Jessica Eggenton
November 15, 2013
HLT – 305
Dr. Melinda Tolitsky
Humanities in Health Care Practices Dementia is known as “a chronic or persistent disorder of the mental processes caused by brain disease or injury and marked by memory disorders, personality changes, and impaired reasoning” (Google Definition, 2013). You can include art, music, literature, video, and humanities in helping any patient to remember key life events such as marriage, children, education, and well-being. An example to include art would be to tell the patient about a significant moment in their life and then have them paint a picture about that particular moment. Using music can be another great way to help dementia patients by playing them key songs that relate to their life or perhaps re-playing them their first dance song at their marriage reception. Poetry is something that someone can remember easily if they are in tune with the words and it speaks to them on a personal level. Perhaps a physician and the patient can write a short poem about the good memories in life and reminisce on only those things and each morning wake up and read this poem. There are many programs and videos out today that can help patients dealing with dementia, one of these videos being, “Meaningful Activities for Dementia Patients.” This is a thirty minute video that explores a wide range of fulfilling activities that foster self-worth and belonging. This video illustrates how activities can be done one-on-one or in a group setting which I feel is beneficial to have the exposure to both since a dementia patient will be around all sorts of people and sometimes will have time to