The Nutritional Requirements of Individuals with Dementia
Unit 4222-366 – Mandatory Unit
Understand and meet the nutritional requirements of individuals with dementia (DEM 302)
Outcome 1
1.) Describe how cognitive, functional and emotional changes associated with dementia can affect eating, drinking and nutrition.
Cognitive behaviour is thought processing, which is caused by brain damage, effecting parts of the brain responsible for memory and how to eat and talk. This means that a person with dementia can forget how important it is to eat and drink, which means they may also lose sense of hunger and thirst. This can become a problem and put the service user’s health at risk.
Functional changes is losing ability to remember how do simple tasks, such as using cutlery to eat. Instead, some people find easier to pick up food by hand, so finger food should be provided. This might be a good way to avoid confusion and distress for a client.
Emotional changes can be negative emotions about the confused state when individual may not understand that there is something wrong, but behaviour of others may lead them to feeling something is wrong, which often causes stress to an individual with dementia.
2.) Explain how poor nutrition can contribute to an individual’s experience of dementia.
Poor nutrition can make the symptoms of dementia worse i.e. Feeling restless, agitated, aggressive and challenged behaviour. This can lead to the service user becoming more confused which may result in them forgetting to eat and drink which will lead to distress which can make them more ill. It can also increase the risk of dementia patient needing to be hospitalized due to lack of fluid intake leading to urine infection, low immune system and weight loss.
3.) Outline how other health and emotional conditions may affect the nutritional needs of an individual with dementia.
Other health and emotional conditions could be depression, as that can lead to a loss of appetite and also a lack of interest in food and drinks. Becoming depressed can
Understand and meet the nutritional requirements of individuals with dementia (DEM 302)
Outcome 1
1.) Describe how cognitive, functional and emotional changes associated with dementia can affect eating, drinking and nutrition.
Cognitive behaviour is thought processing, which is caused by brain damage, effecting parts of the brain responsible for memory and how to eat and talk. This means that a person with dementia can forget how important it is to eat and drink, which means they may also lose sense of hunger and thirst. This can become a problem and put the service user’s health at risk.
Functional changes is losing ability to remember how do simple tasks, such as using cutlery to eat. Instead, some people find easier to pick up food by hand, so finger food should be provided. This might be a good way to avoid confusion and distress for a client.
Emotional changes can be negative emotions about the confused state when individual may not understand that there is something wrong, but behaviour of others may lead them to feeling something is wrong, which often causes stress to an individual with dementia.
2.) Explain how poor nutrition can contribute to an individual’s experience of dementia.
Poor nutrition can make the symptoms of dementia worse i.e. Feeling restless, agitated, aggressive and challenged behaviour. This can lead to the service user becoming more confused which may result in them forgetting to eat and drink which will lead to distress which can make them more ill. It can also increase the risk of dementia patient needing to be hospitalized due to lack of fluid intake leading to urine infection, low immune system and weight loss.
3.) Outline how other health and emotional conditions may affect the nutritional needs of an individual with dementia.
Other health and emotional conditions could be depression, as that can lead to a loss of appetite and also a lack of interest in food and drinks. Becoming depressed can