Dementia
Dementia is typically seen as one of the most difficult disorders to handle for an individual, as well as family members. Due to the impairment of cognitive functions and their increasing decline, dementia takes a tremendous toll both on a patient and family members due to the disruptions in their bond (Whitlatch & Orsulic-Jeras, 2018). Therefore, the management of dementia often remains an issue of ethics as well as that one of proper health management.
Diseases such as Alzheimer ad other dementia-related mental health concerns currently remain incurable, which is why a program aimed at their prevention rather than the mitigation of their outcomes should be built. Specifically, it will be reasonable to focus on helping patients that may be exposed to the risk of developing dementia to engage in physical exercises and training of mental skills to ensure that they will not be affected by dementia and especially Alzheimer’s in the future.
In addition, apart from training cognitive and physical skills, knowledge management and health literacy play a tremendous role in the prevention of dementia and, particularly, Alzheimer’s in people. Namely, studies show that the current rate of awareness concerning tending to the needs of people with Alzheimer’s, as well as the tools for preventing it from developing early, are largely unknown to the general audience (Kishita et al., 2018).
Therefore, it is strongly recommended that opportunities for educating people should be introduced into modern communities. The goal of patient education and building awareness can be accomplished by incorporating innovative tools for guiding patients toward the development of the required skills. Finally, it is vital to provide family members with the relevant information concerning the support of patients with Alzheimer’s, as well as other forms of dementia. Thus, patients will thrive and have the quality of their lives maintained at a properly high level.
Stroke
A stroke is a serious medical condition that may entail further complications and even death unless tended to properly. However, locating an instance of a stroke might be quite tricky since, when occurring in their mild form, they may turn out to be barely noticeable. Therefore, as a nurse, one must develop the skills of locating the symptoms of a srtoke. Among the most common ones, asymmetry in a patient’s face is an important symptom of the specified condition (Acharya et al., 2017). Facial asymmetry, namely, drooping and an uneven smile, as well as the sensation of numbness in a certain part of one’s face, are immediate signs of a stroke that must be recognized as such promptly so that healthcare support could be provided.
In order to address the consequences of a stroke, it is crucial to ensure that a patient retains mobility by training essential motor skills. Namely, exercises involving the development of muscle strength, as well as training coordination of movements, are expected to help in overcoming the aftermath of a stroke in patients (Dodakian et al., 2017). Likewise, the application of a therapy rooted in overcoming the major effects, particularly, impaired mobility of a limb, should be seen as necessary.
The proposed therapy involves training the affected limb while the other ones are immobilized so that the patient could focus on the body part in question. It is expected that a combination of patient education and the use of the constraint therapy will help the target population to retain their mobility and have the quality of their lives remain intact.
References
Acharya, D., Loyaga-Rendon, R., Morgan, C. J., Sands, K. A., Pamboukian, S. V., Rajapreyar, I.,… Tallaj, J. A. (2017). INTERMACS analysis of stroke during support with continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices: risk factors and outcomes. JACC: Heart Failure, 5(10), 703-711. Web.
Dodakian, L., McKenzie, A. L., Le, V., See, J., Pearson-Fuhrhop, K., Burke Quinlan, E.,… Cramer, S. C. (2017). A home-based telerehabilitation program for patients with stroke. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, 31(10-11), 923-933. Web.
Kishita, N., Hammond, L., Dietrich, C. M., & Mioshi, E. (2018). Which interventions work for dementia family carers? An updated systematic review of randomized controlled trials of carer interventions. International Psychogeriatrics, 30(11), 1679-1696. Web.
Whitlatch, C. J., & Orsulic-Jeras, S. (2018). Meeting the informational, educational, and psychosocial support needs of persons living with dementia and their family caregivers. The Gerontologist, 58(suppl. 1), 58-73. Web.