Assessment of Empowerment of Older People in Aged Care Facilities

Facilitating Empowerment of Older People

This assessment is to be undertaken in a fully equipped aged care facility. For this assessment, you are to be observed on 2 separate occasions (1 observation by your assessor, and 1 observation by your workplace supervisor). For this assessment, you will need to facilitate the empowerment of older people in a workplace or simulated environment.
1. For this task you are required to responded to the goals and aspirations of at least 2 older people, 1 in a simulated environment and 1 in the workplace, by:
a. Employing flexible, adaptable and person-centred approaches to empower each older person
b. Recognising and responding appropriately to situations of risk or potential risk
c. Using oral communication skills to maintain positive and respectful relationships
In order to do this you will need to:
2. Develop meaningful relationships with each of these people considering:
a. Performing in a manner that promotes trust and goodwill
b. Identifying social, cultural and spiritual needs and respect each one
c. Remaining confidential and private with all communications and reporting
d. Identification of enablers and disablers
e. Encouraging the client to support themselves as much as possible
3. Provide services that incorporate:
a. Empowerment the clients
b. Their ideas
c. Modification methods
d. The duty of care
4. Support the rights of each person including:
a. Assisting them to understand their rights
b. Upholding their rights
c. Identifying breaches and respond appropriately
d. Recognising any neglect or abuse and reporting same
e. Assisting them to access other support services
5. Promote the health of each of the older people you are working with including:
a. Encouragement to enable them to participate actively
b. Assisting them to understand how aging affects their daily living skills
c. Maximising engagement
d. Using aids to assist them
e. Identifying risks and discussing these risks with the clients
6. Throughout your assessment you will need to work legally and ethically with each client. To demonstrate this you will need to discuss each of the following in relation to your clients with your trainer/assessor:
a. Codes of practice
b. Discrimination

Question 1:

The stage of dementia calls for personalized care which demands she remains at the facility. Given her condition, it is necessary to use both verbal and non-verbal communication to discover what names she likes and use the same towards persuading her to remain within the facility. Once she accepts, the family shall be informed of the case before proceeding with the admission, and possible treatment and management plans begin right away. The transition will be easier with one of the family member mostly desired remaining within the area for observation.

Information on Mavis

Information about Mavis has to partly come from the patient, and the other bit come from the relatives or person taking immediate care of the patient. Besides, relevant information on the activities that one desired or loved doing has to be collected and the medical history of the condition given to determine if it is a first-time case or a relapse case. The information can be compared with the one offered by the client to check on the type of condition and characteristics presented to determine the type of dementia developed.

Person-Centered Practice

Person-centered care calls for a focus on the needs of a patient rather than that of the service to be rendered. In this case, I would act or seek consent from the patient and the immediate relative on the best means to explore in handling to try and be relevant to the problem at hand. Instead of following the process, I would opt to ask the patient the issue directly and find the most feasible way of restoring one without deviating from the interests. On the other hand, I would use the patient’s emotional and spiritual well-being to act in accordance to what one desires and follow the protocol based on the wishes. At the same time, I would make use of both verbal and non-verbal means to answer the questions brought forward to ensure understanding and ease the healing process.

Question d

In gaining her trust and acceptance, I would use the names she desires and loves to be called while giving maximum attention to the patient and the welfare progress. In the process, I would use an accessible language free from terminologies in promoting dignity to the patient. Such acts involve saying out words loudly, using facial expressions, and shaking of the head in acceptance or denial.

Question e

Activities such as dancing, singing church songs, and leading in social events should be given to remind one of the hobbies thus boost their self-esteem and independence based on their preferences. Assist her in recognition exercises such as telling the time of the day and acknowledging images from photos. At the same time seeking one's opinion on issues and seconding their ideas assist in boosting self-esteem and independence in thoughts and acts.

Question f

Stigma for such patients arises from cases that portray lack of ability or negative comments and views on the condition. In this respect, I would stay away from making negative comments even in cases where one fails to meet required standards and instead encourage one in his efforts. At the same time, I would encourage every little progress made and communicate with the zeal that everything was doing fine to boost patient morale and ability to recover. Moreover, I would ensure one takes part in activities that are easy and manageable thus turning positive results.

Question 2a

Beth exhibits several characteristics that are of concern to the caregiver. First, she argues and hits the husband thus showing signs of intolerance and later accuses one falsely without prove. Further her movement around the garden and moving pots while accusing others of the same elicits behavior of concern.  

Question 2b

The behavior of hitting the husband registers worries as the same can occur in other patients and the caregiver thus raising serious safety concerns to personal safety.

Question 2c

In managing hallucination, emanating from the thought of events not occurring in reality, I have had to reassure individuals of their security and that nothing of the sort happened. I have had to provide assurance of safety and instill trust among the patients. At the same time, memory loss problems have been handled through labeling items within one’s vicinity, installing automatic sensor lights, and other applications that boost memory and making them stay out of danger (Dewing & Dijk, 2016). The methods have been effective in reminding patients of the time and name of the item thus mention it and experience a high self-esteem. The strategy is suitable for the present, and the future gave the benefits it delivers to clients.

Question 2d

The behaviors could have been triggered by the disease which led to memory loss and other affairs happening at home that might lead to suspicion. Memory loss leads to forgetting of an issue, items, and time thus call for reminders to keep up with the pace. 

Question 2e

Team members could be of value by handling patients according to intuition as well as through experience and concern to preserve their self-esteem and independence. It would add value for individuals to reason, stay happy, and always use effective communication techniques in keeping patients happy.

Question 2f

Beth’s husband needs to be encouraged and made to understand the reasons behind the behavior and have it perceived as normal for such individuals. In this respect, one would understand the underlying reasons and appreciate the importance of the services in restoring the normal thoughts and activities of the individual. Counseling has to be given to ensure the husband understand and take no offense on the wife’s acts against him.

Question 2g

Proper safety measures have to be considered to ensure the patient does not hurt the husband. Besides, a record has to be kept of the personal history and the progress report based on the incidences observed. The records would assist in determining during the next visit if the patient improved and if the husband needed more counseling services (Dewing & Dijk, 2016).

Question 2h

The information would be collected and treated with utmost confidentiality and only shared with the relative and other persons of concern allowed by the family. The information shall remain in safe storage with backup information and only remain accessible by authorized personnel. Information needs to be kept secret and only released or accessed by persons recognized by the policy.

Question 2i

The illness could render the husband stressed; given the reaction and the slow pace of recovery if at all the situation occurred previously. The family would remain worried about the progress and wonder at the hostility registered which would be a stress factor and a worry once the wife left the facility. At the same time, the husband shall have a fear of losing a sane wife as one ponders on the future undertakings.

Question 3a

The case presents no form of abuse but rather a case of restraint and restricted practice. The son in the case restricts or ensures the father receives no mails owing to his condition but rather decides to do so on behalf and have the issues addressed promptly. Therefore, no abuse occurred in the process but only prevented the father from forgetting on key issues spelled out in the mails by having them sent personally.

Question 3b

Cases of abuse are to be addressed through the relevant authority. Noted cases have to be reported to the family members if the perpetrator is external and on the other hand report to caregivers or the police if the case occurs internally. At the same time, the victim has to be encouraged and assured of safety and that no further harassment or abuse shall happen in future. 

Question 3c

There is a need to explain the matter to the individual and point out the dangers of leveling further abuse cases on older persons. Besides, it is fundamental to dispense any fears that the information might be coming from the victim to do away with cases of victimization. Making the issue clear would lead to a change of habit.

Question 3d

Stressful events can impact negatively on the life of a caregiver. Whenever I begin to feel emotional or preoccupied with an individual issue, I understand how it might affect my practices thus seek for help. Getting nervous or less concerned with patient progress shows a shift in attention thus a need to reorganize oneself.

Question 3e

In a stressful event, it is proper to seek counseling help to improve one’s well-being. At the same time, I preoccupy myself with books and other social activities to forget the worrying situations. Moreover, I communicate with colleagues on issues and have them assist in wearing them out.    

Question 4

Dementia is a progressive health problem which bears significant consequences to the health and quality of life of individuals and their families. The impacts of the disease increase as the severity of the condition grows thus increasing dependency on the care providers. The state presents memory loss and possible actions resulting from the same. The changes in people are noticeable and come out gradually as in the case of memory lapse that may begin in a small way but turn out large in the long run. After that, impaired judgment may follow thus affecting the ability to reason and carry out things.  The condition occurs in four distinct stages with the first being mild and the last being worse than the rest. The onset of dementia correlates with the case of Alzheimer which accounts for a significant percentage of the condition.

Assignment 3

Dementia refers to a collective description pointing to various symptoms of decline in cognitive ability which results in forgetful nature. In this respect, it bears a connection to several underlying diseases and brain disorders. An approximate number of over 47 million people in the world suffer from the condition which affects mostly the seniors. In as much as it is connected with aging, the condition is not a normal part of aging.

Causes of Dementia

The condition is caused by damage to the brain which leads to the cognitive challenges. Once damaged, the act interferes with the general ability of the brain to communicate with each other thus affecting the feeling, thinking, and behavior of individuals. Several parts of the brain may be damaged such as the memory, movement, and judgment sections which lead to a dysfunction (Brooker & Latham, 2015). Some injuries are permanent and can worsen over time while others can be improved or treated. The conditions that can be treated include thyroid problems, vitamin deficiency, and alcoholism and depression cases.

Types of Dementia

The situation is split into two groups depending on the part of the brain that has been damaged. The cortical dementias occur due to problems in the outer layer of the brain known as the cerebral cortex. The part plays a critical role in the retaining of memory and language. Persons affected by the condition present severe memory loss and find it hard to comprehend language previously understood. Typical forms of the disease include the Creutzfeldt-Jakob and the Alzheimer diseases. The second type is known as the sub-cortical dementias which result from the damage in parts of the brain beneath the cortex (Brooker & Latham, 2015). Persons affected with the condition find it hard to think quickly or start activities promptly.

Diagnosis

There exists no test in the determination of persons with dementia but rather depend on the medical history and observable characteristics and changes in thinking. Therefore, it 's hard to determine the exact type of condition unless one observes the features over a stretch period. Once detected, a patient is prescribed to a doctor based on the level where specialized care may be recommended.