Taking care of people with dementia is very difficult to do. I would know because I've been working with people who have dementia for over a year, now. I've gone through multiple training seminars and workshops to better understand how to meet the needs of someone with dementia. No matter how much training you endure, it's never enough. Someone's behaviors will not stop no matter what method you try. You can't always do activities with the people who need more mental stimulation than just sitting in front of a television.
I work with someone's family member every time I step into my job, but I've never had to care for my own family member with dementia. However, I recognize that there are people who do this every day, and someday, this could be my reality. Many of my family members are on the older side. My parents didn't give birth to me until they were in their mid-30s. My closest aunt and uncle are moving into their 70s, and my living grandparents are both approaching 80 years old.
When I take care of people's family members, I always try to treat them with the dignity and respect that I would have if I were caring for my own mother, but thinking about this always brings me a lot of sadness. I imagine that one day, my own mom may lose some of her short-term memory, or she may develop very severe dementia. Just the thought of not being able to have conversations with my mom the way I do now brings me so much sadness and remorse. I can only imagine how emotionally heart-wrenching it must be to care for a loved-one with dementia every day.
For unit seven of Psych: 532, I was asked to read an article related to emotion via the internet. The article that I read was titled, “Development and Feasibility of Inlife: A Pilot Study of an Online Social Support Intervention for Informal Caregivers of People with Dementia." The researchers in this study studied the development of an online intervention for the social support of people who care for individuals with dementia. They then studied the effectiveness of this intervention and the feasibility of using this intervention.
The researchers decided to study this phenomenon because informal caregivers who care for individuals with dementia are often working with their family member or loved one round the clock. As a result they can become socially isolated which may result in depression. Therefore, informal caregivers for individuals with dementia need social support without leaving their home.
The findings demonstrated that the use of the social support intervention was indeed feasible; however, the uptake of this social support system did not go well. In other words, informal caregivers did not adhere to the social support intervention.
These findings demonstrated that, first, changes had to be made to the intervention in order to make more caregivers adhere to using the program. Second, people who used the intervention more showed less of a decline of perceived family support. Therefore, those who adhered to the intervention thought that they had more social support than those who used the intervention less.
I think that this study presents a great idea for people who care for a relative with dementia. Because I'm obtaining a certificate in gerontology, I've taken classes which have informed me that our population is aging rapidly. I also know that with each increase in age, people become more and more likely to develop dementia. Therefore, as the population ages, the number of people with dementia increases and the number of people who care for family members with dementia increases as well.
Informal caregivers of dementia endure immense emotional hardship and isolation from others because they spend so much time with their dementia-afflicted family member. With the widespread saturation of the internet, I think it would be a great idea to design an app, specifically for dementia caregivers that allow them multiple ways to connect with other family members, chat with other dementia caregivers for moral support, and use guided meditation tracks.
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