Holistic Care for a Patient with Alzheimer's Disease (Case Study Sample)

HOLISTIC CARE FOR PEOPLE WITH LONG TERM CONDITIONS
MODULE 7211
A CASE STUDY OF A PATIENT WITH A LONG-TERM CONDITION OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
STUDENT NUMBER:
Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Introduction PAGEREF _Toc93526624 \h 3Case Study PAGEREF _Toc93526625 \h 3Pathophysiology PAGEREF _Toc93526626 \h 5Medical/Nursing Intervention PAGEREF _Toc93526627 \h 7Health Promotion PAGEREF _Toc93526628 \h 11Integrated Health Care PAGEREF _Toc93526629 \h 12Summary PAGEREF _Toc93526630 \h 14
Introduction
There has been a rise in the cases of long-term conditions (LTC) in the UK over the years. In Britain at least 6 out of 10 adult population are reported to have long-term illnesses that cannot be cured with complex management procedures (Shah, Morris, and Wray 2020). Statistics also show that about 15 million individuals in England as suffering from these diseases, including diabetes, arthritis, hypertension, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Shah, Morris, and Wray 2020). Currently, up to 85% of primary care consultations and 2/3 of emergency admissions in hospitals in the UK are linked to LTC (Sullivan, Mannix, and Timmons 2017). According to the National Health Statistics (2020), the UK spends about £7 in £10 of health and social care budget on taking care of LTC. This budget may continue growing in the future, which would mean additional financial allocations on health. This study investigates the integrated care of LTC in the UK, with a focus on Alzheimer’s disease. In particular, the study with use a case study of 70-year-old Tina to address the pathophysiology, nursing intervention, health promotion, and integrated care of the illness.
Case Study
Tina is a 70-year-old Caucasian female who has been brought by her husband Billy to the hospital because of her recurrent memory problems and mood swings. The husband explains that the patient rarely recognizes her children who come to visit every Sunday. When asked, Tina denies that she remembers all her children, and mistakenly claim that they are 5 children instead of 3, as mentioned by the husband. The diagnosis reveals that the patient has experienced this problem for more than a year, but the situation is now worsening because Tina’s personality changes often. She not only gets easily irritated, but she gets frustrated often and starts to shout at Billy. Her husband reported that Tina experiences difficulty in expressing herself, and more often than not, misplaces things in the house. She is also getting more neglectful, not concerned about her personal hygiene and daily tasks such as cleaning the house.
To confirm if she was suffering from dementia, psychiatric and laboratory tests were conducted. The lab tests revealed that there were no abnormalities while the psychiatric test using a test battery indicated that there was cognitive impairment. The patient scored 18 in mini-mental status examination, 3.5 in dementia rating-sum of Box scale (CDR-SD), and 3 in clinical dementia rating scale. Furthermore, it was found that the patient experienced impairment in language function, recall, and recognition. A physiotherapy assessment also showed that Tina was experiencing stiffness in her fingers when she tries to hold something tightly. She reported that sometimes her hands or legs do not move as before, making it challenging to perform tasks or move about. She was more bothered about the deficits in the fine motor skills of the upper extremity. She also communicated that she was finding it difficult to engage in daily walks.
From the patient’s analysis, it was reported that Tina’s dad had suffered dementia when he turned 75. She also reported that her grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in her final years of life, and would later pass on at the age of 86. The history of the patient, together with the cognitive and neuroimaging analyses met the Alzheimer’s classification criteria of the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke and the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association Alzheimer's (NINCDS-ADRDA).
Pathophysiology
The prevalence and incidence of dementia increases with age, and is found to be higher in women compared to men. According to Punlomso, Srimuang, and Tudpor (2020), the incidence of the condition rans from 1% in the 65-70 age bracket to 5% in the case of 85 years old and above. In the UK, the number of people living with dementia is forecast to grow by 2 million and above in 2051 (Punlomso, Srimuang, and Tudpor¸ 2020). Today, the country reports a prevalence rate of 7.1% among adults aged 65 and above. The Alzheimer’s Society also reported that over 40,000 people in the country have early-onset dementia. According to Shah,