Problem In Living Paper

HCS 220
Dan Beatty
Andrews 1

There are a lot of issues or problems in living that affect those people in our society and
our nation. The elderly have many issues that they are faced with in their later years, such as
living alone as a result of losing a spouse or having family that live far away, risk of falling,
contemplating death and dying, and other health issues that can affect them as they age.
Dementia or Alzheimers disease is one problem that affects many elderly people and can cause
detrimental effects on them as a person and it takes a toll their families and caregivers as well.
Alzheimers disease affects the mind as well as a persons spirit and in order for us as a society to
fully help those we love cope with this disease and possibly find a cure for this deadly disease.
Elderly people tend to live alone in their later years unless they have a daily care taker, or
care giver present with them to help them out with daily tasks that they may not be able to do
anymore. According to The Alzheimers Association(2014), Alzheimer's is a type of dementia
that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms usually develop slowly
and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks. Having seen my
grandfather deal with this disease, I saw firsthand how detrimental the disease could be, although
it was a slow progression, it was still hard to watch my grandfathers personality go from being
alive and vibrant to diminished and dull, he couldnt recognize me, my mom, or my grandma, or
he thought that my mom was his mom. The disease seemed to take a toll on him all at once and
he wasnt the same person, he could still feed himself but he needed help getting to the bathroom
and dressing and doing simple tasks. There is research being done to try and find a cure for this
disease but one hasnt been found yet, all the while we need to stay on top of the research that is
being done in order to better educate ourselves on the effects of this disease.

Problem In Living Paper

HCS 220
Dan Beatty
Andrews 2

According to Leifer (2008), the most common type of dementia is Alzheimers disease
and it is a progressive dementia that affects 24.3 million people worldwide, and at least 4.5
million people in the United States (p. 588). Leifer also stated that early signs of Alzheimers
disease such as memory loss and decline in cognition may be overlooked as normal aging
symptoms (p. 588). As I mentioned earlier the disease makes it harder for the individual to
perform everyday tasks, and maintain a sense of normalcy within their daily routines. An elderly
person that exhibits these symptoms early on in their latter years, should be monitored closely.
The Alzhiemers Association website states that the ten warning signs that a caregiver should
look for in their loved one or patient are as follows,
Memory loss that disrupts daily life, challenges in planning or solving problems,
difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure, confusion with time or place,
trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships, new problems with words in
speaking or writing, misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps, decrease or poor
judgment, withdrawal from work or social activities, and changes in mood or personality.
In human and community service it is important to understand different mental illnesses
and how to treat individuals with certain diseases and there are many opportunities to work with
elderly people in the human and community service field. Elderly patients tend to stay in their
homes by themselves so it is crucial that they have someone there to look after them if they have
this disease. Since the disease is progressive all of the signs will not show up all at once, it just
depends on the individual with the disease and what stage the disease is in and how far along in
that particular

Problem In Living Paper

HCS 220
Dan Beatty
Andrews 3

Caregivers of elderly people and their families have the hardest time dealing with loved
one that have Alzheimers disease. When my grandpa had it, I saw how it affected my mom with
having to go visit him, and talk to the doctors and the staff in the nursing home once he was
moved there after the disease got progressively worse. Essentially she was his voice since he
could no longer vocalize as well as he used to. Gonzales et. Al (2011), stated in their study of
how likely caregivers were to develop depression while looking after their loved ones that
family members are essential to individuals with a chronic illness, they serve as a resource to
these individuals and without these family members supporting and caring for these people it
would be impossible for their loved ones to remain a part of the community they live in (p 528).
The study they used look at 121 family caregivers and compared high risk families with poor
health and one medical condition, with low risk family caregivers.
Within the community we can educate those around us on the signs and symptoms of this
disease. In the HCS field counseling can be provided to underdeveloped communities that may
not have the resources to get proper information about this disease and how to care for someone
with the disease. As with anything in life education is the key to having proper knowledge about
an issue at hand, and with so many people in the United States being affected by this disease you
would think that more people would be aware of how it affects the elderly and their caregivers. It
only takes one person to start wanting to know more about the disease, because it is so
widespread as a disease but not everyone knows all the signs and facts associated with having the
disease, as well as the different stages that the disease moves through and how it affects the
individual.

Problem In Living Paper

HCS 220
Dan Beatty
Andrews 4

Several resources are available to help learn and educate others about this disease. The
first resource is the Alzheimers Association that has a lot of information about this disease. My
sorority Sigma Kappa has a philanthropy which is Gerontology with a focus on Alzheimers, and
Sigma Kappa from all over participate in A Walk to End Alzheimers every year, and along with
other people we all raise money that goes towards the Association and aids in continued research
in trying to find a cure in this deadly disease. There are studies that have been doing and readings
that are out on the web, that help to educate families, friends, and caregivers on all things
Alzheimers and the impact it has on everyone. No there isnt a cure right now for the disease but
there are medicines that can be prescribed to help slow down the process of Alzhiemers and
hopefully prevent the inevitable outcome of death from happening earlier rather than later. No
one wants to see a loved one struggle to be themselves as this disease progresses and gets worse.
Watching my grandpa deal with this disease he became a child once the disease was
progressively worse, and that is the sad part that a human being, someone whom yoou love
becomes child-like and needs constant monitoring in order to make sure that they dont hurt
themselves or others. A person can get violent when the disease gets worse because their ways
and habits of when they were younger are coming back to the forefront of their minds and
causing this person to act negatively or aggressively towards family members.
A lot of resources can be found online, in libraries and on the website, but if people dont
have access to a computer or a library than we have to step in place and provide education for
those individuals who dont know how serious this effects everyone in the presence of a person
with Alzheimers.

Problem In Living Paper

HCS 220
Dan Beatty
Andrews 5

Even with all the resources that are available for learning about Alzheimers Disease ,
we still have to understand that the disease does have a history of when it was first discovered,
and what it was all about. On BrightFocus.Com (2014), Dr. Alois Alzheimers first discovered
some brain cells that exhibited the disease. One of his co-worker passed away from the disease
and afterward there was a brain autopsy done that showed these cells as having dense materials
around the cells.
This information was discovered over 100 years ago and in the 1960s scientists
discovered a connection between the tangles and the plaques in the brain. It was then that
scientists recognized these findings as a disease and not a natural part of aging. In 1970, studies
were done to understand the human body and how Alzheimers disease affects everyone and in
1990, discoveries were made to better understand how the nerves in the brain worked and how it
affects Alzheimers patients.
Within the community and families, caregivers have to make the choice as to if this
individual will stay at home while the disease get worse or if their loved one should be moved
into a nursing home. My grandpa was in a nursing home that had a whole wing designated to
Alzheimers patients, you needed a code to get back their because of security reasons and
maintaining the safety of the patients. My grandpas food was brought to him and the other
patients in the wing every day, three times a day. As an HCS major I want to work with children
but being able to work with the elderly can be just as rewarding and you get to learn a lot by
being around them. Alzheimers disease. Counseling with the elderly, and being in social work
and an advocate for the elderly allows a person to understand the needs and demands of being a
caregiver for an elderly person.

Problem In Living Paper

HCS 220
Dan Beatty
Andrews 6

Pinette et. Al (2013), stated that recent trends of death with Dementia shows that
there is an increase in the United States of the number of deaths and rate of death since 1999. As
mentioned earlier no solution has been found yet for this disease but there are medicines that
slow down the process of the disease (p.1427). Most of the medicine will slow down the disease
but everyone else has to be on Medicare in order for someone to receive treatment for this
disease. My grandpa was on Medicare, and the medicine that he needed for the disease he had to
pay for out of pocket, or at least half. The healthcare system is constantly changing a growing but
not everyone may be able to afford appropriate healthcare and in order to deal with this disease
you need to see doctors, and have caretakers and caregivers pay for any services that may accrue
as a result of having this disease.
Where do I see this disease going in the long term, I believe that in the future we may
start to have signs of a cure but we wont know for sure if it works, until we test it on someone
and wait for the outcomes. The Affordable Health Care Act, says that no one should be denied
access to their particular type of health care, and if you have a pre-existing condition than a
person should be able to get the necessary help for dealing with this disease. We wont be able to
stop the inevitable as I stated earlier because the disease corrupts a persons mind and their
ability to function and keep themselves alive.

Problem In Living Paper

HCS 220
Dan Beatty
Andrews 7
Resources

A History of Alzheimer's Disease. (2014, April 15). Retrieved October 27, 2014.
Gonzalez, E. W., Polansky, M., Lippa, C., Walker, D., & Feng, D. (2011). Family caregivers at
risk:

Who

are

they?.

Issues

In

Mental

Health

Nursing,

32(8),

528-536.

doi:10.3109/01612840.2011.573123
Help End Alzheimer's. (2014, January 1). Retrieved October 27, 2014.
Homma, A. (2004). How to promote early detection of Alzheimer's disease in the community.
Psychogeriatrics, 4(4), 147-148. doi:10.1111/j.1479-8301.2004.00047.x
Leifer, B. P. (2009). Alzheimer's disease: Seeing the signs early. Journal Of The American
Academy

Of

Nurse

Practitioners,

21(11),

588-595.

doi:10.1111/j.1745-

7599.2009.00436.x
Pinette, A., Obisesan, T. O., Shetty, N., Tchiendji, C. S., & Mehari, A. (2013). Trends in
Hospitalization Associated with Alzheimer's Disease in the United States. Journal Of The
American Geriatrics Society, 61(8), 1427-1428. doi:10.1111/jgs.12386