool for pain assessment in patients with advanced dementia, author reviewed studies on different pain assessment
Kumar, S., Rao, S. L., Sunny, B., & Gangadhar, B. N. (2007) Widespread cognitive impairment
Although as we age from young adulthood to adult we think of aging as something exciting, but when we step into late adulthood that excitement will turn into fear. The level of late adulthood will cause physical and cognitive challenges. Therefore, according to Harada, Natelson, & Triebel, (2013), the amount of over the age of 65 in America is growing double its size in the upcoming decades. Nonetheless, it becomes necessary to comprehend the cognitive changes that accommodate aging. One of the main and most common challenge of aging in late adulthood is dementia and mild cognitive impairment which either of them will cause the patient to experience the disability to recall memories or information, not being able to reason and dementia, more specifically, clouds their judgment. Although it is not set that all the elder adults will be diagnosed with either of these illnesses, but knowing about how cognitive changes associate with age will help us to understand and allow us to differentiate between the normal and ill stage as they go through everyday
For example, non-verbal patients cannot vocalize that their pain is an 8 out of 10 on a numerical pain scale. This population requires use of the checklist of nonverbal pain indicators (CNPI) where the patients movements or facial grimaces may indicate pain. Dementia patients also may not be able to vocalize correctly and could benefit better pain management with the Abbey Pain Scale Assessment of Discomfort in Dementia (ADD) protocol. (10) Once an assessment tool has been chosen, the same tool should be used at each follow-up for accurate reassessments. Knowing your clients and their individualized needs ensures pain is properly assessed and therefore properly
Summary: This journal explains how there is a correlation between pain and neuropsychiatric symptoms. The journal talks about how pain is a symptom of many dementia clients that goes untreated and then could end up causing neuropsychiatric symptoms for the client. In elderly clients facial expressions and body language is how emotions are interpreted many times. The problem with this is that the symptoms for pain are very similar to those of neuropsychiatric symptoms. Differentiation between these is very important so that the patient can be treated properly. As stated in the journal untreated pain could cause a distressing mood, aggression, or agitation in clients with dementia. The three women that wrote this journal have so much experience
It is an inevitable fact that the twenty-first century will be impacted by the largest geriatric population of any century. In 2015, the World Health Organization announced that currently 47.5 million people on earth are living with dementia and approximately 7.7 new cases are surfacing every year (WHO, 2015). The U.S.public health system is at a point where it will have to focus its efforts on an entirely different approach to accommodate the growing elderly population that live with dementia. “Dementia is a neurocognitive disorder caused by various brain illnesses that affect perception, cognition and motor function” (Ridder & Gummesen, 2015). Dementia directly affects quality of life (QOL) of the elderly, and it can impair “participation,
Alzheimer’s the most common type of dementia (Alzheimer’s Association, 2017). Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive declines in cognitive and functional abilities (Xie, Oremus, & Gaebel, 2011). In comparison, Alzheimer’s Association’s website (2017) defines Alzheimer’s disease as a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking, and behavior. As a certified nursing assistant (CNA) working in a nursing home, I gained knowledge about the way AD affected people. Just like most people, I believed Alzheimer’s disease was a normal part of aging. However, Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging, and it is not just a disease of old age (Alzheimer’s Association,
The prevalence and costs of Alzheimer’s are hard to ignored, as it takes a toll, both
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive form of dementia that gradually destroys their memory, cognitive ability, and ability to fend for themselves.(r.3) Symptoms for Al...
The marked physical and cognitive functional declines over time often results in placing individuals with moderate to severe stage of dementia in the aged care facility with high level of care. Dementia associated behavioural symptoms, such as agitation and confusion, are the clinical manifestations throughout the trajectory of the disease, which impacts on residents’ quality of life and increases the stress of caring staff (Gitlin, Kales & Lyketsos 2012).
Pain is a complicated phenomenon that is challenging for healthcare personal to measure because it is an experience that can only be judged by the person going through it. Pain is experienced at all ages of life, but the occurrence of pain more than doubles once an individual is over the age of 60 (Hanks-Bell, Halvey, & Paice, 2004). Pain is often overlooked and undertreated in the aging population living in long term care (LTC). It is estimated that 45% to 83% of older adults living in long term care facilities are faced with undertreated pain (Hanks-Bell et al., 2004). Pain that is unrelieved has significant consequences on a person’s sleep, functional, cognitive, emotional, and social status (Hanks-Bell et al., 2004). When a person is in