Dementia

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 Session outline

• Introduction to dementia
• Assessment of dementia
• Management of dementia
• Follow-up
• Review

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 Activity 1: Person’s story

• Present a person’s story of what it feels

like to live with epilepsy.

• First thoughts.

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Local terms for people with dementia

• What are the names and local terms for

dementia?

• How does the community understand

dementia? What do they think causes it?

• How does the community treat people

with dementia?

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 What is dementia?

• Dementia is a term used to describe a large

group of conditions affecting the brain
which cause a progressive decline in a
person’s ability to function.

• It is not a normal part of ageing.

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 Common presentations
Common Presentations
People with dementia can present with
problems in:
• Cognitive function: Confusion, memory,
problems planning.
• Emotion control: Mood swings, personality
changes.
• Behaviour: Wandering, aggression.
• Physical health: Incontinence, weight loss
• Difficulties in performing daily activities:
Ability to cook, clean dishes.
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 Video

Show Alzheimer’s video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wv9jrk-gXc

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 Stages of dementia: Early stage
• Becoming forgetful, especially of things that have just
happened.
• Some difficulty with communication (e.g. difficulty in finding
words).
• Becoming lost and confused in familiar places – may lose items
by putting them in unusual places and be unable to find them.
• Losing track of the time, including time of day, month, year.
• Difficulty in making decisions and handling personal finances.
• Having difficulty carrying out familiar tasks at home or work –
trouble driving or forgetting how use appliances in the kitchen.
• Mood and behaviour:
• Less active and motivated, loses interest in activities and hobbies.
• May show mood changes, including depression or anxiety.
• May react unusually angrily or aggressively on occasion.
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 Stages of dementia: Middle stage
• Becoming very forgetful, especially of recent events and
people’s names.
• Having difficulty comprehending time, date, place and
events.
• Increasing difficulty with communication.
• Need help with personal care (i.e. toileting, dressing).
• Unable to prepare food, cook, clean or shop.
• Unable to live alone safely without considerable support.
• Behaviour changes (e.g. wandering, repeated
questioning, calling out, clinging, disturbed sleeping,
hallucinations).
• Inappropriate behaviour (e.g. disinhibition, aggression).
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 Stages of dementia: Late stage
• Unaware of time and place.
• May not understand what is happening around them.
• Unable to recognize relatives and friends.
• Unable to eat without assistance.
• Increasing need for assisted self-care.
• May have bladder and bowel incontinence.
• May be unable to walk or be confined to a
wheelchair or bed.
• Behaviour changes may escalate and include
aggression towards carer (kicking, hitting, screaming
or moaning).
• Unable to find their way around in the home.
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 Human rights abuses

• People with dementia are frequently denied

their human rights and freedoms.
• In many countries physical and chemical
restraints are used on people with dementia.
• This is an abuse of human rights.
• Chemical and physical restraints should not be
used; instead people with dementia should be
treated with dignity, and psychosocial
interventions should be first-line treatment.
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Impact on families and carers

Dementia is overwhelming for the families

of affected people and their carers.
Physical, emotional and economic pressures
can cause great stress to families and carers,
which has far reaching impacts on the wider
society and community.
Support for families of people with
dementia is required from the health, social,
financial and legal systems.

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Socioeconomic impact of dementia

Direct
medical
costs

US$
818
billion
Cost of Direct
informal social care
care costs

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 Why is dementia important?

• Worldwide, around 47 million people have dementia

with nearly 60% in low- and middle-income countries.
• Every year there are 9.9 million new cases.
• By 2030 there is projected to be 75 million people with
dementia and 132 million by 2050.

Growth in numbers of people with

dementia

Low-and middle-income countries

High-income countries

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 Principles of dementia care

• Early diagnosis in order to promote early and

optimal management.
• Optimizing health, cognition, activity and
well-being.
• Identifying and treating accompanying
physical illness.
• Detecting and treating behavioural and
psychological symptoms.
• Providing information and long-term support
to carers.
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Communication during the assessment
• People with dementia may have cognitive impairments
that will limit the communication they can have with
you.
• Therefore, make an effort to communicate with the
person and their carer.
• Make sure you sit in a way that the person can see and
hear you properly.
• Speak clearly, slowly and with eye contact.
• Look at the body language and non-verbal cues.
• Give the caregiver and family a chance to talk and listen
to their concerns. You may need to be flexible in how
you do this.
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 Communicating with the person
with dementia

• The progressive nature of dementia means that

over time the person may experience:
• Problems finding the right words.
• Their fluency when talking may deteriorate.
• They may interrupt, not respond, ignore others, appear
self-centred.
• They may have trouble understanding the questions put to
them. They may be confused when answering.
• Their reading and writing skills may deteriorate.
• They way they express their emotions will change.
• They may have hearing and visual problems as well.
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Establish communication and build trust with carers

• Provide the carer and family with opportunities to express

their worries and concerns about the person’s illness.

• Listen carefully to the concerns of the carer and family

members.

• Highlight the positive aspects of the family:

o Congratulate the family for taking such good care of
the person, if appropriate.

• Be flexible in your approach with the carer and family. The

family may come to you with needs you did not expect.
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 Ask the carer

• Have you noticed a change in the person’s ability to

think and reason?
• Does the person often forget where they have put
things?
• Does the person forget what happened the day
before?
• Does the person forget where they are?
• Does the person get confused?
• Does the person have difficulty dressing (misplacing
buttons, putting clothes on in the wrong way)?

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 Get more information about
the symptoms

Ask the carer:

• How has the person changed since having these
symptoms (changed behaviours, ability to reason,
changed personality, changed emotion control)?
• What does the person do in a typical day? How do they
behave? Is this different form what they used to do?

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 Get more information about
the symptoms

Ask the person or their carer:

• When they first noticed the symptoms?
• How old was the person when they first noticed the
symptoms?
• Did the symptoms start suddenly or gradually?
• How long have the symptoms been present for?
• Are the symptoms worse at night?
• Is there associated drowsiness, impairment of
consciousness?

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 Video demonstration:
Assessing for dementia

Show mhGAP-IG video for dementia

assessment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO
9nwqF1OJE&index=11&list=PLU4ieskOli
8GicaEnDweSQ6-yaGxhes5v

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Testing orientation, memory and language

Example of questions:
1. Tell them three words (e.g. boat, house, fish)
and ask them to repeat after you.
2. Point to their elbow and ask, “What do we
call this?”
3. Ask below questions:
• What do you do with a hammer? (Acceptable answer:
”Drive a nail into something”).
• Where is the local market/local store?
• What day of the week is it?
• What is the season?
• Please point first to the window and then to the door.
4. Ask, “Do you remember the three words I
told you a few minutes ago?”
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 Delirium resembling dementia

• Delirium is a state of mental confusion that develops quickly

and usually fluctuates in intensity. It has many causes, including
medications and infections.
• Delirium can be confused for dementia.
• Suspect delirium if it is acute onset, short duration and the
person has impaired level of consciousness.
• If you think that a person has delirium;
– Try to identify and manage underlying cause
– Assess for dehydration and give fluid
– Ensure that the person is safe and comfortable
– Refer the person to a specialist (e.g. neurologist,
psychiatrist, or internal medicine specialist).
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 Depression resembling dementia

• In older people, depression can sometimes resemble

dementia.

• Older people with depression can often be confused,

irritable, lose interest and motivation, stop functioning
well (be unkempt and neglect personal hygiene) and
generally present in ways similar to dementia.

• If you suspect depression then go to the Module:

Depression and manage the depression but the person
should be re-assed for dementia 12 weeks later.

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 Assessing the carer

Assess:
• Who is the main carer?
• Who else provides care and what care do they
provide?
• Is there anything they find particularly difficult to
manage?
• Are the carers coping? Are they experiencing strain?
Are they depressed?
• Are they facing loss of income and/or additional
expenses because of the need for care?
It is important to make sure that the carer is coping because they
will ensure the well-being of the person with dementia.
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 Behavioural and psychological
symptoms of dementia

• Apathy • Hallucinations
• Aggression • Delusions
• Wandering • Anxiety
• Restlessness • Uncontrollable emotional
• Eating problems outbursts
• Agitation
• Disinhibition • These are not usually
• Pacing present at the beginning
of dementia
• Screaming

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 Activity 4: Role play: Assessment

- Farah, 45 years old, brings her mother Ingrid,

73 years old, to your clinic.
- Farah reports that her mother has been acting
strangely over the last few months.
- Her mother has become increasingly forgetful
and vague.
- Sometimes she doesn't seem to recognize
people that she has known for years.
- Assess Ingrid for possible dementia.
- Also assess Farah’s well-being.
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 Promote activities for daily functioning

Carer support
Managing behavioural and
psychological symptoms and
improving cognitive function

Pharmacology
Psychoeducation

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 Carer support

1. Empathize: Acknowledge how difficult and

frustrating it is to care for someone with
dementia:
• Remind them to keep calm and avoid hostility.
• Explain how scared the person with dementia
may be feeling and the importance of treating
them with respect and dignity and thinking of
them as a person.

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 Carer support

2. Encourage carer to seek help and support.

3. Provide information to carers about dementia
and the symptoms.
4. Train the carers and support them to learn to
tackle difficult behaviours like wandering and
aggression (use role plays).
5. If possible offer respite care for the carer.
6. Explore any financial support or benefits the
carer and person may be entitled to.

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Managing behavioural and psychological
symptoms of dementia

Following are common problems faced by caregivers

in managing care for older person with dementia:

1. Personal hygiene
2. Dressing
3. Toileting and incontinence
4. Repeated questioning
5. Clinging
6. Aggression
7. Wandering
8. Loss of interest and activity
9. Hallucinations

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 Activity 5: Case scenarios:
Treatment planning

In small groups:
• Practise choosing different management
interventions to help manage someone
with dementia.
• Specifically focus on managing
psychological and behavioural symptoms.

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 Activity 6: Role play: Follow-up

• Farah and Ingrid return to your clinic three months later for a
follow-up appointment.
• Ingrid explains that Farah’s behaviour has deteriorated. She is
now waking up at night and wandering around the house. One
night last week she fell over a piece of furniture in the house
and hurt her leg.
• Farah has also been going out of the house during the day and
getting lost.
• One day it took Ingrid over 12 hours to find Farah and when she
did Farah had not eaten or drunk anything all day and was weak
and dizzy. Ingrid worries about what could have happened to
her.

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Review

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