...consistent, and comprehensible. “Mental status tests will examine your appearance, orientation, attention span, memory, language skills, and judgment skills” (Martel, 2012, para. 1). The information gained from the mental status examination can be used to prepare forensic psychologists in working with suspects, witnesses, or victims of crime. Elaine Roffban was a witness to a crime. It is known that she has a diagnosis of dementia. The mental status examination allows insight into just how reliable she would be as a witness to the events. General Appearance: Elaine is an 87 year old overweight Caucasian female whose appearance corresponds with her age and has been diagnosed with dementia. While Elaine’s clothing is clean and properly maintained the style is inappropriate for the season. The clothing is more properly suited for fall or winter. In addition the clothing was ill-fitted or too tight for her size. Elaine appears to be well groomed and proper hygiene is evident. Her hair is clean and styled. Elaine maintained eye contact throughout the interview, breaking eye contact only when she needed to focus. Elaine related well with the interviewer and with questioning. She displayed a desire to help and to answer all questions to the best of her ability....
Words: 1735 - Pages: 7
...The Devastation of Dementia: Pathophysiology and Case Study Introduction Relatively little is known about dementia, a disease which affects over 35 million people worldwide (Norton, et al., 2012). Early signs and symptoms may be confused with the “normal” aging process. Those with the disease often try to cover up their mental decline in the early stages, making early diagnosis even more difficult. Educating the medical community and the general population about the signs, symptoms and causes of dementia is an important step in seeking out a cure for this fatal disease. Dementia is a general term for a syndrome that is progressive in nature and is marked by deterioration in cognitive function that is greater than what would normally be expected. There are many types of dementia, the most common of which is Alzheimer’s Disease. Alzheimer’s Disease accounts for over 60% of the cases of dementia. Vascular Dementia is the second most common form. Others include Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinsonian Dementia, and Frontotemporal Dementia. There is no cure for any type of dementia, although there are treatments that help lessen the symptoms. Dementia is a progressive disorder and always results in death, either from complications such as falls" or pneumonia or the dementia itself. The number of people with dementia worldwide is expected to reach over 115 million by the year 2050. The current cost of treating dementia is over 1.5 times that of all cancers combined (Hurd...
Words: 2319 - Pages: 10
...CLINICAL ISSUES Acute care management of older people with dementia: a qualitative perspective Wendy Moyle, Sally Borbasi, Marianne Wallis, Rachel Olorenshaw and Natalie Gracia Aim and objectives. This Australian study explored management for older people with dementia in an acute hospital setting. Background. As the population ages, increasing numbers of older people with dementia are placed into an acute care hospital to manage a condition other than dementia. These people require special care that takes into account the unique needs of confused older people. Current nursing and medical literature provides some direction in relation to best practice management; however, few studies have examined this management from the perspective of hospital staff. Design. A descriptive qualitative approach was used. Method. Data were collected using semi-structured audio-taped interviews with a cross section of thirteen staff that worked in acute medical or surgical wards in a large South East Queensland, Australia Hospital. Results. Analysis of data revealed five subthemes with the overarching theme being paradoxical care, in that an inconsistent approach to care emphasised safety at the expense of well-being and dignity. A risk management approach was used rather than one that incorporated injury prevention as one facet of an overall strategy. Conclusion. Using untrained staff to sit and observe people with dementia as a risk management strategy does not encourage an evidence-based approach...
Words: 6750 - Pages: 27
...Running Head: Dementia in older adults The issue of dementia in older populations is a very prevalent and growing issue. Memory loss and dementia are increasingly prevalent issues that affect older adults and their spouses (McClive-Reed 2010). Due to the fear that surrounds dementia in older patients, a prognosis could lead to a diminished sense of self and reduction in the quality of life, not just for said patient but also for the families or caregivers. In order to better understand dementia and those who suffer from it, let’s look at potential strategies and challenges to engage dementia clients, how to conduct a biopsychosocial assessment of dementia clients, and take ethical consideration into account in respect to a single client that I have chosen, EP. EP is a sixty-nine year old African American female who was previously diagnosed with dementia as well as depression. I met EP after she was admitted to the short-term involuntary psych unit at the hospital to which I am employed as a mental health associate, making me one of her immediate caregivers. She was admitted after proving to be a danger to herself during screening, where it became known that the patient stopped taking appropriate dosages of her medication and became unable to appropriately care for herself as a result. When EP is doing well with her medications, she is able to live a very independent and healthy lifestyle, but this lasts only temporarily as this is not the first time that she has been...
Words: 2450 - Pages: 10
...BRIEF REPORTS Greater Risk of Dementia When Spouse Has Dementia? The Cache County Study [See editorial comments by Dr. Peter P. Vitaliano, pp 976–978] Maria C. Norton, PhD,abc Ken R. Smith, PhD,de Truls Østbye, MD, PhD,fgh JoAnn T. Tschanz, PhD,bc Chris Corcoran, ScD,ci Sarah Schwartz, MS,ci Kathleen W. Piercy, PhD,ac Peter V. Rabins, MD, MPH,j David C. Steffens, MD,k Ingmar Skoog, MD, PhD,l John C. S. Breitner, MD, MPH,mn Kathleen A. Welsh-Bohmer, PhD,g for the Cache County Investigators OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of caring for a spouse with dementia on the caregiver’s risk for incident dementia. DESIGN: Population-based study of incident dementia in spouses of persons with dementia. SETTING: Rural county in northern Utah. PARTICIPANTS: Two thousand four hundred forty-two subjects (1,221 married couples) aged 65 and older. MEASUREMENTS: Incident dementia was diagnosed in 255 subjects, with onset defined as age when subject met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised, criteria for dementia. Cox proportional hazards regression tested the effect of time-dependent exposure to dementia in one’s spouse, adjusted for potential confounders. RESULTS: A subject whose spouse experienced incident dementia onset had a six times greater risk for incident dementia as subjects whose spouses were dementia free (hazard rate ratio (HRR) 5 6.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) 5 2.2–16.2, Po.001). In sex-specific analyses, husbands had higher risks ...
Words: 5331 - Pages: 22
...community study of the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among elderly South Asian immigrants from the Indian sub-continent (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) living in Bradford (UK), we found depression in 20%, dementia in 4% and anxiety neurosis in 4%. Subjects were interviewed at their place of residence by a consultant psychiatrist familiar with their culture and language. The Hindi translation of the community version of the Geriatric Mental State schedule (GMS-A) was also administered. Psychiatrist's ICD-9 diagnosis was compared with GMS±AGECAT computerized diagnosis. We found low-level agreement in dementia cases (kappa 0.33) whereas the agreement in subjects with depression was high (kappa 0.81). In many subjects GMS-A made a diagnosis of dementia not diagnosed as cases by the psychiatrist, who had the bene®t of additional history information from carers in this population from a dierent culture and educational background. These ®ndings are discussed along with suggestions and present limitations of GMS-A in the diagnosis of dementia in cross-cultural research. Larger studies are needed in this population (a) to ®nd out prevalence rates in countries of origin and (b) to investigate the author's (KB) observation of low rates of Alzheimer's type dementia in this population, which may have aetiological signi®cance. # 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Geriat. Psychiatry, 12, 907±912, 1997. No. of Figures: 0. No. of Tables: 2. No. of References: 20. KEY...
Words: 4012 - Pages: 17
...The purpose of this study was to explore what caregivers of clients with dementia think of as positive aspects of caregiving, known as uplifts, and whether some possible interventions based off of the Person-Environment-Occupation (PEO) model could be a strategy for OTs to use for redefining how caregivers think and act, by examining how the caregivers perceive and manage care of clients with dementia. This study was done with a phenomenological approach and took data from interviews collected in a previous study done over five years. From the initial study that included three, 90-minute interviews over the span of six weeks, the researchers in the current study used coding when analyzing the the transcribed interviews. From the coding, the researchers were able to come up with the two main categories for themes that included the caregivers...
Words: 1037 - Pages: 5
...Dementia is the progressive decline of memory that affects a person’s ability to perform everyday tasks such as reasoning. Alzheimer’s is when dementia symptoms deteriorate and people lose the ability to carry on conversations and interact with the environment. Some symptoms include memory loss, mental decline, personality changes, as well as anxiety. It is estimated that 1 in 10 people 65 years or older has dementia or Alzheimer’s. Hypothesis In this article, scientist study whether self-reported memory failure is accurate in reporting early sign of dementia and Alzheimer’s in patients. It is important to be able to detect early sign of dementia disorders so that scientist can find effective medical treatments to slow down the process. In the study, the purpose was to investigate relationship between subjective memory and incident dementia. Subjective memory is an...
Words: 673 - Pages: 3
...If a patient has short-term memory loss due to dementia, he or she will often have a family history of dementia. Short-term memory loss in the elderly is also caused or intensified by inactivity, depression, poor nutrition, dehydration, and lack of mental stimulation, all of which are common in the elderly. This short-term memory loss can progress slowly, rapidly, or stay the same. The most aggressive case that she has seen was an eighty year old woman who recently had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Within two months she had progressed from losing everyday objects to being unable to participate in conversations coherently. The entire year Shawna knew her, Shawna heard her say about three sentences that made sense. One day she looked at me and asked, “When should we knock him off?” She was referring to her husband. ...
Words: 1768 - Pages: 8
...recommendation, centered on the applicant’s ability to be friendly at all times, from people who know the applicant well. On the surface, this option seems doable and helpful. A problem with this method is the long application process for a job that requires such little education and formal skill. Asking about personal life at home could also flirt with invasion of privacy of the applicants. The Assistant Human Resource Manager contended that the interviewing process be modified. During the normal interview there is no attempt to place each applicant in stressful situations. He believed that determining how the applicant reacts under stress could be a solution to this problem. He proposed the hospital ask four or five stress-producing questions to determine how the applicant reacts under duress and particularly with irritable patients. Personally I think that this should be done during every interview. This, however, cannot be the only solution to the issue. It would be very valuable part of the interview process, but some other determinant must be paired with it to achieve the goal. The head of staffing suggested that because the escorts need little mental or physical talent and the only crucial skill is to always be courteous and polite. He suggested an attitude test be taken in order to find out the...
Words: 1269 - Pages: 6
... Identification of Research Topic Over the past five years while working in a residential care home for people with dementia, the researcher has observed that incidents of violence and aggression both physical and verbal towards health care staff happened regularly. The incidents of aggression affected staff mentally and physically but the majority of incidents went unreported. The nursing staff, registered nurses and nursing assistants in this environment both acknowledged the seriousness of this on-going problem to them. However the reluctance to report the aggression is because they considered the aggression to be part of the job despite them acknowledging it as a problem. England is an ageing society and as the population ages, health care providers, government, communities and families are faced with the burden of caring for people with dementia (Cubit, 2010). According to Access Economics (2005), dementia is becoming increasingly predominant to the aging population worldwide. A survey of over 15000 care homes in England and Wales found that 78% of residents were cognitively impaired (Bowman et al, 2004). In addition the Alzheimer`s Society (2007) reported that there are around 750 000 people in United Kingdom with a dementing illness. A more recent survey by the Alzheimer`s Society (2009) reported that around one third of older people with dementia in UK live in residential home care settings, representing 200 000 individuals. According to Leonard et al (2006); Zuidema...
Words: 5535 - Pages: 23
...and Wendy are engrossed in their own lives on the east coast of the USA where John is a professor of drama and Wendy a playwright whose finances are somewhat precarious. Neither have settled relationships and both seem to struggle with a life outside of their work. As they meet in Arizona to visit Lenny, they learn that he has no legal right to live in his Doris’ home and in addition to the faecal smearing there have been fainting episodes,resulting in his hospitalisation for tests. John and Wendy visit Lenny and find him restrained in bed because he was attempting to pull out his intravenous drip and to get up from bed despite being unsteady and having falls. The doctor informs them that their father does not have vascular dementia but most likely a dementia associated with Parkinson’s disease, which accounts for his masked face and blank stare, his disinhibition, aggression and fluctuating disorientation. John decides to find a nursing home for Lenny near to where he lives but Wendy considers that they should try to look...
Words: 1128 - Pages: 5
...UNITS FOR DEMENTIA IN BRITISH COLUMBIA by Annie Murray B.A. St. Thomas University 1998 A PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN THE GERONTOLOGY PROGRAM Annie Murray 2001 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY JUNE 2001 All rights reserved. This work may not be Reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy Or other means, without the permission of the author. ii APPROVAL Name: Degree: Title of Project: Annie Murray Master of Arts Environmental characteristics and staff ratings of newer and older special care units for dementia in British Columbia Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Barbara Mitchell _______________________________________________ Dr. Gloria Gutman, Senior Supervisor _______________________________________________ Dr. Kate Oakley, Supervisor _______________________________________________ Dr. Robert Horsfall, External Examiner Date Approved: _______________________________________________ iii Abstract Due to the greater availability of community resources as well as changes in admission policies, seniors are entering care facilities at an older average age and with higher levels of health needs than was the case twenty years ago. The number of dementia cases has also increased dramatically as well as Special Care Units (SCUs) to house persons with dementia. The purpose of this study was twofold. First it described the physical and operational characteristics of a sample of SCUs for dementia currently...
Words: 29369 - Pages: 118
...Dementia is progressive deterioration in intellectual function and other cognitive skills, leading to a decline in the ability to perform activities of daily living. Diagnosis is by history and physical examination. Potentially reversible causes of cognitive impairment (e.g., drugs, delirium, and depression) should be excluded. Treatment is with general measures and usually a cholinesterase inhibitor, memantine, or both (Lichtenberg, et al., 2003). The term 'dementia' is used to describe the symptoms of cognitive decline and normal sensorium that occur when the brain is affected by specific diseases and conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, stroke and many other rarer conditions. Dementia is not a disease itself but rather a group of symptoms that may accompany certain diseases or conditions. At this time, dementia is irreversible when caused by disease or injury but may be reversible when caused by drugs, alcohol, hormone or vitamin imbalances, or depression. The symptoms of dementia include loss of memory, confusion, and problems with speech and understanding. There is also the loss of intellectual functions (such as thinking, remembering, and reasoning) of sufficient severity to interfere with a person’s daily functioning. Symptoms may also include changes in personality, mood, and behavior. Dementia is also progressive, which means the symptoms will gradually get worse. Each person is unique and will experience dementia in their own way, including how fast...
Words: 2560 - Pages: 11
...Today, concussions are a serious factor in most sports and have moved to the center of attention in public awareness. According to the Sports Concussion Institute, a concussion is “a complex pathophysiological process that affects the brain, typically induced by trauma to the brain” (2016). Most concussions occur without the individual losing consciousness yet these impairments can lead to dementia, aggression, confusion, impaired judgment, and depression and may not be treatable. In fact, per Marcos Abreu, “the American Academy of Neurology discovered that athletes are at greatest risk of repeat injury in the first 10 days’ post-concussion and suggested that the more head injuries a person suffers; the more likely they are to face complications...
Words: 1013 - Pages: 5
