collection of social and thinking symptoms

Dementia can be defined as a group or collection of social and thinking symptoms that mainly interfere with an individual’s daily functioning. The impairment of two brain functions usually characterizes them, for example, judgment and memory loss (Livingston et al., 2020). Individuals with dementia are likely to forget, have limited thinking abilities, and face challenges when socializing with their peers. Dementia is caused by the damage of a person’s brain cells, which causes an interference with one’s brain cell’s ability to communicate with one another (Jia et al., 2020). Research conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that about 50 million people across the globe are living with dementia, and about 60% of them live in low and middle-income earning countries (WHO, 2020). These statistics show how important it is for developing countries to try their best for dementia prevention. Dementia is commonly experienced by individuals aged 65 years and above. However, in rare cases, younger individuals can also have dementia (Arvanitakis et al., 2019).

Individuals with dementia can require care that can be provided both at home and or in an institution. Notably, the main reason a dementia patient is much safer in a home-based care setting than those staying at various institutions, is mainly because dementia patients are prone to falling at multiple points during their time at the hospital or home. Research conducted by Baranzi et al. (2009), showed that only 30% of the falls for people with dementia are related

to home-base care. The rest of fall cases are from institutional-based care. The difference is likely because when dementia patients stay in home-based care, caretakers are likely to prevent risks associated with falling, including serious injuries leading to increased hospital admission rates. Under institutional care, a patient might decide to walk out of bed independently, as the

caregiver cannot help with their movements, and as a result, the patient might fall as they are usually too weak to support themselves, which significantly risk their future lives (Bursack, 2019).

Consequently, caregivers’ close monitoring is required to provide full-time help with

movements, keeping patients safe and healthy. Moreover, home-based care is less expensive

(Sands et al., 2015). Also, home-based care programs have improved outcomes compared to Institutional nursing homes. In some cases, the family members take the responsibility of caregiving the patients (Gitlin et al., 2010).

However, dementia care at home can pose various challenges to family members, mainly because of the many responsibilities that the family will have to perform. One challenge that family members are likely to face is their finances being impacted because they miss their daily jobs to offer caregiving services; therefore, they lose their source of income that their pay might reduce. Furthermore, due to dementia, family members will be required to sacrifice their income to ensure that they purchase medication, pay for therapies, and a specialized nurse to always take care of their loved ones (Beerens et al., 2014).  The survey by the National Alliance on Caregiving (2005), indicates that caregiving disrupts individual employment and earnings. Due to these new responsibilities, a family is likely to strain financially, which might affect their future sustainability if they do not look for other alternatives for financial stability.

Additionally, family caregivers are also likely to developmental and physical health strains. Research conducted by Roth et al. (2008), showed that 33% of the caregivers indicated that they had no strain, 50% indicated they had some strain, and only 17% encountered a lot of strain. Additionally, Lawton et al. (1991), used a two-factor model that showed that caregivers

may experience both psychological distress and psychological satisfaction growth, and both effects may be compatible. Also, most caretakers lack enough medical knowledge to handle complex medical decisions for their patients, and therefore, they face difficulties in caring for

medically fragile patients. Caregivers of people with dementia face mental and physical strains at different levels (Sonas Home Health Care, 2019).