Effects of Dementia | Considering Gender and Age

Dementia has been associated with impaired memory, poor orientation, low thinking capacity, low comprehension, language problems, poor calculation, poor judgment and learning capacity. With such effects there is need to establish the magnitude on the patients so as to paint a clear picture of the pandemic. This proposal seeks to identify the effects of dementia with patients in general and particularly the different genders and age groups.

Data from hospitals will be collected to identify the various effects where they will then be recorded in excel worksheets for analysis. The data will be from hospitals in a given region and randomly selected files from each hospital. Age groups and gender representations in the data will also be identified, calculated and presented to ensure there is comprehensive knowledge on the impact of dementia in the region.

Introduction

Dementia is a word that has been used to describe a set of signs that influence brain function. A number of factors including head trauma, Alzheimer’s diseases and even stroke can cause this phenomenon. It is usually diagnosed if two or more functions of brain, like language skills, memory or perception, and cognitive skills are affected. In most cases, memory loss is the main common symptom of dementia, however, if that is the only symptom depicted then dementia is not diagnosed.

The effects of dementia on patients can affect several aspects of life. It is very vital to be aware of symptoms that may occur when the brain function is influenced. Some of the major common symptoms of dementia are having trouble in completing tasks that previously were familiar, short-term memory loss, problem of identifying what is the time and where one is, changes in mood and personality, forgetting simple terms and phrases, or even losing things, (Schienberg 2010).

Review of literature

Memory Loss and performing previously activities

This is one of the effects of dementia. Long-term and short-term memory can be because of brain damage. A patient dealing with dementia might forget that they have already asked a particular question hence will ask again, or at other times, they might begin to have challenges in completing tasks that they have been doing routinely. The short term memory takes in information and starts the memory process, if it has no ability to move that information, to the long term memory, then such information will be lost and never recovered again.

Some types of dementia resulted to problems in this area, for instance an individual might ask similar information he has been given, meaning that it did not pass short-term memory. Brain damage and cell loss, might also lead to challenges with short-term memory. When essential parts of brain that house long-term memories get affected, people start experiencing problems in doing things that they have been doing previously, (Schienberg 2010).

The Effects of Dementia on Cognitive Skills

It is clear that individuals with dementia have needs for support in undertaking daily activities. This is because the cognitive limitations that occur as a result of being affected by dementia disease set several requirements on the interface design. The need to be supported concerns the facilitation of the short-term memory; the cognitive prosthesis has to recognize physical limitations like reduced Visio-partial functions and reduction in performing activity capabilities. The human traits also become affected because of dementia disease. This usually affects patients who frequently have failures in their day-to-day life due to fading social and cognitive capabilities, (Sidel et al 1999)

Dementia and Sexuality

Sexual needs and caring expressions are very important during illness course. Progression of symptoms changes the very nature of partners’ relations. Both care receivers and caretaker might need increased reassurance that comes from being held, loved, touched, and receiving attention from one another. Issues like depression, dementia, or even the impacts of pharmacological regimes change many conditions. Most individuals with dementia rejects all affectionate overtures, while others, inmate contact, affection, sexual pleasures and warmth capacities may remain, and in some cases increase than ever before.

When behavior and mind is changed by dementia, normal faculties decline, sexual needs and desires for affection still exists better after normal capacities have declined. Several problems happen at inappropriate times with demented individuals; physical and emotional abuse, decline in personal hygiene, changes in personality, verbal abuse, and even exhaustion of caregivers from care giving demands, (Alzheimer’s Association 1998)

The major problem is that, care receivers ends up displaying inappropriate sexual behaviors even in public places, especially if they are also demonstrating in home setting. In some other cases, dementia individuals loose correct judgment for socially acceptable manners. Dementia makes individuals in some cases, to misperceive the cues of behavior of other individuals.

Dementia Has On Language

Language skill impairment affects effective communication and can lead to development of disruptive behaviors. Most of this disruption is because of severe dementia symptoms. Dementia individuals use fewer total words, less unique words, fewer subordinate clauses, fewer prepositional phrases, , and more sentence fragments that are incomplete. Greater severity is connected to laconic speech that is syntactically less complex. Research has shown that lexicon deficit is more susceptible to disruption in dementia than the syntax, (Hier et al, 2004).

Visual impairment

When one has dementia the risk of visual impairment is also possible; this is normally related to the aged. The effects include having problems in focusing on objects where patient will be affected while reading (Iliffe, & Manthorpe, 2005). There is also low color and contrast sensitivity where that patient is not able to clearly identify colors. In addition the patient has inaccurate judgment of distance and could result to falling while walking or misjudged placement of objects (Iliffe, & Manthorpe, 2005). The patient normally observes blur images which makes him/her unable to conduct normal routine practices hence affects the patients normal life.

Problem statement

Dementia has continued to affect persons silently where many have continued to be infected and other affected. The ailment has continued to torment the patients with some incurring huge bills whereas it is a chronic ailment. Once it affects the brain patients progressively deteriorate in health, this gives a justified reason for its study. Due to its effects on the patient such as impaired memory, orientation, thinking, comprehension, language, calculation, judgment and learning capacity its effects must be identified and prevented (Winblad, et al., 2001).

The causes of the disease such as Alzheimer’s disease and cerebrovascular disease should be identified and its effects to the patients addressed through the necessary measures. The disease affects the functionality of individuals and if young brains are affected then the population will loose since it will affect their growth and development (Iliffe, & Manthorpe, 2005). Once a person has brain dysfunctions, there is a lot of stigma from the society on not only the patient but also family of the patient therefore the issue needs to be addressed.

Dementia is also a cause for impairment and death. This leads to pain and anguish for the family and friend of the deceased due to the loss of a loved one. Such effects should be reduced or zero rated so that such incidences never occur. The effects dementia has on the patient are identified by this report through proper data on the leading effects and how they can be addressed (Kitwood, 1997). Graphs, charts, figures, and tables will be used to present the raw data, where proportional representation of the occurrence in each hospital and in the general population will be presented. This will be useful in identifying the cases reported in the sample and deduce inference for the population.

Research question

The study tries to determine the general effects of dementia and specifically to;

Determine the effects that dementia has on memory loss

Determine the effects that dementia has on sexuality

Determine the effects that dementia has on language

Determine the effects that dementia has on cognitive skills

Determine the effects that dementia has on visual input

Determine the effects that dementia has on thinking reacting and performing activities.

Determine the effects of deaths caused by dementia to the family members

Methodology

The study targets patients with dementia particularly those that are admitted in hospitals but not limited to them. Those who have been discharged and the families of the infected will also provide the necessary data. The data provided in the hospitals will be confidential and will conceal any identity of the persons involved. Data will be obtained from hospitals that will be selected in a region to represent the whole population. Few random samples will be identified from the files from each hospital from the current and former patients with dementia. Hospitals that major on brain ailments will be identified and patient files obtained from management so as to consolidate the data.

The main objective will be to identify the causes and effects of dementia on the patients; this will be grouped in to both male and females where the data will be filled in excel worksheets. The data will also seek to identify the effects on the different age groups where the young (16-19), middle aged (20-35) and aged (35 and above) will be identified. The different effects such as memory loss, sexuality, language, cognitive skills, visual input, thinking reacting and performing activities or any other unique effects will be identified and filled up in the worksheet for both male and females (Rockwood, & Joffres, 2002). Death cases will also be identified and recorded.

The data recorded will then be tallied in the respective effects such that all cases concerning memory loss will be pooled together and counted to establish the numbers. The same will be repeated for all the effects and total of the cases reported calculated.

The patients and family members that are out of the hospital setting identified will also be interviewed and their effects recorded in a separate sheet but the total effects grouped into one sheet i.e. data from the hospital and outside the hospital setting.

The totals will help identify the number of cases in each effect and the total in the samples which will be used to draw deductions for the population being surveyed. The leading effects of dementia on patients will be identified and the rate of their occurrence identified.

Graphs, charts, figures, and tables will be used to present the raw data, where proportional representation of the occurrence in each hospital and in the general population will be presented using charts. Age groups and gender representations in the data will also be identified, calculated and presented to ensure there is comprehensive idea on the number of males and females affected in the region and the most affected age group.

Conclusion

This research will identify the Effects of Dementia with Patients. This will help one identify the effects of dementia as dementia has the capability of taking different forms and affects every person differently. If one notices any symptoms that concern it, it is very important to seek medical attention immediately. This is because; medical attention or treatment has the capability of helping one to prevent or slow the memory loss process and keep one’s brainpower in action.