Running head: HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE DELIVERY
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Health and Social Care Delivery for People with Dementia
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HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE DELIVERY
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1.0 Introduction
Disabilities can be caused by several factors and one of the leading causes of
disability amongst the elderly population has been recognized as dementia. It has also been
observed that the prevalence of dementia tends to double during a span of twenty years
wherein the estimated costs of the gross domestic product is pegged at 1 per cent. The
necessities of people suffering with dementia are quite cumulative, chronic and they warrant
support from social and healthcare and also from care-givers from the family. Dementia is
known to make a deep societal impact and the advantages presented by prioritizing early
identification of patients are quite well-rehearsed. This would comprise of predicting the
future requirements of patients and their families and also access to interventions at an early
stage. Psychosocial interventions and utilizing medications within primary care for people
with dementia tends to provide substantial advantages for enhancing the level of care that is
provided [1].
It has been stated by Alzheimer’s Society [2] that the number of people in the UK
who have been diagnosed with dementia totals around 850,000. The authors further state that
this number would witness an exponential increase over the forthcoming decades. As a matter
of fact, [3] goes on to add that one out of every three individuals who have been born in 2015
would tend to develop dementia during the course of their life. Such statistics tend to draw
the attention on the growing issue of dementia within the UK thus rendering it significant for
diverse social and healthcare professionals to provide health and social care in an effective
manner to individuals suffering from dementia. This brief essay will deliberate about social
and healthcare delivery to individuals with dementia on the basis of a bio-psychosocial
viewpoint.
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Figure 1: Global Incidence of Dementia
Source: Erica Lefstad [4].
2.0 Defining Dementia
Dementia has been defined by NICE guideline [5] as a rather progressive as well as
irreversible clinical syndrome that causes diverse kinds of damages to mental functions like,
loss of memory, disorientation, language impairments, challenges in executing day-to-day
activities, self-neglect, personality changes, out of character behaviours and psychiatric
symptoms. On the basis of this definition, it becomes clear as to the manner in which
dementia is known to impact not just the physical or biological facets of the health of an
individual but also the sociological and psychological facets. Tackling these are of much
significance as it has been stated by the World Health Organization (WHO) that health refers
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to state of overall mental, social and physical well-being and does not exclusively refer to a
lack of infirmity or disease.
However, it would also make sense to mention that as of now dementia is incurable.
This is mainly owing to the fact that dementia is an outcome of various underlying health
conditions. Therefore, it is not possible to have a single cure for all kinds of dementia. The
several kinds of dementia would comprise of; vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia,
Alzheimer’s (the most common form), dementia with lewy bodies and several others [6].
3.0 Care Delivery
There is scope for deliberating that the focus in terms of provision of care for people
with dementia would be to assist them to cope and manage their condition in a highly
effective manner, while preventing complications as well as other challenges associated with
health that would be an outcome of a gradual progression of symptoms and illness. It has
been stated by Handley, Bunn and Goodman [7] that social and health care professionals
should focus more on sustaining the independence of patients as much as possible while
tackling the challenges confronted by patients in terms of their day-to-day functioning, in
order to increase their functionality while reducing the need for support. It would also be
critical to stress upon the fact that care management in dementia is rather individualistic as all
individuals with dementia might be confronted with distinct challenges related to their
ailment and this would largely hinge on the stage and nature of their disease.
From a psychosocial viewpoint, the argument that people who have been diagnosed
with dementia tend to suffer negative feelings with regards to their diagnosis, does hold true.
In the likely instance that the patient happens to be a female who has been diagnosed with
dementia recently, it would be important on the part of social and healthcare professionals to
provide the patient and her family with adequate information that would allow them to better
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understand the disease and thus be better prepared to cope with the changes that the patient
and her family members might experience as an outcome of the diagnosis of dementia of the
patient. This argument is supported with a cross-sectional study that was carried out by Lee,
Roen and Thornton [8] which found that it was necessary for people with dementia to be in a
position to understand and derive sense from their diagnosis as this would prove to be helpful
to them in effectively tackling issues pertaining to the required adjustments they would have
to undergo as an outcome of their ailment.
4.0 Conclusion
Care management in dementia would comprise of tackling the psychosocial and
biological effects that emerge due to the condition. The focus in terms of care delivery should
be directed at assisting the patient to sustain their functionality without any unnecessary
complications and effectively allowing the patient and the family to cope with the condition.
Social as well as healthcare professionals need to make sure that interventions of care are
largely personalized which indicate that the stage of dementia and the required concerns and
necessities of patients should be initially identified using diverse strategies and tools.
Offering information to the patient as well as his or her family is critical as it allows them to
get better insights about the condition and thus circumvent any burden or stigma associated
with dementia.
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References
[1]
F. Bunn et al., “Healthcare organisation and delivery for people with dementia and
comorbidity: a qualitative study exploring the views of patients, carers and
professionals,” BMJ Open, vol. 7, no. 1, p. e013067, Jan. 2017, doi: 10.1136/bmjopen2016-013067.
[2]
Alzheimer’s Society, “Dementia UK Second edition - Overview,” 2014. [Online].
Available: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/59437/1/Dementia_UK_Second_edition__Overview.pdf.
[3]
F. Lewis, “Estimation of future cases of dementia from those born in 2015,” 2015.
[Online]. Available: https://www.ohe.org/system/files/private/publications/417 Estimation of future cases of dementia.pdf.
[4]
Erica Lefstad, “The Epidemiology and Impact of Dementia Current State and Future
Trends,” 2015. [Online]. Available:
https://www.who.int/mental_health/neurology/dementia/dementia_thematicbrief_epide
miology.pdf.
[5]
NICE guideline, “Dementia: assessment, management and support for people living
with dementia and their carers,” 2018. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng97.
[6]
NHS, “Dementia,” 2021. https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/dementia/.
[7]
M. Handley, F. Bunn, and C. Goodman, “Dementia-friendly interventions to improve
the care of people living with dementia admitted to hospitals: a realist review,” BMJ
Open, vol. 7, no. 7, p. e015257, Jul. 2017, doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-015257.
[8]
S. M. Lee, K. Roen, and A. Thornton, “The psychological impact of a diagnosis of
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Alzheimer’s disease,” Dementia, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 289–305, May 2014, doi:
10.1177/1471301213497080.
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