Nursing Case Study

Questions: 1. What information do you need to decide whether Mr. Satos symptoms are normal changes of aging or true indicators of cognitive decline? 2. What resources might you access to help the patient and family? 3. What other disciplines might be important to involve in Mr. Satos care?4. Consider an older adult who is experiencing vision changes and has difficulty reading the small print in the newspaper. Identify ways to assist this patient in taking six daily medications that come in individually labeled pill containers.5. Identify 3 community resources available for the older adult in the community you reside that you can share with your patients. Answers: 1: Mr. Sato has trouble remembering things and sometimes he seems lost while riding. These momentary lapses are normal in aged person as they suffer from the cognitive decline during the aging process. In older people, information processing slows down, and they have trouble multitasking. But this kind of memory complaints are not signs of dementia. Mr. Sato has dementia can be predicted only if he shows the inability to learn and acquire new information. However, mild episodic memory is a precursor of the disease. To confirm dementia in a patient, any two of the following function must be significantly impaired: Memory, communication, and language, ability to pay attention, reasoning and visual perception (Simard et al., 2015). 2: The resource which could help patients and family include linking with the Alzheimer Society. This society can help the patient with the management of disease at the time of diagnosis and during the progression and treatment of illness. Another resource could be education about dementia by awareness programs, support from doctors, coordination from community health care and written resources like medical magazines, etc. to assist patient and family member in dealing with the disease. Respite care and technological ways of dealing with dementia are also helpful (Boots et al., 2014). 3: Other disciplines who are important in caring for Mr. Sato includes- Nurse- Helping in personal care and carrying out daily activities of life. Physician- Helps in identifying a change in cognitive function, counseling, and routine diagnostic evaluation. Geritrician- Helps in evaluation, diagnosis and management of dementia like symptoms. Psychologist- Provides neuropsychological assessment in case mild cognitive disrorder or dementia. Physical therapist- Assist and educates patient and family member in increasing function and mobility (Fraker et al., 2014). 4: To help an older adult having the problem with vision and reading the small print in the newspaper, it is necessary to mark his six medications properly so that he doesn't take wrong medication due to his vision. His six medications may be grouped together according to the time of the day he will have the medicines. Accordingly medications for each time of the day can be separated. Then in the pouch of medication for one time, we can stick stickers or write in bold like morning or lunch or dinner. The old adult can understand by seeing the stickers and take his medication without any confusion. 5: Three community resources for older patients include the following- Adult health care programs- These are licensed community-based health programs providing services to the elderly with chronic diseases, cognitive impairment, and other disabilities. Disease prevention and health promotion programs- These are programs designed to support the older patient in preventing illness and managing their physical condition. These health promotion activities help elderly patients to manage their disease and live an independent life. Community-based adult service: The primary objective of this service is to restore capacity in elderly person to deal with their disabilities and promoting self-care (Tam Tham et al., 2013). Reference Boots, L. M. M., Vugt, M. E., Knippenberg, R. J. M., Kempen, G. I. J. M., Verhey, F. R. J. (2014). A systematic review of Internet based supportive interventions for caregivers of patients with dementia.International journal of geriatric psychiatry,29(4), 331-344. Fraker, J., Kales, H. C., Blazek, M., Kavanagh, J., Gitlin, L. N. (2014). The role of the occupational therapist in the management of neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia in clinical settings.Occupational therapy in health care,28(1), 4-20. Simard, M., van Reekum, R., Cohen, T. (2015). A review of the cognitive and behavioral symptoms in dementia with Lewy bodies.The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences. Tam Tham, H., Cepoiu Martin, M., Ronksley, P. E., Maxwell, C. J., Hemmelgarn, B. R. (2013). Dementia case management and risk of long term care placement: a systematic review and meta analysis.International journal of geriatric psychiatry,28(9), 889-902.