Dementia Definition And Impact In Australia

Dementia is a phrase that refers to a set of characteristics that impact remembering, recollection, reasoning, and social competence to the point that they impede your regular activities (Ng & Ward, 2018). Loss of remembering capacity is a common symptom of dementia, although various factors can cause it. Loss of memory is not always a marker of dementia. However, it is generally one of the first symptoms (Arvanitakis, et al., 2019).

Dementia is presently Australia’s third-highest number source of illness severity. Australians are diagnosed with up to 472,000 of the population, and dementia affects greater than 50 per cent of those in domestic elderly care (Hebditch, et al., 2020).  Approximately 134,900-337,200 Australians regularly provide care or support to someone with dementia (Australian Government Department of Health, 2022). The Dementia in Australia 2021 study is the leading of its sort in over a decade, and it was produced with the support of the Australian Institute of health and welfare (Harrison, et al., 2020).

The Australian Government is continuing to invest in dementia programs and assistance, including coaching to about 3,000 individual care staff to become dementia rulers inside of their associations, an uptick in initial services and support, including such counselling sessions, and education for about 30,000 persons with dementia at their residence so individuals can stay separate, and greater accessibility of recuperation locations (Harrison, et al., 2020).

Despite the fact that dementia may strike anyone at any age, it is more common as people get older. It is most common in individuals aged 65 and higher, but it is not a normal part of growing older. It is a major source of dependency and disability among the elderly (Hebditch, et al., 2020). It has a significant influence not just on the persons who have dementia but also on their relatives and caregivers, as dementia patients gradually become reliant on their caretakers (Arvanitakis, et al., 2019).

With an ageing population, Australia’s demography is expected to see an increase in the number of people with dementia over time, even though the condition grows more common as people approach older and primarily impacts the aged population (Harrison, et al., 2020). According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, (2022), by 2030, the proportion of persons with dementia is predicted to rise to 550,000-590,000. Key Facts And Primary Healthcare Intervention Discussion Paper

In Australia, dementia was the second leading cause of death in 2018, accounting for over 14,000 deaths. Dementia was the leading source of death among females, accounting for over 9,000 deaths, while it was the third leading cause of death among males, accounting for roughly 5,000 deaths.

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Prevalence And Projections Of Dementia In Australia

During 2008 and 2017, the number of fatalities attributed to dementia increased by 68 per cent. Furthermore, the dementia death rate climbed from 33-42 people per thousand. This could be owing to changes in the way dementia deaths are recorded, as well as an increase in the number of older people with dementia (Ng & Ward, 2018).

The target audience aimed at educating in this pamphlet addressing dementia is the health care professionals, especially the primary healthcare nurses (Koutoukidis, et al., 2020).  These nurses are enlisted nurses, registered nurses, and nursing assistants who can database with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency but whose mastery is precise to the primary healthcare perspective, as defined by the having to register ministry’s license to practice, instructional preparedness, the relevant statute, norms, and identifiers. Like nursing assistants in other configurations, primary healthcare nursing staff have expert, legal, and take the appropriate steps that include demonstrating sufficient knowledge and understanding, greater transparency for practice, compliance with healthcare and life regulations, and the safeguards of personal and team privileges (Morgan, et al., 2019).

This pamphlet discusses about several key aspect of the primary care intervention of the dementia care. For instance, the pamphlet discusses the health promotion, illness prevention and intervention strategy to improve the condition of dementia patient.

For health promotion, increased focus needs to be given in fall prevention. Dementia patient has increased chance of falling, which can cause serious health injury (van, et al., 2019). Also, they have higher chance to develop delirium and confusion. Hence, it is important to closely monitor their condition to improve their health. Also, such patient has 2x more chance to get readmitted into the hospital. Therefore, it is important to be ready to quickly admit a patient in hospital if required.

The main primary care intervention includes properly observing the condition of the patient and offering assistance to improve the condition (Arvanitakis, et al., 2019). Interventions like fall risk assessment, physical exercise, cognitive therapy and reminiscence therapy can help to improve the condition of a dementia patient (Morgan, et al., 2019). However, to do so close monitoring and providing quality care is important (Koutoukidis & Stainton, 2020).

According to the primary care principal, identification and recognition of the condition of dementia condition is important to provide care. To do so, it is important to engage in a therapeutic conversation with the patient to collect subjective and objective data, and formulating a care plan (Levy-Storms et al. 2016). However, it might be possible that a patient having dementia may not able to properly communicate. Therefore, a nurse needs to have increased competency and use prior knowledge to communicate with such patient.

Primary Care Intervention For Dementia Patient – Key Aspects

A nurse needs to follow all of the NMBA conducts and adhere to the NSQHS principal to provide a safe and quality care. According to the NMBA standard 2, the nurse needs to respect the decision and beliefs of a dementia patient. This will help to improve patient satisfaction, leading to a good outcome. Also, according to the NMBA standard 6, the nurse needs to provide a safe care to the patient to reduce the chance of adverse outcomes (Cashin et al. 2017). The nurse needs to follow NSQHS standard 4 “medication safety” and documentation to provide correct medication at correct time.

Also, collaboration and coordination with other professionals are important to provide a quality care. In this case, offering a person-centered care will lead to better outcome (Kim & Park, 2017).

Furthermore, I will also adhere to this principal during my placement. I will try to engage in a therapeutic communication with the patient to comfort the patient, as well as collecting necessary information to create the care plan.  Also, I will collaborate with other professional as a part of multidisciplinary team (MDT) to develop appropriate care plan.

According to the role of primary healthcare nurses (NMBA standard for practice 2016), the following points need to be considered: (Koutoukidis & Stainton, 2020).

• Thoroughly investigates and evaluates nursing practice.
• Communications, both therapeutic relationships with the patient, are important to him.
• Preserves the capacity to practice.
• Evaluated by dividing thoroughly.
• Creates nursing practice plan.
• Offers high nursing care in a secure, acceptable, and timely manner.
• Assesses results to improve nursing practice.

Therefore, nurses play a vital role in maintaining a patient’s health conditions suffering from dementia. With walk-in constant support and assistance, Primary Healthcare Nurses urge clients to remain to accomplish as much for themselves as feasible. They believe patience is the most important aspect required to tame patients with dementia. Checking on them regularly will assist in preventing falls and other mishaps (Morgan, et al., 2019). Nurses are the ideal caregivers because they assist patients. Spreading the load, delegating work, and giving yourself mental and physiological breaks are good ideas (van, et al., 2019). They believe that improving and protecting one’s health, particularly reducing social isolation and health inequities, has a favorable impact on financial and societal growth and international peace (Commonwealth of Australia, 2013).

References:

Arvanitakis, Z., Shah, R. C., & Bennett, D. A. (2019). Diagnosis and management of dementia. Jama, 322(16), 1589-1599. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.4782

Cashin, A., Heartfield, M., Bryce, J., Devey, L., Buckley, T., Cox, D., … & Fisher, M. (2017). Standards for practice for registered nurses in Australia. Collegian, 24(3), 255-266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2016.03.002

Commonwealth of Australia. (2013). NATIONAL PRIMARY HEALTH CARE STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK [Ebook]. ISBN: 978-1-74241-973-2 Online ISBN: 978-1-74241-974-9

Dementia – Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2022). Retrieved 25 March 2022, from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/dementia.

Dementia in Australia 2021 report released. Australian Government Department of Health. (2022). Retrieved 25 March 2022, from https://www.health.gov.au/news/announcements/dementia-in-australia-2021-report-released#:~:text=Dementia%20is%20now%20the%20third,for%20a%20person%20with%20dementia.

Harrison, S. L., Lang, C., Whitehead, C., Crotty, M., Ratcliffe, J., Wesselingh, S., & Inacio, M. C. (2020). Trends in prevalence of dementia for people accessing aged care services in Australia. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 75(2), 318-325. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glz032

Hebditch, M., Daley, S., Wright, J., Sherlock, G., Scott, J., & Banerjee, S. (2020). Preferences of nursing and medical students for working with older adults and people with dementia: a systematic review. BMC medical education, 20(1), 1-11.  Key Facts And Primary Healthcare Intervention Discussion Paper