Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Corso di laurea in infermieristica - Sede di Modena
| Thesis Title | "Approach to Alzheimer's diseased: nursing interventions to preserve the dignity of the patient". |
|---|---|
| Name | Schembri Alessia |
| Supervisor(s) | Cavani Francesco |
| Academic Year | 2012/13 |
| Thesis type | Non research thesis |
Abstract
With this work I propose to develop a general reflection on everyday life issues that accompany an Alzheimer's patient. This reflection comes from an observational and training activity I have done for about two months at the dementia core of the nursing home "Villa Igea ". This internship experience was a tool for understanding the need to take care of the demented patient, not only in the treatment of the disease in terms of performance and technical skills, but also in identifying with the patient in order to better grasp his needs and moods. In fact, I could see how, especially in patients with Alzheimer's disease, the relationship with the patient and the care in performing interventions to improve their quality of life, are an integral part of the treatment protocol. With this script I mean to demonstrate the need for the nurse to realize to become an escort for the insane patient in the long and dramatic way that the disease implies, and to commit to provide an assistance, sometimes even not too much technical, whose main aim is to preserve the dignity of the patient who has lost his past and, with it, the perception of his present. Greater knowledge and a greater commitment on the ethical and professional level will improve the living conditions of the patient and offer the chance to experience its personal dimension of health to the extent that the disease imposes. Therefore I structured the thesis initially exposing some epidemiological and anatomical data regarding this matter, then describing the dementia and deepening the Alzheimer's disease. Finally I dedicated the last chapters to nursing care and rehabilitation techniques.