Altered Thought Processes - Nursing Care Plan for Dementia

Dementia is a serious loss of global cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging. Dementia is not a disease itself, but rather a group of symptoms that are caused by various diseases or conditions. Dementia is often incorrectly referred to as "senility" or "senile dementia," which reflects the formerly widespread but incorrect belief that serious mental decline is a normal part of aging.

Especially in later stages of the condition, subjects may be disoriented in time (not knowing the day, week, or even year), in place (not knowing where they are), and in person (not knowing who they and/or others around them are). Dementia caused by nervous system disease, especially Alzheimer's disease, is increasing in frequency more than most other types of dementia.

Different types of dementia are associated with particular types of brain cell damage in particular regions of the brain. For example, in Alzheimer's disease, high levels of certain proteins inside and outside brain cells make it hard for brain cells to stay healthy and to communicate with each other.

Symptoms of dementia can vary greatly, at least two of the following core mental functions must be significantly impaired to be considered dementia:

• Memory
• Communication and language
• Ability to focus and pay attention
• Reasoning and judgment
• Visual perception

Treatment of dementia depends on its cause. In the case of most progressive dementias, including Alzheimer's disease, there is no cure and no treatment that slows or stops its progression. But there are drug treatments that may temporarily improve symptoms.


Nursing Diagnosis for Dementia: Impaired Thought Processes

Goal: The client is not impaired thought processes.

Goal 1:

• The client can expect an trusting relationships.

Outcomes:

• Clients show a sense of fun, friendly facial expressions would shake hands with eye contact, would sit side by side.

Intervention:

• Greet clients with both verbal and non-verbal.
• Introduce yourself politely.
• Explain the purpose of the meeting.
• Honest and keep promises.
• Show empathy and accept the nature of the client.
• Pay attention to the basic needs of the clients and note.

Goal 2:

• The client is able to recognize / oriented to time and place.

Outcomes:

• The client is able to say which one is around, the client is able to mention the days and places visited.

Interventions:

• Give a chance for patients to recognize private property, for example: a bed, closet, clothes etc..
• Give the patient the opportunity to get to know the time by using a large clock, a calendar that has a daily sheet with great writing.
• Give the patient the opportunity to name and immediate family members.
• Give an opportunity for clients to know where he is.
• Give praise when the patient if the patient is able to answer correctly.

Goal 3:

• Patients were able to perform daily activities optimally.

Outcomes:

• Patients were able to meet their daily needs independently.

Interventions:

• Observation of the patient's ability to perform daily activities.
• Give the patient the opportunity to choose activities that can be done.
• Help the patient to engage in activities that have been chosen.
• Give credit if the patient can perform activities.
• Ask if the patient feeling able to perform its activities.
• Together with the patient to make a schedule of daily activities.

Goal 4:

• Families were able to orient the patient to time, person and place.

Outcomes:

• Families were able to give precise guidance on the time and the place and the people around and the family is able to provide therapeutic stance on the client.

Interventions:

• Families were able to orient the patient to time, person and place.
• Discuss with your family ways of orienting time, people and places on the patient.
• Encourage families to provide a large clock, calendar with great writing.
• Discuss with your family has ever had the ability of the patient.
• Encourage the family to give praise to the capabilities that are still owned by the patient.
• Encourage the family to monitor the daily activities of patients according to the schedule have been made.
• Encourage the family to give kudos if the patient is carried out in accordance with the schedule of activities that have been made.

Goal 5:

• The patient's family can provide the tools needed to do reality orientation patients with expected outcomes: solid client / capable of things or anything that have or are experienced.

Interventions:

• Providing the tools needed to perform patient orientation.
• Encourage families to help patients perform activities in accordance capabilities.

Goal 6:

• Families were able to help the patient in performing day-to-day of activity, capable of assisting clients in family activities and guiding clients well.

Interventions:

• Assist patients in performing day-to-day of activity.
• Encourage your family, to help the elderly perform activities in accordance capabilities.
• Help families do patients choose the capabilities that today.

Tag : Altered Thought Processes, Dementia, Nursing Diagnosis and Interventions