Essay Impact of stereotyping on people with dementia Assignment Sample
Introduction
Dementia known as a disease or illness fundamentally associated with memory loss and it gradually deteriorates different cognitive functions of the body which will be discussed in this essay. It is highly required that the people living in the society may know about the impact of Dementia through this essay, mainly elderly people, however, it has come to light that dementia is not a dire consequence that comes with age (WHO, 2021). The disease may be the consequence of multiple diseases and Alzheimer’s has been regarded as one of the most common forms of Dementia and most of the cases of the disease are attached to Alzheimer’s (Lane et al., 2018). People with Dementia often suffer from depression and other forms of varied psychological disorders which further has a negative effect on the individual’s family, personal as well as professional life (Linnemann and Lang, 2020).
A hypothesis has suggested that depression may be associated with Alzheimer’s disease, which further indicates that there is a significant neurobiological association in comparison to psychological response (Brzezińska et al., 2020). One of the main symptoms of the disease and the most common behaviour that is evident amongst people is forgetfulness and having no track of time, however, unfortunately there is no significant treatment for the disease as of now. It also needs to be mentioned that the disease has a rather disproportionate effect on women and 65% of the total fatalities owing to the disease is mainly women (WHO, 2021). In this essay the impact stereotypical thoughts and stereotyping has on people with Dementia will be discussed critically.
Background of the study
It needs to be stated that people who have Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease are also affected by the way one reacts to the effects of the disease, the environment one lives in and also by the way other people treat these individuals (LULECI and HIDIROGLU, 2021). Multiple studies have shown that stereotyping and stereotype threats have a negative effect on the cognitive performance of older people, however, few studies have addressed its effects on clinical cognitive results (Fresson et al., 2017). Therefore, the stereotyping of people with Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease has a long-standing impact on the patient’s mental health as well. One of the most common stereotypes attached to the disease is people think it is the consequences of aging, since this disease mainly affects the elderly and that sometimes prevent the patients from getting the significant care one needs. Research suggests that the social stigma attached with Dementia has become a worldwide problem and the intensity of this occurrence is based on different factors, such as gender, age, cultural differences and also cognitive disorders (Rewerska and Rejdak, 2020).
Other than the elderly, people often stereotype the disease with just natural forgetfulness of the young people as well and that also prevent the individuals from getting early treatment, which might have cured the symptoms to some extent. Additionally, a common stereotype regarding dementia amongst adults is that people do not pay significant attention to certain things and therefore, the individuals are unable to remember most things in life (Cheston et al., 2020). Moreover, oftentimes the family members of people living with Dementia do not have sufficient knowledge about the way one may treat such people and that cause many patients to feel insecure, incompetence and also undervalued as well (Nielsen et al., 2021). It needs to be mentioned that most specifically within international relationships, the family members of a patient lack the significant knowledge and relevant skills required for successfully dealing with the patients having Dementia (Miron et al., 2019).
In addition to that, the concept of Dementia worry, a significant response that is related to anxiety that one may be developing the disease, presents an imperative, however, unexplored concern for the health of the aging population (Martin et al., 2020). According to research, having been exposed to negative stereotypes regarding aging comprises an increased level of worry in terms of Dementia and especially when the stereotypes are relevant to one’s self (NCBI. 2021).
Stereotyping
The definition of stereotyping may refer to the concept of people being fixated on a particular thing and having specific ideas that are not backed up by significant knowledge or information about a certain aspect (Berg, 2021). Being diagnosed with Dementia or Alzheimer’s may itself be quite embarrassing and when others talk about a person’s mental health, it may have severe negative impacts on that person and the individual may feel reluctant to talk to others or socialize (Herrmann et al., 2018). Mental health may be regarded as one of the most concerning issues in accordance with global public health and in terms of untreated cases regarding the diseases, stigmatization is considered one of the main obstacles in acquiring the right treatment (Krendl and Pescosolido, 2020).
In addition to that, a person living with Alzheimer’s or Dementia may be exposed to self stigma which indicates the person continuously having negative feelings, predictions and stereotypical thoughts related with the illness. Research has shown that the concept of self stigma and a person being reluctant to seek help due to self stigma had a negative correlation with mental health literacy (Crowe et al., 2018). The UK has many cases of Alzheimer’s disease and people living with Dementia and it needs to be mentioned that the country has been taking significant steps to provide necessary care to the patients and also for eradicating the stereotyping as well. It is estimated that in England itself there are approximately around 676,000 cases of Dementia and the number is estimated to be around 850,000 within the whole of the UK and the disease is mainly developed after the age of 65 (England.nhs.uk., 2021).
In addition to that, the stereotyping of Dementia in the UK in comparison to the rest of the world has become a matter of grave concern, since it makes the patients un-attached to the individual’s friends and families and patients start to feel alone (Groen et al., 2017). Therefore, the UK has developed several charitable organizations for people with Dementia, such as Alzheimer’s Research UK, and in the last year people’s donations has helped the organization to invest 17.3 millionpound for the research for Dementia (Alzheimer’s Research UK. 2021). On the other hand, stereotyping regarding the disease may also stem from the fact that people do not have much knowledge about the disease and view it as something that is not worth getting treatment for as well. Therefore, it has become extremely imperative that the illness of Dementia starts to get as much attention as other diseases and relevant information needs to be provided to people so that the stereotypical thoughts regarding the disease are discarded completely.
Impact of stereotyping
The impact of stereotyping regarding Dementia within the population of the UK has been causing great deal of concern for caregivers, doctors and the families of the patients, since the stereotyping is leaving extremely negative effects on the patient’s mental health (Saini, 2020). Therefore, the individuals with the illness have started to feel alone and excluded from social interactions and conventions, which is something that no patient with Dementia ought to experience under any circumstances (Hammar et al., 2021). According to research, social exclusion has been considered to leave negative impacts on people’s quality of lives and individuals living with Dementia and other forms of mental illnesses have been identified as socially excluded (Greenwood et al., 2018). On the other hand, the stereotyping of the disease may make the family members of the patients feel reluctant to show the necessary care towards the patients.
Such behaviour of family members is a major contributor to the patients developing poor relationship with family with time and it creates a significant void in the lives of the patients. Therefore, Dementia UK works towards providing special support for Dementia to the families of the patients through the Admiral Nurse Service and when time gets challenging the nurses stay beside the patients and families and work alongside with the people (Dementia UK. 2021). The impact of stereotyping, apart from making the patients feel alone and developing poor relationships with the family, contributes a lot in the patients developing other mental illnesses as well. The Dementia and mental capacity act of 2005 states that people suffering from the disease may lose mental balance and thus, this law in the England and Wales protect the patients with the significant help of the nurses (Refer to Appendix 2). Thereafter, nurses who pertain to provide significant care to patients with Dementia or Alzheimer’s face adverse health challenges owing to the nature of the illness which is generally considered as progressive (Wang et al., 2019). The National Institution for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has developed strategies for providing dynamic guidelines and recommendations for all patients, including the one suffering from Dementia to enhance the living conditions of the patients (NICE. 2021).
Another impact of stereotyping makes patients with the disease feel ashamed and insecure about one’s self and that further leads the person to not seek the required medical care one needs as well. In accordance with research, persons living with Dementia have been commonly known to have felt a loss of one’s identity, decreased self worth and the stigma attached with the disease is regarded to intensify the distress even more (Harper et al., 2019). Many family members of the patients living with Dementia stereotype the disease to such an extent that the people feel reluctant to take care of the patients and send the individuals to care homes, where the patients may feel more alone (Livingston et al., 2017). Therefore, throughout the UK many care homes for such people have been developed with significant living conditions for the people. Research suggests that the significant building design for the people living with Dementia need to take different features into account in order to provide a safe and efficient habitable living environment for the patients and families who come to visit (Fisher et al., 2018).
Strategies to promote inclusivity
It needs to be mentioned that dementia has been considered as a disability under the UK disability legislation and also under the human rights law along with the United Nations convention on Rights of Person with disabilities (Mentalhealth.org.uk. 2022). Therefore, more people are experiencing significant negative impacts of stereotyping of the disease in the UK more and for that the care of admiral nurses are imperative for such patients as admiral nurses are extremely efficient in taking care of people with dementia. One of the main ways to make the people with Dementia feel inclusive is by creating a community that may be considered as Dementia friendly and inclusive where the patients living with the disease may feel acceptable and included (Hung et al., 2020). The national institute for health and care excellence has created few guidelines for the diagnosis and managing the disease and aims to enhance care by providing recommendations to the medical staffs, such as nurses (Nice.org.uk. 2022). On the other hand, nurses may communicate daily with the individuals suffering from the disease, play games and engage in significant and different types of activities which may also be proven beneficial for making these people feel included as well (Low et al., 2019). Research suggests that developing serious games may be considered as cost-effective treatment for people who no longer have the privilege to take part in real life activities as a result of physical and cognitive disability (Dietlein and Bock, 2019). The dementia training standard framework has been updated in 2018 and addresses all the necessary skills required for all healthcare professionals and nurses to care for people living with dementia (Refer to appendix 3). In accordance with research, the concept of de-stigmatization of Dementia with the help of different awareness campaigns and several other activities associated with it have become one of the major pillars of studies related to Dementia and relevant activism (Fletcher, 2021). Moreover, a charity, named dementia UK has been developed to enhance the lives of people living with dementia by providing significant support to families through the admiral nurses (Refer to appendix 4). Therefore, in the UK several awareness campaigns have been taking place for the purpose of providing relevant and useful information to people about Dementia. In addition to that, in the UK several Dementias friendly communities have also sprung up in different regions and these communities have the potential to empower and eradicate self-stigma attached to the disease as well (Refer to Appendix 1).
Self-reflection
I want to mention that I do not have any significant and stereotypical views about any groups of people, however, similar to many people I also have felt in the past that people with Dementia just forget stuff and do not suffer from any illness. Therefore, I want to admit that after learning about the relevant information about the disease, I have felt quite saddened that I had such stereotypical views against people who are suffering from Dementia or Alzheimer’s for that matter. I feel that with time, I have been able to gather the courage to be honest about my views and thereafter, realized the importance of not having any stereotypical thoughts regarding patients with Dementia. Many of my opinions that I had beforehand have been challenged throughout the course of this learning and I have learned a lot of things along with it.
For instance, I used to think that Dementia is not a disease, however, with the information I have learned during this course has made me realize that it is a significant cognitive disease that highly affects people. Dementia may be known as a relevant loss of cognition and different cognitive aspects that have the potential to severely affect the occupational and social functions of individuals as well (Arvanitakis et al., 2019). On the other hand, I also had a stereotypical thought that memory loss is a consequence of aging and it only appears in older people, however, I have come to know that younger people as well may suffer from memory loss and Dementia too.
I feel that I want to change my mentality of having a fix though about anything without having proper knowledge about it so that I do not have a stereotypical mentality in the future. In addition to that, this course has helped me to learn that in case people have any stereotypical thoughts about me in the future, then making people aware about the actuality of the cause may help me to cope with such stereotypical thoughts. Moreover, in case after being made aware, people still have any stereotypical thoughts about me then, I feel that seeking professional help, such as therapy may help me to cope with such incidents. Research suggests that blended Cognitive Behavioural Therapy may be an efficient and effective way to engage patients suffering from depression in relevant mental health care (Kooistra et al., 2019).
I feel that in order to build resilience against such stereotypical thoughts, I need to be more self-aware and secure about my own self and not let such perspectives of people affect me in any way. In addition to that, having a close relationship with friends and family and my loved ones may also help me to be more resilient against any stereotypical thoughts people may have towards me. I also need to develop my observing skills more to always look out for people who may have any such stereotypical thoughts so that I may make those people more informed and help the individuals get rid of such mentality.
Conclusion
Finally, it may be concluded that the stereotypes against Dementia have significant impacts on people’s mental wellbeing as well as quality of life and thus, the stereotypical thoughts need to be erased from people’s minds. In addition to that, friends and family members need to be extremely accepting towards these people and treat the individuals in such a way that all people suffering from the disease feel socially included. The UK has a lot of cases of Dementia, however, in most regions of the country Dementia friendly communities are being developed and significant resources are being spent on finding its cure as well.
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