Essay Sample on Personal Reflection on Dementia

Introduction

The topic covered is very interesting and provides a lot of information on dementia as a very dangerous disease in old people (Kane, 2002). The topic highlights the effect of dementia when it attacks somebody. From the lesson was able to understand various emotions that people around the patient suffering from dementia experience.

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I chose the topic because it is a great lesson to me on the effect of dementia on an individual. It also elaborates to me various symptoms that appear on a person suffering from the disease. Although the symptoms of dementia do not appear at once they began to appear slowly (Miller, 2018). This condition enables me to understand or differential dementia from other diseases that elderly person develop (Stanford, 1992) I also decided to use the topic because in most cases, affected elderly people do not admit to having the disease and therefore it is very difficult to come to the terms easily. The topic is therefore of great interest and preference to me because I would like to know why elderly persons do not wish to admit that they are suffering from the disease.

The topic is very powerful to me in various aspects. It enabled me to learn various things pertaining to dementia. It enabled me to have more information about dementia including its cause, symptoms, prevention and the kind of intervention that can be used to overcome the disease. This is because it cannot be treated medically but it requires education and the effort of support group to overcome dementia.

It is true that personal experience influenced my decision on the topic. My mother was suffering from dementia but I could not identify it before getting information from health officers. I therefore sought to learn about the disease through selecting the topic about dementia. I wanted to gain a more insight about the disease so that I will also help someone to identify, diagnose and to advice someone of appropriate interventions that should be undertaken to reduce the effect of the disease.

Reflection on Geriatric Systems Review/Braden Scale

The topic we covered in class is also very interesting and educative to me. It was a bout Geriatric systems review/Braden scale which is a very important measure for determining the intensity of preventive interventions for patients. It is a very rare topic that is being taught in most medical schools. I believe the geriatric system review is essential in ensuring that appropriate intervention is taken to help patients suffering from sleep disorders (Bergstrom & Braden, 1992). These measures are also essential in ensuring that the patients understand the probability of occurrences of certain diseases and I believe when it is used in determining specific problem of an individual it is easy to determine the kind of treatment appropriate for the disease such as dementia which does not require medication but can be eliminated through the help of support group.

I chose the topic because topic because it has information that I have never come across since I started medical course. The topic would give me information about Geriatric systems review/Braden scale, its function and the role it plays when it comes to the extent to which the intervention is required for a patient suffering from sleep disorders.

The topic is also powerful to me because it allows me to learn a lot about Braden scale because it helps in understanding what should be done when someone is suffering from a given sleep disorder. The topic also gives me an opportunity to learn how to use Braden scale and know where it is being used. I believe that these scales are useful in determining the validity and reliability to assess the riskiness of a patient to contract sleep disorders and other common diseases affecting older generation (Ayello et al, 2008). It is able to discover the problems of old age, hypotension, hemodynamic instability fever, prolonged ICU stays, the severity of illness, comorbid conditions such as diabetes and peripheral vascular disease and obesity can increase pressure ulcers risk beyond the score indicated on the Braden Scale (Bergquist, 2001). From there It is essential to understand various measures that can be taken to overcome the diseases associated with old age.

Personal experience did not influence my decision to choose this topic but I was advised by the teacher to use it as it is a very important topic that will help in throughout my career. I did not know about it but through advice and comments of various medical professionals I sought to know about it.

Personal Reflection on Managing Sleep Disorder in the Elderly

Managing sleep in elderly is an interesting and exposes me to several things that I have never known in life. It is all about managing sleep disorder at old age which most old people are vulnerable to. I support the idea that sleep change with the change in the age of a person. This is true because as people become of age, they are likely to increase the sleeping problem. I cannot dispute that difficulties and sleep disorder are the most common problems that old people experience in their lives (Hood and Kennedy, 2004) This is because these problems are poorly addressed by either healthcare officers or other family members

The topic was powerful to me in many ways. It enabled me to learn several things which I have never known about sleep. The topic helps me identify two types of sleep that elderly person experience. They include rapid eye movement and non-rapid eye movement sleep where each has five stages. Without going through this topic, it is difficult to differentiate between Non-rem and Rem sleeps whereby non REM is a situation where heart rate slows and breathing and blood pressure drops. On the contrary REM sleep is associated with loss of sleep due to shortness of sleep (McCurry et al, 2005). The topic was also powerful to me because I could understand various sleep disorder in aging that older people should manage. They include insomnia which is associated with difficulties in falling asleep or inability to stay asleep. I could understand this disorder as it is associated with distress that happens for only a period of one month. Furthermore, because of this topic, I am able to acknowledge different symptoms of insomnia, its causes and behavioral issues associated with it. I am able to understand and appreciate that this disease is caused by medicinal, mental, and psychiatric issues to ecological and social issues. At the same time, it can be acquired through drug abuse that has the capacity to increase physiologic processes, alcohol, medications, or other substances. Depression is also another sleep disorder which is likely to cause insomnia and this shows why old people seek treatment when they have depression. Other factors that because depression include social isolation, functional impairment, and financial strain and all these are likely to sleeplessness (Miller, 2018). From this topic, I also learned that insomnia and depression do not cause severe daytime sleepiness because they have the power to influence early time awakening or having some difficulties in starting to sleep. From the topic, I also came to know that sleep disorder breathing and sleep apnea have the power to disturb the sleeping pattern of old people. It is estimated that this disorder affects more than 25% of old people

Conclusion

I chose this topic because the problem of the sleeping problem is too common in an elderly person and few people understand how to manage it. Furthermore, it is a very interesting topic for me as I can it can help me understand various sleeping disorders and their various pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatment options that elderly persons can use. I also loved the topic because it highlights the importance of sleep in a human being, especially elderly people. The choice of the topic is significant in exposing the importance of sleep to daily functions of an individual, alertness, and quality of life that one requires. The topic is also appropriate in providing education to different people as it can educate the public on the number of hours one require to sleep at night so as to have the potential to execute normal physiologic processes each day (Miller, 2018). Interestingly, the topic seems to elaborate on what aging does to elderly persons. Personally, I believe it is true that old age is associated with a decrease in the quality of nighttime sleep and the result indicates that 30% of elderly persons undergo through chronic insomnia. I concur with the information available in various articles which show the extent to which age-related insomnia is associated to change in the strength of the circadian regulation of sleep, which is likely to cause the destruction of the sleep-wake cycle.

Truly my personal experiences influence my decision to choose this topic. I have actually faced the same challenge. I have seen elderly persons suffering from systemic illnesses which result from poor sleep. In most cases, I have lived with many elderly persons and their lifestyle is accompanied by a change in sleeping patterns which sometimes result into loss of sleep during the day thus changing the quality of life that they live.

References

Bergstrom N. & Braden B. (1992) A prospective study of pressure sore risk among institutionalized elderly. J Am Geriatr Soc 40(8), 747-758.

Ayello, E., et al. (2008). Preventing pressure ulcers and skin tears. In: Capezuti E., Zwicker, D.,

Bergquist, S. (2001). Subscales, sub-scores, or summative score: Evaluating the contribution of Braden Scale items for predicting pressure ulcer risk in older adults receiving homehealth care. Journal of Wound Ostomy Continence Nursing. 28(6): 279 - 289.

Miller, C. (2018) Nursing for wellness in older adults (8th ed.)

Kane, M: Ethnoculturally-sensitive practice and Alzheimer's disease. American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. March/April 2002; 15(2):80-84.

Shadlen, M.; Larson, EB: Unique Features of Alzheimer's Disease in Ethnic Minority Populations. Full-Color Aging. Washington, DC: Gerontological Society of America. 1999; 33-45.

Stanford, EP: Delivery of Health Promotions Programs: Outreach to Minority Elders. AARP. 1992.

Hood B, Bruck D, Kennedy G. Determinants of sleep quality in the healthy aged: the role of physical, psychological, circadian and naturalistic light variables. Age Aging. 2004; 33(2):159-165

McCurry SM, Gibbons LE, Logsdon RG, Vitiello MV, Teri L. Nighttime insomnia treatment and education for Alzheimers disease: a randomized, controlled trial. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2005;53(5):793-802.