Patients suffering from moderate dementia require specialized care to curb the effects of the disease. Some of the strategies of care that can be utilized to help them reduce the severity of the condition include maintaining a safe environment, mobility including falls and pressure area care, and personal hygiene including care of the mouth. It also consists of elimination needs, communication, eating and drinking, social inclusion, positive self-image, and psychological considerations for the client and their family (Partington, 2018). When these strategies are combined, a client with moderate dementia can be assisted in managing the disease.
One of the ways of showing care for a client with moderate dementia is by enhancing their emotional development. This strategy increases meaningful emotional engagement as well as improves interactions among clients. It is a mutual support program that utilizes social skills training as an intervention technique to offer social support to clients, who experience social isolation and depression (Rosengarten, 2020). It is meant to benefit clients who are aggressive, withdrawn, or lack expected adult social skills. Some of them include tolerance for noise and lack of aggression. In this case, social interaction patterns to be utilized in the program are cooperation, exchange, and accommodation. Exchange as a social interaction pattern will be utilized by the caregiver to ensure the clients understand how the program is conducted and its benefits. Clients are expected to engage in communication with the caregiver in the process. Cooperation between the clients and the caregiver is also expected to make the program successful. The caregiver should be accommodative of the opinions and activities of the client.
Clients with moderate dementia often display some disruptive behavior. Therefore, it would be prudent to ensure that the safety and security of both the clients and the caregiver is guaranteed. One of the ways of achieving this is by ensuring a safe and conducive environment where they are free to move, interact and shelter as they seek help for their needs. They should also be protected from abuse or bullying from other clients with different mental conditions. Working with clients with mental health issues can be challenging, some may be aggressive to others or even inflict harm on themselves (Partington, 2018). Therefore, the implementation of the care plan requires a trained caregiver who has undergone training on safety and security to ensure that they provide a safe and conducive environment for clients.
Some of the skills required in caring for a client with moderate dementia include social and communication skills. Caregivers are also expected to address some of the challenges associated with moderate dementia, including loneliness and isolation, depression, and aggression (Partington, 2018). One of the problems may be connected to hearing; in this case, it is recommended to arrange clients in positions closer to the caregiver to enhance their ability to hear and follow the narration of the story. One of the ways of developing communication skills in a client is maintaining eye contact, using gestures and facial expressions to enhance clients’ attention. To attend to those with mild hearing issues, there will be a need to increase voice, use a microphone, or provide handouts on the story narrated. A caregiver should utilize a u-shaped seating arrangement with the caregiver and the clients seated in a u-shaped arrangement. In this case, clients will be issued with excerpts of the story to be narrated.
Some of the clients with moderate dementia may be experiencing difficulty in mobility and movement. Therefore, a caregiver is expected to aid their movements within the caregiving facility and help them access some of the services and resources in the institution. One of the strategies of meeting this requirement is by caregivers ensuring that the care environment is safe from falls or pressure (Ely, 2019). Social care facilities should ensure that ramps and protective barriers are put in place to prevent the clients from falling and enable ease of movement of the clients within the institution.
Personal hygiene is one of the ways of ensuring healthy living. Therefore, clients should be encouraged to practice proper hygiene while at the social care facility. It is the responsibility of a caregiver or a social worker to ensure that their clients are clean. It is also their role to keep the care environment clean and hygienic (Monthaisong, 2018). A caregiver has to ensure that clients take a bath regularly and they should facilitate them to change their clothes and other wearables. They should also regularly clean the environment in which the clients stay.
Clients with moderate dementia may experience difficulty in meeting their elimination needs. This is the need to excrete and eliminate body wastes such as urine or stool. Caregivers are expected to help clients to meet these needs especially if they have trouble either accessing the facilities meant for this purpose or they cannot help themselves. At times, moderate dementia can affect the process of elimination hence people suffering from the disease ought to be assisted to excrete (Rosengarten, 2020). However, this must be done carefully and professionally to ensure that clients do not get embarrassed while being helped out.
Eating and drinking one of the most essential needs for human beings. Eating and drinking help a patient to recover fast; it plays a vital role in enabling the body to fight the effects brought about by the disease. Similarly, clients with moderate dementia deserve to eat and drink to ensure a speedy recovery (Rosengarten, 2020). Food and drinks facilitate the normal functioning of the body; they also help in rebuilding some of the body parts and components that have been damaged by disease. In this case, one of the most effective ways of helping clients with the condition is by ensuring that they eat and drink proper diets.
The success of the care plan will be measured through an evaluation of the clients’ behavior after undergoing the program. The evaluation will be conducted informally and will involve observing and recording clients’ behavior, especially while interacting among themselves as well as with the caregiver (Monthaisong, 2018). If clients can interact freely among themselves and with peers and close family members and they can demonstrate less aggression and agitation while interacting with one another, then the program can be said to have been successful.
In summary, clients with moderate dementia require a lot of care to manage the effects of the disease. They need caregivers who understand their condition and the best strategies to help them. There are a lot of approaches to caring for patients with moderate dementia. However, while one of the strategies may be effective for a client, it may not achieve the desired results in another person. In this case, caregivers are encouraged to select the best interventions for their clients, considering their traits and needs.
Reference List
Ely, E.R. (2019) ‘Assistive technologies and dementia: exploring professional caregivers’ attitudes toward the use of assistive technologies in providing care for people with dementia’, iConference 2019 Proceedings.
Monthaisong, D. (2018) ‘Nurses’ experiences providing care for people with dementia: an integrative literature review’, Journal of Nursing and Care, 7(2).
Partington, K. (2018) Java memory care connecting residents with dementia in powerful ways. Web.
Rosengarten, L. (2020) Social work in Geriatrie Home Health Care: the blending of traditional practice with cooperative strategies. 1st ed. London: Routledge.