Dementia as a Social Work Practice Issue Social Sciences Case Study

Dementia as a Social Work Practice Issue
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Social workers provide their services in various settings including hospitals, public health clinics, and residential care facilities. It is essential to note that the Care Act in the UK mandates local authorities to arrange social services for individuals whose conditions have deteriorated, and they are without any friends and family members to provide them with the requisite care (Care Act 2014, n.p). In such scenarios, social workers are called in to offer personal care on matters ranging from washing, cleaning, and helping with meals. On this breadth, one crucial social work practice issue is dementia. It is a chronic condition that is characterized by the deterioration of an individual's cognitive functioning. It is a major issue not only in the UK but globally and was recently labeled a global epidemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Social workers are, in most cases, called in to care for these individuals either in their homes or in residential care facilities. Dementia is a social work practice issues that has predominant during my final year of placement. I encountered a patient whose cognitive functioning was deteriorating at a rapid rate. I will provide a vivid description of my interactions with the patient and the particular areas of concern regarding their condition. There are various theories that social workers often employ in managing the unique and demanding needs of dementia patients. In this regard, I will employ person-centered approach and systems thinking for effective management. A brief description of a case involving the management of a social worker will be highlighted in the paper. The two theories shared above will then be used to explain and explore the social work practice issue that is dementia and in connection with the brief description of the placement case. I will explore extensively the challenges I witnessed in the case I co-worked. I will utilize ethical reasoning in all the decisions made throughout the assignment. In the end, I will reflect on not only the knowledge but also skills I have learned throughout my placement and specifically concerning the social work placement issues that is dementia.
Understanding Dementia as a Social Work Practice Issue in the UK
It is a chronic syndrome that is tremendously impacting many societies globally, including the UK. The number of individuals being diagnosed with dementia is rising drastically, and reports by the World Health Organization indicate that more than 50 million have been affected by the disease globally. It is prevalent in the elderly, and it is believed that one in every six people above 80 years is susceptible to the disease. Similar reports indicate that in the near future, one in every fourteen people over 65 years will be at risk of contracting the disease in the UK. The Alzheimer Society in the UK announced that there were 850000 individuals suffering from the condition in the UK and that the number will increase by about 200000 people in 2020 . With that trajectory, society forecasts that there will be about 1.6 million people suffering from the condition in the region before 2040 (Public Health England, 2020, n.p). These statistics are elaborately highlighted in figure 1 below. These high numbers point to the gravity of the situation and the need for adequate and effective measures to be instituted.
Figure 1:
There are various forms of dementia affecting individuals in the UK. The vast majority of people who have the condition in the UK are impacted by Alzheimer's disease. Several causes of have been proposed by medical practitioners. Alzheimer's disease is believed to be a result of degenerative neurological diseases. Other compounding factors are traumatic brain injuries, infections of the Central Nervous System (CNS), vascular disorders, and long-term abuse of alcohol, among other drugs (National Institute on Aging 2020, n.p). Despite efforts by medical experts and scientists, the cure remains elusive. As such, patients have to contend living with the devastating effects of the disease. With cognitive functioning severely impeded, individuals with dementia face a myriad of challenges. It is common for patients who don't receive adequate and effective care to progress drastically through the seven distinct stages of the disease. During the last stage of the disease, people with dementia lose their ability to communicate and respond to their environment.
With its progression, individuals suffering from the condition eventually become highly dependent on others concerning all activities of daily living. These include washing, dressing, and even feeding since it gets to the point that they lose their ability to swallow. Individuals who have dementia are at risk of injuring themselves and those within their surroundings because of their impaired cognitive functions. History has shown that dementia patients often commit suicide. It is during such scenarios that social care workers are called in to assist in the provision of quality care (Adams, Dominelli and Payne 2009, 23). Social workers usually have the requisite training to guide and manage patients with terminal illness either in their homes or in residential facilities. They are often faced with daunting tasks of managing individuals who needier than children. It is estimated that more than 500000 social workers have been employed by local authorities in England to assist individuals who the disease. As such, over £34 billion is spent annually in the UK in the management of the condition (Public Health England, 2020, n.p). These social workers attend to various needs of the patients, including physical, psychological, and social wants.
Social workers who are tasked to manage patients with dementia in residential care facilities have to provide physical care. To begin with, they assist patients with advanced case who are exhibiting jerky movements. They help the patients move around the facilities and homes using walking aids. Secondly, social workers also make an effort to improve the eating habits of patients. They work closely with the patients to determine their desired food items and consequently establish balanced diets (Adams, Dominelli and Payne 2009, 30). They also feed the patients with feeding difficulties (Milner, Myers and O'Byrne 2009, 40). Thirdly, they maintain the hygiene levels of the patients who are incapable of taking care of themselves. They ensure the patients take regular baths and help them change their clothes (Egan 2014, 32). In this regard, social workers also assist the patients to gain control of their bowels by encouraging them to take bathroom breaks every so often (Adams, Dominelli and Payne 2009, 34). The initiative is fundamental because it assists the patients to regain their cognitive abilities.
Additionally, social workers also attend to the psychological. First and foremost, they assist patients in addressing regular mood swings by participating in their favorite activities. For instance, some patients have been involved in establishing gardens where they plant fruits and flowers (Fook 2012, 33). Secondly, social workers also assist the patient's family and friends cope with their suffering (Milner, Myers and O'Byrne 2009, 53). Thirdly, social workers recommend memory tools to assist patients in addressing their impaired cognitive functionalities. These include alarms and to-do lists to allow them to remember when some aspects need to be done, such as taking medications. Social workers also address social care demands. They create a trusting environment with their patients and, in so doing, allow them to confide about their fears and concerns (Bell and Hafford-Letchfield 2013, 17). Social workers must be on the same page as their patients for effective management.
Brief Description of Placement Case
I recently had the privilege and opportunity of tagging along in a joint intervention visit to an individual with a diagnosis of dementia. The condition of the individual known as JJ was progressing at an alarming rate. As such, JJ was exhibiting adverse effects, including poor mobility, reduced standing balance, and impaired cognition. In this regard, JJ had suffered falls in the bathroom, fortunately, without any life-threatening injuries. JJ's memory had significantly deteriorated to the point he could hardly remember his name, let alone those of close family members and friends. Similarly, he had been forced to use a walking aid to support his balance and allow him to walk upright. Furthermore, since his memory had also been impacted with the progression of dementia, JJ had been given a pendant alarm to serve various functions. It was supposed to alert him when it was time to take medication. JJ was also supposed to use the pendant alarm to raise the alarm whenever he felt lost or was in any form of trouble. That as it may, the condition was getting worse, and there were instances where JJ fell in the bathroom and failed to remember to use the pendant alarm to call for assistance.
The visit to JJ was thrilling and informative in equal measure since it was the first experience I had to witness the application of a person-centered care approach to JJ's needs. Dementia is a chronic syndrome whose effects vary between individuals, and as such, it is highly recommended that caregivers institute personalized procedures to the different patients they encounter and manage. The joint intervention visit also assisted in contextualizing the commitment of the organization that had employed me in terms of its association and collaboration with other partner teams. It is vital to note that the effective management requires the participation of different stakeholders. In this regard, I got the opportunity to work with a member of a team that was assessing the viability of installing a timed bed exit alarm to JJ's pendant. In light of JJ's frequent bathroom falls, the exit alarm was intended to monitor his return to bed at night in the instances he chose to mobilize independently. It was a good initiative and a significant example of using technological innovation to support the independent living of persons suffering from dementia.
I saw the bed exit alarm as an element of positive risk-taking that would enable the customer to develop new skills, potential, and also promote the customer's independence. I saw this as a way of empowering the customer to mobilise outside of her bed space at night knowing well that if she did not return within 20 minutes, help would be on its way in case she had fallen. Ultimately this intervention was all about person-centered care. The process of liaising with a partner agency in preparation for the visit helped me understand how different strategies are coordinated and applied by multi-disciplinary teams to provide a practicable outcome for the customer. This was in line with systems theory, which according to Healy (2014), "is the view of organizations as open social systems that must interact with their environments in order to survive" (p.45). Syst...