As you age, cognitive change is a normal process. Abilities like reasoning, memory, and the speed you process something gradually decrease over time. The reason cognitive functions decrease are because your blood vessels narrow and become less stretchy. This might cause blood flow to the brain and other important organs to decrease. An elderly person's blood pressure may also get higher or lower. When speaking to an elderly patient, a healthcare worker needs to be speak clearly and slowly to make sure the patient understood you. Some ways you can do that is having the patient repeat back to you the directions you gave them and/or write them down so they have something to look at if they forget. Other ways to make sure an elderly patient definitely
Dementia is common among a large population of elderly people. The disease affects not only the individual diagnosed, but also the caregivers that work towards making their life comfortable in the end. Understanding and learning about the disease is crucial in helping those that experience or live with someone who has dementia. The services and support that are currently in affect for elderly people with dementia and the caregivers is poor, and ineffective because of the lack of research and information on the topic.
In the healthcare setting, teach-back is used when patient education is required (Tamura-Lis, 2013, p. 270). Teach-back is defined as a non-shaming process of asking patients to repeat information in their own words (Tamura-Lis, 2013, p. 268). It involves teaching and learning between two participants. Patients who have low health literacy levels are at risked for the need of teach-back. These include patients who are older than 60 years old (Eadie, 2014, p. 9). Older adult patients may have sensory alterations that impair communication (Potter & Perry, 2013, p. 181). In addition, patients from low socioeconomic status and minority groups are more likely to have inadequate health literacy (Tamura-Lis, 2013, p. 267). Nevertheless, assessment tools are available to identify a patient’s health literacy level (Eadie, 2014, p. 11)
Cognitive decline is how you you called the process getting worse over time. At the last stage the person is no longer able to communicate and they depend entirely on others. What causes alzheimer’s disease is not really known but it appears that it
People with dementia may be subject to mistreatment and abuse in the community or in care homes and hospitals. Those with dementia can be more vulnerable to abuse as they may find it difficult to discuss their feelings and experiences or remember what happened to them. Dementia can also make it harder to detect abuse.
...tions in the number of synaptic spines and functional synapses contribute to annual reductions of as much as 0.5% to 1.0% in cortical thickness (the cortex is the outermost layer of the brain) and sub-cortical volume in some regions of the brain (Fjell & Walhovd, 2010). Working memory declines in both speed and function, so they forget names, locations of important objects, appointments and medication schedules (Smart, 2012). Both physical fitness and exercise in the form of stimulation among multiple channels aid in slowing cognitive decline and could potentially provide success to individuals (Whitbourne & Whitbourne, 2010). However, Horn and Cattell found that memory, crystallized intelligence, and fluid knowledge all decreased after age of 70 despite level of education, physical activeness and the number and variety of stimulating experiences (Smart, 2012).
tends to increase with age, but there is a big difference between normal forgetfulness and Alzheimer's disease. There are three things to know about Alzheimer's: the facts and figures, the seven stages, and the changes in the brain.
Alzheimer's disease is ending the brains and lives of our country's people, stealing them from memory, the ability to reason, and affecting their emotions and behavior. Alzheimer's disease weakens the brain. The longer we live the greater the risk: one out of every two Americans aged 85 and older and one out of every 10 aged 65 and older are afflicted with the disease. It affects two groups: those with the disease and the loved ones who care for them. Alzheimer's diseases changes the way people view the world.
...using words your patient is used to and will understand. Clarify your message with body language, tone of voice, facial expression touch and gestures.
Knapton, S 2014, ‘Brains of elderly slow because they know so much’ Telegraph Media Group, published in the Journal of Topics in Cognitive Science, viewed on the 22nd of march 2014
overcoming elderspeak. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 30(10), 17-25. Retrieved from CINAHL Plus with Full Text database.
During late adulthood, which begins around 65, many changes will take place. Death, sickness, and aging are some of the things you go through. Everyone is affected at some point. Individuals deal with these changes differently. Gerontology is the science that deals with the aging process. Vision can show impairment as people age. One of the changes in vision is the loss of accommodation of the lens. Most people 65 and older have hardened eye lens and have lost elasticity if the lens. Cataracts can form and vision becomes cloudy and is significantly impaired. Glaucoma is a serious condition that causes pressure to increase within the eye and it can result in blindness. Often hearing decreases with age. The hair cells in the Corti (inner ear) can cause a decrease in hearing frequencies. The ossicles and eardrum have a decrease in the transmittance of mechanical sound waves. Due to aging many elderly people have hearing impairment. Loss of appetite from connective tissue cells replacing taste buds. Skin can become thin, dry, and inelastic as it ages and the skin can fold and wrinkle from sagging.
Dementia is common in older adults and may develop gradually or even suddenly. Dementia is very common and is used as an umbrella term to describe a wide range of symptoms. It is also important to note that, “Dementia is more prevalent in older adults with the rate doubling about every 5 years after the age of 75 (Erber,2005; Papalia et al.,1996)” (Davis, Gfeller, & Thaut, 2008). Dementia
Introduction This assignment critically discusses dementia, a widespread disability among older adults today. It provides an introduction to dementia and analyses its prevalence in society. The various forms of dementia are elaborated with descriptions of dysfunctions and symptoms. Nursing Assessment and Interventions are provided in the further sections which discuss actions nurses should take while evaluating patients and treating them.
Human behavior changes mature behavior to gradually decreased responsiveness and incapacitation. According to “Invitation to Life Span,” Berger states, “Like every other part of the body, the brain slows down with age… the total size of the brain decreases” (Berger, 2010, p.435). Berger mentions several ways in which aging brains slow down. Difficulty with multitasking is one of the indications of an aging brain. When people age, multitasking is becomes more difficult for them in two ways: they are unable to focus on multiple objectives and distractions become more difficult to ignore. For example, an aging brain is able to focuses only on driving instead of talking to the passenger at the same time, and is able to read a book, but would be distracted by music. Lack of sleep is another cause for slowing of the brain’s thinking process especially, for short term memory. For example, if a person is not able to sleep all night because he/she has to study for their exams, this person, when ready to take the test, will not retain the memory of what his/her was studying. Therefore, the person’s brain is gradually losing long-term memory b...
Cognition is a process which is not just about thinking quickly and making risky decision but also includes the vocabulary skill, thinking critically, analyze data, problem solving, emotion recognition. For example: vocabulary skill usually peaks at 60s. Language is interesting but not easy to learn. It’s not a problem to learn a word, we can learn it for one or two seconds. However, when we learn 10, 100, 1000 or more words it truly a big problem. One of varieties skills which improve when we are old is critical thinking which is a very important skill in every aspects. Critical thinking depends on each person, because each of us has different knowledge, background, experience, and the ability to think but this skill can be trained if people focus more on it. Critical thinking usually peaks at 60s or early 70s, the same for analyze and solving problem (Jenna Birch, 2015). When people are old they are considered that their cognition become slowly gradually . Therefore, to make up for their shortage they use their critical thinking, solving problem skill… to from a strategy, carefully make a plan, look at different aspect to make decisions which are mostly right and effective. If there brain decline they are definitely unable to do these complicated