Preview

Alzheimer's Disease Family

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
881 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Alzheimer's Disease Family
Intro

Alzheimer’s Disease is one of the leading causes of premature dementia in today’s world. The emotional effects of this progressive brain deterioration disease can be detrimental to the individual with the disease, family members, friends, and society. This disease causes the individual to slowly lose their memory, and treatment for this condition does not specifically stop the destruction and damage that is being done to the neurons, it only subsides short term symptoms for durations of time. The emotional impact of Alzheimer’s disrupts many aspects of life, treatment is not easy, and this progressive disease affects the emotions of many people.

Effects on the Family Caring for a family member with Alzheimer’s disease poses special
…show more content…
As a person ages, they are faced with more critical decisions regarding finances, federal and state assistant health programs, which means the individual with Alzheimer’s interacts more with the community they are involved in. “Older adults also face important decisions regarding health care, such as choosing the best medical insurance plan from among multiple competing options and selecting end-of-life medical approaches. These real-world decisions can have a significant effect on maintaining independence and well-being and on family members, care providers, and society” (Bennet, Boyle, Han, James, and Yu, 2015, 676). Not being able to settle financial issues with the community will cause miscommunication, confusion, and in some cases financial cost to …show more content…
2016 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures. Alzheimer’s & Dementia 2016;12(4).

Han, S. D., Boyle, P. A., James, B. D., Yu, L., & Bennett, D. A. (2015). Mild Cognitive
Impairment Is Associated with Poorer Decision-Making in Community-Based Older Persons. Journal of The American Geriatrics Society, 63(4), 676-683. doi:10.1111/jgs.13346

Johnston, L., & Terp, D. M. (2015). Dynamics in Couples Facing Early Alzheimer’s Disease. Clinical Gerontologist, 38(4), 283-301. doi:10.1080/07317115.2015.1032465

Soto, M., Andrieu, S., Gares, V., Cesari, M., Gillette-Guyonnet, S., Cantet, C., & Nourhashémi, F. (2015). Living Alone with Alzheimer's Disease and the Risk of Adverse Outcomes: Results from the Plan de Soin et d'Aide dans la maladie d'Alzheimer Study. Journal Of The American Geriatrics Society, 63(4), 651-658.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Alzheimer's Forgetting

    • 226 Words
    • 1 Page

    Alzheimer’s is a horrible experience for everyone: the diagnosed person and the family members now turned caregivers. For the latter of these some have described it as worse than being the one who has the incurable disease. This is because the person with Alzheimer’s forgets and does not know what they are doing, that they are changing, whereas the family experiences the slow excruciating pain of seeing a loved one go through this disease and knowing that there is nothing you can do to restore what they once were. While watching The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer’s I witnessed many families and their experiences with Alzheimer's. The most heart wrenching scenes were where the family caregivers said things like ‘I hate him sometimes……

    • 226 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the meantime, patients are becoming afflicted with this disease on a daily basis with no hope for recovery save for the hope that the advancement of the disease comes at a slower pace for them then for most. Time is not on the side of the patient for as the days, weeks and months that go by, the disease advances as surely as the sun rises. Having become afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease certainly can be a depressing and even humiliating experience to the patient and their families. Often people who are not familiar with the disease may seem to be hesitant to interact…

    • 3191 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Phyllis R. Brown Provides Helpful Support to Caregivers of Alzheimer's Patients in Her Book, Help Me! I'm Slipping…

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Consider the latest statistics on the specter of Alzheimer’s disease. More than 5 million Americans are presently afflicted with Alzheimer’s. One American out of every three dies from Alzheimer’s or a related dementia. In 2013, more than 15 million caregivers contributed more than 17.5 billion hours of unpaid care, which would have cost upwards of 216 billion dollars. Almost 15% of caregivers assisting Alzheimer’s or related dementia patients are doing so via long-distance arrangements. In 2013, Alzheimer’s cost America 203 billion dollars; in the year 2050, this figure is projected to increase to 1.2 trillion dollars (alz.org).…

    • 1990 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Alzheimer’s disease has been referred to as the “family disease”. Care for an individual with Alzheimer’s can be very difficult to cope with. It has a greater impact on the family members involved with the individual suffering from this disease, than other chronic diseases. There are support groups that can help family members adjust to this life changing disease. Alzhiemer’s disease also has an effect on businesses. Businesses are effected when they have employees who are also caregivers for people with Alzheimer’s disease. These cost to the business owners, includes paying out for: absenteeism; productivity losses; worker replacement cost; continuing insurance for workers on leave and temporary worker replacement fees; and Employee Assistance…

    • 117 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Imagine that one day - any random day of the week- everything is fine. You seem to have some difficulty in remembering simple things. Where are the car keys? What were you supposed to do that day? The next day, you and your family receive the terrifying news. You have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Slowly, over the course of the next few years, you will begin to forget everything about yourself. It is a terrifying thought, yet it is happening to nearly five million and four thousand people in America today (White, “The Genius of Caring: an interactive documentary”). Now, think about what it would be like to be the caregiver of those people. They are husbands and wives, sons and daughters, or close friends and…

    • 1414 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are still somewhat of a mystery in the medical world. Most people believe that they are one in the same. More often than not, people use Alzheimer’s disease and dementia interchangeably, due to their similarities. This, coupled with the public’s lack of awareness of these subjects, contributes to mix-ups and misconceptions in everyday conversations about the two. The intended purpose of this writing is to give the reader a general overview on the topics mentioned, as well as answer the question – How are dementia and Alzheimer’s disease different?…

    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Has Alzheimer’s effected your family? If so, you’re not alone. I never knew much about it until a year ago when my grandmother Doris Addair got effected by the horrifying disease. Alzheimer’s is a progressive mental deterioration that can occur in middle or old age, due to generalized degeneration of the brain. It effects 5.3 million Americans today and has no treatment. This makes the disease the 6th most leading cause of death in the elderly, two thirds of them being women. Alzheimer’s doesn’t only effect the memory, but the physical and mental functions of one’s life as well. Brain changes that occur in Alzheimer's disease can affect the way you act and how you feel. People with Alzheimer's may experience Depression, Apathy, Social…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The progression of the disease is not only manifested by losses in function and cognition; it has a significant impact on somatic and autonomy conditions (Nourhashemi et al, 2010). It is a chronic debilitating illness which is characterized by a decline in cognitive abilities, the ability to execute Activities of Daily Living (ADL), and an increase in behavioral disturbances; approximately 80% of Alzheimer’s disease patients experience various symptoms of behavioral disturbance. Patients display a variety of anxiety, agitation, and apathy throughout the progression of the illness (Alzheimer’s Association,…

    • 617 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alzheimer's Culture

    • 110 Words
    • 1 Page

    According to the Alzheimer’s Association [AA] (2017), Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are the sixth leading cause of death among adults age 65 and older in the United States, with African Americans being twice as likely to develop late-onset Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias than whites. Furthermore, due to later detection, African American informal elder caregivers are faced with less time to seek treatment to combat the diseases, as well as care preparation for their care recipient (AA, 2017).…

    • 110 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Having Alzheimer's doesn't mean that the life of the patient is over. Living with Alzheimer's means that the patient have to manage some life changes sooner than expected. The patient can carry on with his life by dealing with his physical and passionate well being, by taking part in exercises to revel in and by investing time with family and companions. The process of living with Alzheimer involves the patient to take care of himself, family and friends taking care of the patient ,also coping with changes .…

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Approximately 5.4 million Americans now have Alzheimer's disease and by the year 2050, more than 15 million Americans could possibly be living with the disease, unless scientists or medical professionals develop new ideas to prevent, slow or cure it. (AHAF) Alzheimer’s is usually associated with old age but it can also be diagnosed in younger individuals. “Alzheimer's disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States and the only cause of death among the top 10 in the United States that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed.” (ALZ) This is considered to be one of the most heartbreaking diseases for a loved one to go through, because you’re basically watching them mentally fall apart often to the point when they don’t even remember who you…

    • 1597 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    As a person ages, it’s natural to become more inclined to forget things; from misplacing car keys to forgetting the name of an old friend. But the effects to ones memory caused by Alzheimer 's disease (aka: AD) are not at all considered normal. I think Belsky described AD best in saying “Alzheimer’s Disease directly attacks the core structure of human consciousness, our neurons. With this illness the neurons literally decay or wither away.” (“Experiencing the Lifespan”, Janet Belsky, 2007) According to the Alzheimer’s Associations informational website, alz.org, about 5 million people in the US are affected by the disease (What is Alzheimer’s, alz.org, April 1, 2010) . If the disease is not treated in good time, loved ones may experience a total over all change in the affected person’s demeanor. A normally calm, sweet person may become easily agitated and aggressive. Although there are no known cures at this time, the article I reviewed, Diagnosis and treatment of dementia: 1. Risk assessment and primary prevention of Alzheimer disease…

    • 1330 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Race, culture, religion and ethnicity all play a part in how we care for our elderly. Each family makes decisions based on background, experience, expectations, knowledge base, and economics. Most people would like to be able to care for their aging parent or spouse with as little disruption to lifestyle as possible. Alzheimer 's Disease, however, is a full time commitment, not just eight hours a day, but "24/7", as the current idiom implies, the patient needs continuous care. Sleep habits are disturbed, wandering is common, medications must be carefully controlled, safety is…

    • 1244 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Nursing Home Case Study

    • 1231 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Nursing homes, however, are designed for persons in need of 24-hour nursing care (Allen, 2011) Even though they provide almost the same residential components of other long-term care options, which includes housing, personal care, protection, supervision, and sometimes therapy, the availability of on-site medical staff is the edge they have over the others. Nursing homes have custodial care, which a person with Alzheimer’s disease will need. The custodial care which includes assistance with all of the activities of daily living like eating, dressing, bathing, walking and medication management. With the above explanation, Don will likely choose a nursing home for the care of his wife, Mary.…

    • 1231 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays

Related Topics