Effects of Alzheimers and Risk Factors

Effects of Alzheimers and Risk Factors Alzheimers disease (AD) is a chronic degenerative disease process that is currently affecting upwards of 5.3 million people in the United States (Alzheimers Association, 2010). This disease can cause physical and mental hardships on not only the client but on caregivers alike. In the following paper we will discuss the disease process including causes and risk factors, the effects on the clients activities of daily living, the challenges with social, family, spiritual and cultural life, disease prevention and treatment along with long term management, and lastly, nursing care and interventions that can facilitate the life of a client with Alzheimers. Because the disease results in cognitive impairment, psychological effects will be referred to throughout the paper. In order to grasp the needs of a client with Alzheimers disease, we must first understand the disease process itself. According to Mosbys Medical Dictionary Alzheimers disease is defined as, a condition characterized by progressive mental deterioration (2009). As individuals age numerous variations in the brain occur. Some of these changes include a decrease in brain size, deterioration of the cerebral cortex, and a loss of neurons that is dramatically hastened in the patient with AD. A decline in production of acetylcholine, norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin is common in patients with this disease (Ignatavicius Workman, 2010, p. 970). These things can subsequently cause brain cell death which leads to rapid memory loss (Mayo Clinic, 2011). There is inconclusive evidence on where the impairment occurs when processing information in the brain. A recent journal article, published in Brain Imaging and Behavior, comments on this ongoing mystery and writes, [It is unknown] whether t he memory impairment results from failure of encoding, consolidation or the retrieval mechanism (Blacker, OKeefe, OBrien, Pihlajamaki, Sperling, 2011. p. 37). The etiology of AD is unfortunately still unidentified. It is known, however, that people with this disease actually do have a smaller amount of living brain cells than a person without the disease. Connections in the brain are also diminished and cannot transmit as easily (Mayo Clinic, 2011). Professionals have speculated many risk factors that they think contribute to a diagnosis of Alzheimers disease. The two most important factors include an age over 65, and being of the female gender. However, genetic factors, chemical imbalances, being of an African American descent, lower educational level, environmental agents (such as viruses like herpes zoster, herpes simplex, exposure to zinc and copper), and immunological changes are all also potential causes (Ignatavicius Workman, 2010, p. 970). AD is easily identifiable by its signs and symptoms which manifest in different stages. There are three stages that occur. The first stage is the early onset of Alzheimers in which patients will have simple forgetfulness and often will deny that there is a problem, resulting in seclusion. Stage two is progressively worse; the patient will soon become disoriented to time, place and events. In this stage incontinence as well as speech and language become problematic for the patient. The patient begins to become progressively more embarrassed and agitated. In the final stage, or stage three, the patient is no longer able to care for him or herself and is often unable to verbalize needs or able get out of bed without assistance (Ignatavicius Workman, 2009, p. 971-972). This stage of Alzheimers significantly affects patients activities of daily living. Simple tasks such as brushing teeth, combing hair and changing clothes are impossible for the patient to do. Because of their self-care d eficit, the patients family may have to provide personal cares along with ADLs and psychological reassurance. This can cause both emotional and financial stress for the family. Forgetting peoples names or faces can have a debilitating effect on a patients social life. Patients will often have little to no social etiquette demonstrated by screaming obscenities, playing with their own fecal matter and other aggressive behaviors as an example. Sleep patterns are often disturbed and patients usually take frequent naps during the day and are active at night (sundowners syndrome). This disrupts the patient and his or her familys daily routine (Ignatavicius Workman, 2009, p. 973). This type of diagnosis could likely affect their cultural beliefs as well. For example, cultures, such as Hispanic, strongly believe in elder respect and taking care of the elderly. Extended family will often live under one roof. For these cultures a patient with AD may become more of a burden to the whole family rather than a culture that might accept assistance from a nursing home or assisted living center. Spiritual life can also be affected. The client may no longer be able to go to religious services due to their potential social inappropriateness or because the family may have to closely accompany them. The client may forget, or find it unnecessary, to partake in practices that they previously carried out. This may make the client and family feel very frustrated. Whereas there is no known way to prevent AD, there are many interventions to prevent the complications associated with the disease. Since memory impairment is the main symptom of Alzheimers the client is expected to be very confused and disoriented. The nurse should be prepared to answer all the patients questions truthfully and keep him or her oriented by possibly providing single date calendars and keeping them on a non-changing routine. These things will help them to become more comfortable in their environment and be familiar with what is going to happen (Ignatavicius Workman, 2010, p. 975). Validation therapy is one way that health care providers can achieve both of these goals. This therapy entails the staff member recognizing the patients feelings and concerns without lying to them or dismissing the fear. For example if the client has already eaten breakfast, and returns to the dining hall expecting a second breakfast, an appropriate response from the nurse would be something along the lines of, I notice you are still hungry, I will get you another piece of toast. It would be inappropriate for the nurse to tell the client that he or she has already eaten because this may cause the client to become very agitated. The response does not dispute the client, but it also does not support the idea that he or she has not eaten breakfast (Ignatavicius Workman, 2010, p. 975). Caregivers should also promote self care management. Sustaining independence in the clients ADLs is very important for the client with AD and can sometimes help to prolong self physical management. The nurse will also need to instigate bowel and bladder programs. It is important that these clients are toileted every two hours and as needed. Incontinence can be very embarrassing for the client and anything the staff can do to prevent this is encouraged. Staff should keep the client well hydrated and may need to remind the client to drink often. If on a 2 hour and PRN schedule the client is l ess likely to acquire an injury by trying to get up and go to the bathroom on their own. Next, it may be helpful to regularly take the client on walks and to provide them with something to do. Be sure to minimize stimulation and ensure safety. As for long term management of the disease it is likely that the client will eventually need to be placed in a long term care setting such as assisted living. Interestingly enough, in a journal article from The International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry it states that recent evidence suggests that behavioral interventions and techniques are more effective than any other means of care including pharmacological approaches. They affirm that staff should be well trained to deal with these clients and that they play a huge role in the clients overall disposition and how he or she will cope with managing their disease (Ayalon, Arean, Bornfeld, Beard, 2009, p. 118-123). For some psychological management, caregivers should promote memory training and assist with facial recognition. It is important that they use redirection techniques and promote effective communication that has been tailored to that client specifically (Ignatavicius Workman, 2010, p. 974-978). Alzheimers disease is very complex and has many components to successful nursing interventions, but when followed can lead to great results. Two creative nursing interventions that we were able to come up with are (Pts. with AD should be involved in social interaction to decrease feelings of boredom, anxiety and decreased self-esteem. A possible intervention the nurse can use to help a pt. with AD is to encouraging the pt. to sing with others and help pick out music; this can possibly improve the pts. mood and behavior. It is believed that listening to enjoyable music during routine activities can decrease agitated behavior. Fun activities such as playing musical instruments ( triangle, maraca or even a toy hand drum) can be easy for the pt. to do and also entertaining. ) I am not sure what to do about the other one but with my grandpa we used to put a picture on his door to help him remember what room was his, but that kind of similar to what we talked about above. By 2050 it is expected that the prevalence of Alzheimers disease will increase to 14 million people (Ignatavicius Workman, 2010, p. 970). As healthcare providers it is important that we educate ourselves on this disease because it is nearly inevitable for anyone of us to avoid caring for a client diagnosed with it. In this paper we discussed the disease process including causes and risk factors, the effects on the clients activities of daily living, the challenges with social, family, spiritual and cultural life, disease prevention and treatment along with long term management, and lastly, nursing care and interventions that can facilitate the life of a client with Alzheimers disease.

Learning and Teaching Styles Essay

Wk. 2 Learning and Teaching Styles â€Å"In almost every actual well-designed study, Mr. Pashler and his colleagues write in their paper, ‘Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence,’ the pattern is similar: For a given lesson, one instructional technique turns out to be optimal for all groups of students, even though students with certain learning styles may not love that technique. † (2009) I wanted to start this paper with this quote since it did involve some sort of evidence that teaching in one style still works. Students can and do succeed and have received equal scores as their peers whose learning styles matched the teachers methods of teaching. I do believe however that students may not catch on as fast and lose interest easier when being taught material. This is why I would still use different methods of teaching versus just one. As a visual learner, I understand how difficult it can be to orally receive directions for an assignment or other activity. I thrive on written directions and learning materials that need to be read or are graphed. I often had to ask the teacher numerous times to repeat the directions because I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. This put me behind and my grades occasionally suffered as a result. As a past teacher who worked in a school that believed in teaching using the multiple intelligences method, I found great joy in seeing my students succeed. As teachers, we were required to hand in our lesson plans weekly to the principal. Our lesson plans had to involve each of the intelligences. This was my first real job as a teacher and I did not completely understand why we were required to do this and not use our own personal methods. Looking back, I am so grateful that I learned and saw first hand the consequences of teaching using the multiple intelligences. I enjoyed seeing my student’s motivation rise as their type of learning was focused on for a particular lesson. When I go back to teaching, I will with no doubt in my mind, use this method again. It completely fits with my style of teaching most likely because it was my first real experience and works even for those students who have a completely different learning style than I do. In an ESL classroom, â€Å"dividing a lesson into phases† (Palmberg) to make sure I use each of the intelligences is ideal. I firmly believe that this method works no matter how different a student’s learning style is from the teacher. In a sample lesson for example, I would explain the topic (i. e. vocabulary words on food items) and give the students an overview of what they will need to do and what they are expected to learn. I would read them a story relating to food or going shopping. Next I would have them write down their own list of items that their families normally buy often for a real-life experience. The next phase is to divide the class into groups and share each other’s lists. They would also discuss what their ideal list and store layout would be like if they could buy any type of food that they wanted from their ideal grocery store. They would then move on to thinking about a song or songs that is about food. We would play that song the following day. For the students who feel comfortable, creating their own body expressions describing food would be next and sharing these movements with the rest of the class. This exercise could be turned into a fun lesson where the rest of the class would have to guess which food item is being emphasized (like charades). We would next come up with a class list of favorite food items. There would more than likely be some disagreement so I would divide them up in half asking them to have a debate based on reasonable food limits and favorites to come up with an ideal list. We would do the same thing for the ideal store layout. For the sake of repetition, each original group would compare with the class their original lists and new â€Å"reasonable† list and layout. I believe this lesson would take a few days but involves most if not all intelligences. Being a visual learner, I can benefit from the students who are different from me as much as they benefit from me and the lessons I teach them using the different intelligences. For example, as I try and improve my weaknesses in some forms of learning, I can benefit from the students who learn better in a completely different way (say kinesthetic). They will get much benefit from the part of the lesson that involves movement and I will get the same benefit seeing how they react and learn to this part of the lesson. To make things fun for the students (and me) those willing could come up with their own way of teaching each other about a certain topic. I would of course give them the general rules and guidelines and they would do the rest. I think each student could benefit from this because they would more than likely use their favorite way of learning to â€Å"teach† a lesson. For those who do not want to do this, they could also benefit from this since it is an exercise that is not ordinarily done and will hold interest longer. I am not a teacher and never have been one who forces students to do something that makes them feel uncomfortable (i. e. standing up and doing a charade). I think that this will do more harm than good. The student may back off and not participate or be eager to learn for fear that they may be picked on by their peers or even the teacher. I had this experience in middle school and know how it feels. I began to pull myself away from the class and especially the teacher. As a result, I did poorly in the class. For these types of students, a more gentle approach is necessary. The teacher may ask this type of student to write an explanation of what they would do or simply tell the teacher what they would do for an assignment. This is why I am such a believer of the multiple intelligences method. It involves all students and doesn’t single out particular ones. Everyone benefits and everyone learns based on their own learning strengths. Another less popular/obvious benefit of this teaching method is related to the impact that the students learning has on their own family and home life. I think that because a student is more eager to learn as a result of the multiple intelligences method, they will carry their positive attitude into their home life and be more compliant towards their family and of course themselves. As we all know, a student’s home life reflects their attitudes and success in school. References: chronicle. com/article/Matching-Teaching-Style-to/49497/ www. sube. com/†¦ /integrating_learning_styles_and_skills_in_e†¦ www. tecweb. org/styles/gardner. html www. tefl. net/esl-lesson-plans/multiple-intelligences. htm Gardner, Howard. 1993. Multiple intelligences. The theory in practice. New York: Basic Books.

The Official Formation Of International Law As We Know It Law Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1512 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? In 1945, international law as we know it was officially formed. The main difference between International laws and other local legal laws is that international laws mainly deal with a nation as a whole whereas a country specific legal system deals with individuals within their respective nations. The two laws of prime importance are private international law and public international law. The disputes amongst private individuals, juridical or natural, arising out of scenarios which have a vital relationship with more than one nation are dealt by private international laws whereas the questions of rights among numerous citizens or nations are dealt by the public international laws. World bodies such as the United Nations have framed the international laws in which certain rules and regulations are agreed upon by member countries to follow upon. International laws can also be set up by international agreements in which case the agreements sets up the laws for the parties of the agreement. International law has only played a minimal role in maintaining world peace. There are a lot of rules and agreements between various nations on how to go about with their respective conflicts, however at the end of the day, enforcement of such laws are problematic. It is highly evident that the international laws have the potential to manage conflicts and provide solutions to a number of problems. The structure of the current international law often favors specific groups of countries. Typically the source of such laws is the powerful nations and as such the laws are more influential if they support the powerful nations. The influence in shaping up the international law framed by the United Nations is an example as it is evident that the influences are inconsistent. The laws relating to trades are enforced by the powerful nations, which mean that the developed nations often are the ones dictating the terms. To inflict punishment and forcing weaker states to obey is the market power which they possess. Therefore the developing countries lack the power to retaliate properly. It is the same situation when dealing with the international laws regarding the environment. The developed countries are unwilling to draft a law that puts pressure on their economies and instead want the developing nations to put a cap on their capabilities. In addition, it is also true that the stronger nations are choosing to obey laws that only benefit them and they are forcing other powers to obey the laws irrespective of their wishes. The entire system of international laws can be force of good, only if it is impartial, and all nations follow those laws. Only then is international law viable. The international laws governing wars is nothing but a set of principles and rules to be followed by member states and it states the acceptable justifications to engage in a act of war against one or many nations. The law of war is generally considered to be a part of the public international law. Along with its dissimilarity and proportionality, the usage of lethal force, treatment of war prisoners, surrender terms and the declaration statements of war are included in the international laws of war. Perhaps one of the most famous treaties regarding the rules and justification of war was the First Geneva Convention in 1864. After all drastic measures like economic sanctions and disturbances taking place in economic relations apart from other modes of communications such as radio, postal, air, sea, rail links, the military force would be authorized under the United Nations Charters article 42. Only for the purpose of restoring peace and security internally, the military forces can be deployed in any area of unrest. I agree with all the international laws defined by the United Nations charter relating to wars. Use of military force should be considered only as the very last step in a conflict. I too believe that the right approach towards r esolving conflicts is not more violence. However there are certain situations where the use of lethal force is necessary and in those situations, I believe the Security Council is the one to make the final decisions. An example of this is the Iraq war in 2003. The United States along with its ally, the UK invaded Iraq in the pretext of them building weapons of mass destruction. The issue here was that the term self defense was ambiguous and could be twisted to have different meanings depending on who was making decisions. Hence, the United Nations must take steps to make sure all its charters are absolutely clear before making those decisions. In the end the United States could not prove the existence of any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and simply said that it was still the right thing to do. Therefore the Iraq invasion was completely unjustified according to me and countries like the United States who try circumventing the United Nations Authority only shows us that the U nited Nations is just a puppet. 8. Peacekeeping is defined by the United Nations as an unique and dynamic instrument developed by the Organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict creates the conditions for lasting peace (UN 2010). An important part of the mechanism of international community is the various peace keeping forces. They are mainly present to resolve conflicts and maintain peace during a crisis. Some of the peace keeping forces do have both military and civilian branches. A large number of duties are covered by the establishments which are developed at a faster pace. International peace keeping organizations have been forming steadily since mid-20th century. Yes, I do believe that these peace keeping organizations have played a major part in shaping up the geo-political landscape of the current world. They started with the creation of Israel as an independent state when they played peace keepers when the cease fire was declared between the Israelis a nd the Arab states. This peace keeping force still remains to this day. The United Nations is constantly trying to bring nations together for talks and it always tries to resolve issues through diplomatic channels. This follows the core nature of the United Nations. However sometimes it is not enough and in those instances, the Security Council may involve the military UN forces to intervene to prevent a situation from escalating out of control. A good example of this is the Korean War in 1953 which ended in ceasefire. The United Nations kept the situation from escalating by positioning its forces along the southern side of the demilitarized zone till 1967. Often times, the United Nations mandate is followed through by other organizations. There are a lot of factors which are to be considered before such a proposal can be actively sought by nations. Unity among nations is the prime requirement for such an option to be considered and unfortunately that is the one thing that the world is in dire need of right now. 9. I believe that a single system of laws is the best way to solve all conflicts peacefully, however due to the myriad cultures and religious influences, such a state of being is simply not possible at the time being. I believe that humans poses the same traits irrespective of their country, religion or race and they should not be divided based on geographical territories. Only when all individuals are united together for the betterment of humanity, can we propose a single set of legal doctrine to govern ourselves. Another issue is whether the international laws can override the national laws governing a nation. As of now, that scenario cannot be seen anywhere. Another important factor that has to be kept in mind is the fact that the international laws must develop a doctrine that is impartial and promotes equality to all the different sectors such as religion, gender, human rights and it must be acceptable by the people all over the world. Only when such a system is in place can the same set of rules be applied to all the people worldwide. However such a system is not even conceivable. In fact, in the case of certain countries, recently there is an issue regarding the banning of the burqa. Now, according to the international laws, people have the right to practice their own faiths along with their traditions and customs. Unfortunately countries which are part of the United Nations have banned the use of a burqa in public by women. This is a clear case in which the national law has overruled the international laws. Therefore international law should be allowed to control a states conduct towards its citizens only when it is modified and accepted by the general people. However, there are instances where the international law has prevailed to certain extent over national laws. This can be seen in the case of the recent verdict by a court in Iran, which has imposed a punishment of death by stoning. This is the worst c ase of human cruelty and it is one instance in which the international laws put enough pressure to make Iran change its verdict. This can be considered a small victory. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Official Formation Of International Law As We Know It Law Essay" essay for you Create order

Professional Ethics and Values - 1020 Words

Running head: PROFESSIONAL VALUES AND ETHICS Professional Values and Ethics University of Phoenix Professional Values and Ethics What is the difference between values and ethics? Values are rules by which people make decisions about what is right versus wrong; good versus bad and what one should or should not do. The definition of values according to Dictionary.com is â€Å"the ideals, customs, institutions, etc., of a society toward which the people of the group have an affective regard. These values may be positive, as cleanliness, freedom, or education, or negative, as cruelty, crime, or blasphemy† (The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, 2009).†¦show more content†¦In today’s society so many cases of people who have chosen to ignore ethics and values in the pursuit of success or financial gain only end in their demise. A closer examination of professional values and ethics in America certainly reveal that companies or organizations that adhere to a well defined set of professional values and ethics will stand the test of time. Many of America’s o ldest and financially sound companies are strong today because they followed a well defined code of business values and ethics. Ford Motor Company is one example, Henry Ford believed so strongly in his company’s code of ethics that he doubled the pay of employs who complied with his code of conduct, which was based upon his personal religious beliefs – regular church attendance, no alcohol, no late hours, and no frivolous spending. J.C. Penney is another company that is a prime example of a successful company that was built on professional values and ethics. Penney took a stand against the unfair business practices of his time; he developed a code of ethics which is considered one of the first general codes for ethics in business. His business partners were required to pledge honesty, integrity, and moral leadership; they were required to follow a code of ethics which can arguably be attributed to the success of many American businesses.Show MoreRelatedProfessional Val ues and Ethics Paper1122 Words   |  5 Pages-1 Professional Values and Ethics Paper Rhonda Beron, Andrea De Los Santos, Emilie Goodman, and LaToya Sims GEN/200 August 16, 2010 Andrea Lara Abstract The purpose of this paper is to discuss the relationship among professional values, ethics, and career success. A person’s personal values and ethics can influence their professional values and ethics in the workplace. Finding the right balance between personal and professional views in the workplace will help foster a successful careerRead MorePersonal Values And Professional Ethics1453 Words   |  6 Pagesdilemmas in the practice, and the decision-making process requires a separation form the personal values and professional ethics. 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