Essay Sample on Dementia and Alzheimers Cases in UK

ABSTRACT

Dementia cases in the U.K. are steadily on the rise and it is estimated by Alzheimer's U.K. (2018) that the number of people suffering from dementia, between the ages of 60 and 90, will double by end of 2020. Being that old person in the U.K. are the most affected by dementia, they are at a unique advantage point to 'draw' an in-depth picture of the efficacy of early diagnosis procedures used, about dementia. There still exists a knowledge gap, on whether an early diagnosis of dementia will improve the current situation as Brayne and Kelly (2019) argue in their research of early screening of dementia. This study, through a critical review, thus investigated: The Efficacy of Early Diagnosis of Dementia, with focus on Older People under Inpatient Care in the United Kingdom. Older people in this study were people between the ages of 60 to 90. This age set was chosen as per the report by Alzheimer's U.K. (2018), previously mentioned. The sources reviewed to arrive at the findings of this paper stemmed from medical journals, books, interviews done by medics on old dementia patients and further, reports done by medical bodies that deal with old people suffering from dementia. From the sources reviewed, it was evident that early diagnosis of dementia did contribute significantly to higher referral rates and more people under care in in-patient hospitals. By this factor, this study also established that medics had more time to test, diagnose, advise and medicate patients suffering from dementia. However, an interesting view established by this study's critical review is that early diagnosis of dementia does not seem to affect mortality arising from dementia, in both patients whose diagnosis was made early and those who were diagnosed at later stages. This paper thus recommends that: clearer targets be set within policy statements that determine early diagnosis procedures. More sensitization is done about the need for early diagnosis of dementia. People diagnosed with dementia be given more say in their treatment.

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Declaration

I declare that the work hereby presented is my novel work and has not been plagiarized from any source or previously done studies. All the sources used in this study have been cited and referenced.

Acknowledgements

I acknowledge my supervisors who played a vital role in guiding me on how to make the study better and better each time I sent for corrections.

I also thank all my colleagues whom we have studied and worked in collaboration to facilitate our success.

Lastly, I thank my family for apt support and creating a favorable environment that enabled me to study with ease.

Operational Definition of Terms

AD-Alzheimer's Disease.

OLDER PEOPLE-Citizens in the U.K. between the ages of 60 and 90.

ADL- Activities of daily living.

CPRD- Clinical Practice Datalink.

MMSE - Mini-Mental State Examination.

BEHAVE-AD - Behavioral Pathology in Alzheimer's disease.

DLB - Dementia with Lewy bodies.

STIGMA- stigma is the condemnation of, or discrimination against, a person or a group of people based on perceivable social characteristics that serve to distinguish them from other members of society.

Introduction

There has been much talk within the medical sphere in the United Kingdom of the growing concern of Alzheimer's disease, amongst other forms of dementia. According to Alzheimer's U.K (2018), Alzheimer is the most common type of dementia in the U.K. Literature indicates that in the next two decades, the number of people suffering from different forms of dementia in the United Kingdom, between the ages of 60 and 90 will almost certainly double (Alzheimer's U.K. 2018). According to ONS (2018), the number of the aging population in the UK is on the rise and currently, the number of people above the age of 65 years amounts to about 12 million. The 12 is composed of million aged population 1.6 million people above the age of 85 years, more than 500,000 people above the age of 90 years, 5.4 million people above the age of 75 years and 14,430 people who are centenarians (ONS 2018). To this effect, the government has put aside considerable resources and personnel to facilitate the early diagnosis of dementia as one of the means to combat the high mortality rates caused by Alzheimer type of dementia in the U.K (McKeith, Cummings 2005). There additionally are policies to ensure that all medical institutions refer clients to mental health specialists if they suspect the patient to have dementia (Maxwell 2005, p.56). Medically, older people have been identified to be more susceptible to dementia, which is a mental illness characterized by declining memory and reduced thinking capacity. The WHO health report (2017) affirms that globally, over 45 million people are living with dementia, with 40% of this population being above the age of 50. The health report also noted that there are 10 million new occurrences of dementia annually, these usually go unnoticed due to lack of proper early diagnosis mechanisms and confusion of dementia symptoms with old age bodily malfunctions (McMunn, Hyde, Janevic, Kumari 2003).

On its own, England accounted for 850,000 of the 45 million number aforementioned (Alzheimer's Research UK, 2018) living with dementia, this figure is expected to hit the one million mark in six years and over two million by 2050. There seems to be a discrepancy between the frameworks and mechanisms put in place to curb and treat dementia occurrence in the U.K. and the reality on the ground (Kitamura, Tochimoto, Kitamura, Madachi, and Hino 2015). From the sad statistics, it is likely that that the reality of dementia in the U.K. is will not change, hence, it is prudent how and why early diagnosis of dementia should be looked into earnestly (Meek et al. 2018).

Alzheimer's disease is the most prevalent form of dementia, which not only brings with it psychological, physical and economic ramifications to those suffering from it but social changes to those affected by it (WHO 2017). The early signs of Alzheimer's disease are closely related to the sensory impairments people have at their old age, hence it is difficult to tell, without a proper and timely diagnosis, if an old person is suffering from Alzheimer's or any other form of dementia or if they are simply aging (Min, Ailshire, Crimmins 2016). Andrews (2015) established that the cognitive decline most people between the age of 60 and 90 experience is the most common symptom of dementia. Following its onset, as the author argues, the patient will frequently get lost in familiar places and frequently forget things. Andrews (2015) argues that this then progress to intermediate and late stages of the condition where the symptoms become more serious. The patient person may soon have no self-awareness at all.

There are existing policies and health initiatives set up in the U.K. to aid alleviate the challenge of diagnosing and treating dementia, but the policies and initiatives have had numerous challenges (Behrman et al. 2017, p.520). Aside from having insufficient funding and manpower to conduct thorough tests that foster early diagnosis of dementia, there is a concern of dementia patients not being treated with dignity and respect (NHS UK 2011). Additionally, the number of people willing to undergo a dementia test seems to be dropping steadily (NHS UK 2011). Given the above statistics, the challenge of dementia is and will still be a major hurdle for the health sector of the United Kingdom, especially amongst older people in the population. The discrepancy between early diagnosis mechanisms, treatment framework used in dementia cases and that of dementia reality/rising figures in the U.K. thus needs to be investigated, so that the underlying impediments to the frameworks and mechanisms put in place can be brought to light (Peres et al. 2008). To gain further insight into the factors that promote or discourage the early diagnosis of dementia, this dissertation uses a critical review process. This dissertation aims to contribute to the current literature on dementia by carefully amalgamating the narratives of dementia patients, medics, researchers and the general public, to arrive at a more complete account of the early diagnosis of dementia in the U.K.

Aim of the StudyTo establish the use of early diagnosis of Alzheimer's type of dementia as improves outcome and whether access to early diagnosis is widespread in the U.K.

Objectives of the Study

Identify literature on early Alzheimer diagnosis i.e. how it is conducted.

To critically explore and analyze literature on early diagnosis of Alzheimer's type of dementia and identify prevailing themes.To discuss themes identified in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's type of dementia and compare them to policy statements the U.K. health sector has on Alzheimer's type of dementia.

To provide pertinent conclusions and recommendations that can be used in future practice.

Methodology

Apart from allowing freedom of exploration of a topical issue, critical reviews seek to establish the reasons why a particular phenomenon occurs as it does and further, attempts to break down the conceptual framework in which the particular phenomenon occurs (Sackett et al. 2001). The objectivity of any critical review comes from how well the researcher can develop and explain the underlying theories of an occurrence in addition to seeking what other disciplines have written regarding the...