Mental Health Nursing: Dementia Report

Executive summary

In this report, the findings of a literature review about the growing prevalence of dementia are analyzed as a public health issue in the United Kingdom (UK). Dementia is associated with degenerative cognitive functioning, which often manifests as anxiety, depression, and memory loss among its victims. Statistics relating to dementia, as a mental health issue, suggest that there will be an increase in the number of patients diagnosed with the disease as more people seek help for their mental health issues and the population of elderly people continues to rise. Despite the importance of understanding the impact of dementia on society, gaps are reported in the process of formulating effective health promotion campaigns.

In this report, the health belief model is evaluated as a practical theory for use in health promotion. The model’s focus on people’s beliefs and values suggest that future health interventions should exploit the same constructs to develop effective health program. However, the need to adopt sound ethical practices when doing so is critical because people’s values and beliefs need to be synchronized to develop effective health campaigns about mental health. In this regard, in this report, it is proposed that future health promotion campaigns should use information from national data to develop effective campaigns and convey vital information to the public in a way that does not oppose their beliefs about the disease. These recommendations are particularly designed for application in the UK where the population is relatively aware of the disease.

Introduction

It is sad for a parent to lose the memory of their children or fail to recognize them at all because of dementia. Such is the effect of the disease because it has a degenerative effect on people’s feelings, thoughts, and responses (Alzheimer’s Society, 2020a). Dementia is a group of neurological diseases affecting the brain (NHS, 2020; Bhugra, 2019). This organ is usually made up of many nerves, most of which communicate well with each other. Dementia affects its neurological transmission pathways and, by extension, brain functioning. In advanced cases, the condition impedes cognitive functioning. Although dementia affects people from different parts of the world, most cases are concentrated in wealthy countries that have a high population of elderly people. Therefore, one of the most common risk factors for this disease is old age.

It is estimated that there are more than 200 types of dementia but Alzheimer’s, mixed and vascular dementias are the most commonly known. This report examines the literature relating to the disease because of the growing number of elderly people in the UK who are vulnerable to it. Particularly, the rise in the number of elderly people from World War II and baby boomer generations has increased the susceptibility of local communities to this disease because these demographics form a significant percentage of the total populace. Dementia is also studied in this report because it is poorly diagnosed and may affect more people than has been previously thought. Increased cases of mental health issues within the society further necessitate a review of literature on this disease. Overall, this report aims to critically evaluate facts about the disease, as a public health issue. To achieve this goal, a critical appraisal of the concepts of mental health and their effects on vulnerable communities in the UK will be done. The main sections of this report will also detail how to use local and national data to formulate public health policies relating to the disease.

Concepts of mental health

Mental health conditions refer to a broad set of diseases that affect a person’s cognitive abilities. Some of its symptoms include personality, eating, depressions, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) (Mental Health UK, 2020). It is estimated that about one in four people in the UK suffers from one type of mental disorder per year (MIND, 2020). In England, it is reported that one in six people experience some type of mental disorder per week (Evans et al., 2019). There is no major difference in the prevalence of mental disorders today compared to the past. However, modern life pressures, including financial stresses, unemployment, and expanded work roles may cause an increase in prevalence numbers (Mental Health UK, 2020). The rising incidences of mental health cases in the UK highlight the need to better understand dementia and come up with practical solutions for minimizing its impact, based on communities.

Dementia shares a close relationship with mental health. Regan (2016) says that dementia has a complex relationship with the latter concept because both of them share similar causes and effects. For example, depression is normally reported among patients suffering from dementia and poor mental health (Callaghan and Gamble, 2015; Brown, Stoffel and Munoz, 2019). Therefore, it is increasingly difficult to differentiate patients who suffer from both conditions. In this regard, patients who suffer from dementia have traditionally received the same type of treatment as mental health patients because the diseases have similar effects on the brain.

Statistics

As mentioned in this report, dementia mostly affects the elderly. It is estimated that 850,000 people in the UK suffer from the disease (Dementia UK, 2020). Out of this population, about 42,000 patients experience early-onset dementia, which is commonly diagnosed among patients who are younger than 65 years of age (Dementia UK, 2020). The prevalence of the disease within this age group is estimated at 7% (Dementia UK, 2020). In 2021, the number of patients suffering from it in the UK is expected to rise to more than 1 million and in 2051 it is further expected to double (Alzheimer’s Society, 2020b). These figures show that there could be a public health crisis in the offing that needs to be addressed. Economically, dementia has a total estimated cost of £26.3 billion (Alzheimer’s Society, 2020b). About two-thirds of this cost is paid by patients and their families, while the rest is channeled to private health facilities. These statistics could inform future policy initiatives aimed at addressing the problem.

Theories and ethical principles of health promotion

Health promotion involves pursuing a set of actions aimed at improving people’s health and wellbeing. The process involves making judgment calls about the meaning of health promotion programs to patients and identifying relevant techniques to develop effective campaigns (Kemm, 2015). Consequently, theories and principles of health promotion govern this area of decision-making. The health belief model is one of the most commonly used frameworks for formulating health promotion programs (Hadler, Sutton and Osterberg, 2020; Hayden, 2017). It is relevant to this review because of its focus on people’s social and psychological behaviors, which are related to their cognitive processes and mental health.

As its name suggests, the health belief model predicts people’s likelihood to adopt positive health behaviors based on their beliefs about a disease and the efficacy of preventive methods. The health belief model borrows from psychological and behavioral theories, which operate on two basic assumptions. The first one is that people will do what is necessary to avoid getting a disease and the second one is that they will pursue a set of actions that will contribute to their recovery if they get ill (Staddon, 2015; Bailey, Tarbuck, and Chitsabesan, 2017). This theory of public health promotion portends significant implications to the development of health interventions for addressing mental health issues in the UK because it explains how to create policies that take into account people’s behavioral characteristics and attitudes towards treatment (Glanz, Rimer, and Viswanath, 2015). The focus on people’s belief systems is more relevant to the management of dementia as a public health crisis in the UK based on how people perceive its role and impact on patients and their families.

The health belief model may have significant repercussions on the efficacy of health programs targeting patients with dementia but the adoption of its evidence-based practices is as important as the need to do so ethically. Ethics is notably relevant to this analysis because it focuses on people’s values and such ideals are closely intertwined with people’s beliefs, as explained in the health belief model (Barrett et al., 2016; Mastroianni, Kahn and Kass, 2019). Globally, it is understood that the commonly held ethical values and beliefs of justice, peace, and equity are the prerequisites of good health and, as such, should underlie the development of mainstream health promotion campaigns targeting the management of dementia. Accepting these values in health promotion means it is a moral duty to increase public awareness concerning the disease.

Conclusion and recommendations

This report aimed to evaluate the findings from existing works of literature concerning dementia, as a public health issue in the UK. The condition has been linked to a rise in the elderly population in society. Statistics relating to dementia, as a mental health issue, suggest that there will be an increase in the number of patients suffering from the disease as more diagnoses are made and the population of elderly patients surges. Despite the need to understand the impact of this disease on elderly people, there are gaps in the formulation of effective health promotion campaigns. To fill them, the health belief model is reviewed as a reliable and relevant framework for formulating health interventions aimed at sensitizing people about mental health and dementia in the UK.

Its focus on people’s beliefs shows that future health interventions in this area of disease management should exploit existing community beliefs about the disease and its treatment to realize the best possible outcomes. Such initiatives should be undertaken ethically because there needs to be an asynchrony of people’s values and beliefs in developing the most effective health promotion programs. Relative to this claim, future health promotion campaigns should use national health data to develop effective campaigns and convey them to the public in a way that complements their beliefs about them. Particularly, this approach should be adopted in the UK to increase people’s awareness of mental health and dementia.

Reference List

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