Alzheimer's Case Study

Once someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, members of that person’s family will be affected as well. Alzheimer’s is a rapidly growing disease meaning that more people are being affected by it in some sort of way now than in past years. Figures show that, in 2012, another American will be diagnosed with the disease every sixty-eight seconds, totaling about sixteen million (“factsheet”). By the year 2050, it is predicted that a new case of Alzheimer’s will present itself every thirty-three seconds (“factsheet”). This disease differentiates itself from others in that the family members have to understand that a patient cannot make a full recovery (Nizario). Alzheimer’s will never go away and will permanently change the lifestyle
of everybody who is closely involved with a patient (Nizario). Caregivers and family members will experience negative effects emotionally, bodily, and financially in an effort to take care of their loved one, who is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. As family members witness the disease take control of a loved one, they will experience their own emotions.
In fact, some risk factors for caregivers can include anxiety and depression (Brinkley). Alzheimer’s disease usually changed the personality of patients when severe stages were reached. Patients can wander and lash out at others. This change in personality has an emotional toll on the family members or caregivers (Brinkley). As patients’ personalities change, it is important for families to learn to “differentiate between the disease and [their] loved one” (D’Antuono). Frustration, anger, fear, sadness, and concern over personal memory lapses are “a range of natural emotions” that caregivers of patients can experience (“Consumer/Patient”). Statistics show that up to fifty percent of caregivers experience psychological distress, usually depression (“Consumer/Patient”). Over eighty percent of families who have a member diagnosed with Alzheimer’s have reported some sort of stress-related side effect (“factsheet”). Sixty of that eighty percent rate the stress level as being either high or very high, and up
to thirty-three percent have reported symptoms of depression (“factsheet”). In order to reduce this stress, family members have to devote time to attending “appropriate emotional support” through counseling, a support group, or other family members (D’Antuono). Although there are ways to cope with the emotional effects placed on family members of patients with Alzheimer’s, the stress and frustration level still remains very high and hard to understand if one does not have a family member suffering with the disease. In effectively caring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease, there are physical aspects of patients’ lives that have to be dealt with as patients forget how to maintain themselves.
Maintaining a safe environment surrounding patients is the responsibility of the caregivers or family members (“Caregiving”). The constant need displayed by those with late stages of Alzheimer’s will require caregivers to quit their jobs if they cannot afford a nursing home (D’Antuono). Statistics show that the best approach to encouraging patients to maintain their hygiene is a lead-by-example approach (“Personal Care”). This approach requires family member to spend the majority of their time with their loved one as personal hygiene and personal decisions present themselves throughout the day. Caregivers and family members have to find time to create new ways to communicate with their loved ones (“Communication”). Short and simple is beneficial for the patients and only basic conversations will be achievable in latter stages of the disease (“Communication”). It is often a reoccurring problem for patients of this disease to forget to eat. Reminding patients to eat on a regular basis can be stressful for caregivers because it requires them to be in the presence of the patient several times a day (“Personal Care”). The caregivers have to devote time to watching the eating patterns of the patients as well (“Personal Care”). Simple tasks such as bathing, brushing their teeth, combing their hair,
and making decisions on what clothes to wear can be challenging for patients. This places more responsibility and stress on caregivers (“Personal Care”). Anytime humans are responsible for the actions and the well-being of other humans, people usually feel some sort of anxiety. Once put into consideration that the patients are usually loved ones who have at one point have taken care of the caregiver, the emotional stress is understandable. Usually caregivers feel they can never do enough to ensure that their loved ones are taken care of and comfortable. The largest burden placed on the family members involves monetary habits of the patients with the disease and the cost of providing essential care to patients. Dementia patients often feel inclined to donate to “charities” that are not always trustworthy and compete in false contests that promise large fiscal rewards. Degradation of financial skills occurs early in the disease (Netzer). Elder fraud is a serious problem, and the main issue is the elderly’s inability to recognize fraud mail and telephone calls. Caregivers usually confiscate patients’ checkbooks once patients with Alzheimer’s start participating in this type of activity. This can cause controversy between the patients and the caregivers. Patient will instinctually resent their caregivers and claim that the caregivers are trying to take patients independence. The University of Alabama conducted a study, and at the beginning of the study, they compared an elderly adult with full financial-management capability and an Alzheimer’s elder with an eighty-percent financial-management capability (Netzer). By the end of the study, the financial-management capability of patients with dementia decreased by ten percent (Netzer).
Family members suffer financially as well. In the year 2011, over seventeen billion hours of care were provided by caregivers and family members of patients with Alzheimer’s disease without pay (“factsheet”). Caregivers of patients spend an additional eight billion dollars on coping with emotions caused by the diagnosis of loved family members (“factsheet”). Additionally, families have to decide if it is more cost-efficient to put patients in a nursing home or quit their job to effectively take care of the patients. Alzheimer’s disease has proven to have a negative effect on American citizens. Effectively taking care of people who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, requires caregivers to sacrifice emotionally, bodily, and financially. Someone diagnosed with Alzheimer’s will always affect more than just his or herself.