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Dementia Care
As populations age, caring for people with dementia has become more common. Elderly caregiving may consist of formal care and informal care. Formal care involves the services of community and medical partners, while informal care involves the support of family, friends, and local communities, but more often from spouses, adult children, and other relatives. In most mild to medium cases of dementia, the caregiver is a family member, usually a spouse or adult child. Over time, more professional care in the form of nursing and other supportive care may be required, whether at home or in a long-term care facility. There is evidence that case management can improve care for individuals with dementia and the experience of their caregivers. Furthermore, case management may reduce overall cost and institutional care in the medium term. Millions of people living in the United States take care of a friend or family member with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia. Family caregive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Demographic Transition
In demography, demographic transition is a phenomenon and theory which refers to the historical shift from high birth rates and high death rates in societies with minimal technology, education (especially of women) and economic development, to low birth rates and low death rates in societies with advanced technology, education and economic development, as well as the stages between these two scenarios. Although this shift has occurred in many industrialized countries, the theory and model are frequently imprecise when applied to individual countries due to specific social, political and economic factors affecting particular populations. However, the existence of some kind of demographic transition is widely accepted in the social sciences because of the well-established historical correlation linking dropping fertility to social and economic development. Scholars debate whether industrialization and higher incomes lead to lower population, or whether lower populations lead to ind ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anticipatory Grief
Anticipatory grief refers to a feeling of grief occurring before an impending loss. Typically, the impending loss is the death of someone close due to illness. This can be experienced by dying individuals themselves and can also be felt due to non-death-related losses like a scheduled mastectomy, pending divorce, company downsizing, or war. Stages The five stages model of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, as proposed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross – describes the process people undergo after learning of their own diagnosis of terminal illness. Anxiety, dread, guilt, helplessness, hopelessness, and feelings of being overwhelmed are also common. However, it is important to note that anticipatory grief is not simply normal grief begun earlier. Identifying features Features identified specifically with anticipatory grief include heightened concern for the dying person, rehearsal of the death and attempts to adjust to the consequences of the death. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Social Stigma
Social stigma is the disapproval of, or discrimination against, an individual or group based on perceived characteristics that serve to distinguish them from other members of a society. Social stigmas are commonly related to culture, gender, race, socioeconomic class, age, sexual orientation, body image, physical disability, intelligence or lack thereof, and health. Some stigma may be obvious, while others are known as concealable stigmas that must be revealed through disclosure. Stigma can also be against oneself, stemming from negatively viewed personal attributes in a way that can result in a "spoiled identity" (i.e., self-stigma). Description Stigma (plural stigmas or ''stigmata'') is a Greek word that in its origins referred to a type of marking or the tattoo that was cut or burned into the skin of people with criminal records, slaves, or those seen as traitors in order to visibly identify them as supposedly blemished or morally polluted persons. These individuals were to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quality Of Life (healthcare)
In general, quality of life (QoL or QOL) is the perceived quality of an individual's daily life, that is, an assessment of their well-being or lack thereof. This includes all emotional, social and physical aspects of the individual's life. In health care, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an assessment of how the individual's well-being may be affected over time by a disease, disability or disorder (medicine), disorder. Measurement Early versions of healthcare-related quality of life measures referred to simple assessments of physical abilities by an external rater (for example, the patient is able to get up, eat and drink, and take care of personal hygiene without any help from others) or even to a single measurement (for example, the angle to which a limb could be flexed). The current concept of health-related quality of life acknowledges that subjects put their actual situation in relation to their personal expectation. The latter can vary over time, and react to exter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dignity
Dignity is the right of a person to be valued and respected for their own sake, and to be treated ethically. It is of significance in morality, ethics, law and politics as an extension of the Enlightenment-era concepts of inherent, inalienable rights. The term may also be used to describe personal conduct, as in "behaving with dignity". Etymology The English word "dignity", attested from the early 13th century, comes from Latin ''dignitas'' (worthiness) by way of French ''dignité''. Modern use English-speakers often use the word "dignity" in proscriptive and cautionary ways: for example, in politics it can be used to critique the treatment of oppressed and vulnerable groups and peoples, but it has also been applied to cultures and sub-cultures, to religious beliefs and ideals, and even to animals used for food or research. "Dignity" also has descriptive meanings pertaining to the ''worth'' of human beings. In general, the term has various functions and meanings depen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fecal Incontinence
Fecal incontinence (FI), or in some forms encopresis, is a lack of control over defecation, leading to involuntary loss of bowel contents, both liquid stool elements and mucus, or solid feces. When this loss includes flatus (gas), it is referred to as anal incontinence. FI is a sign or a symptom, not a diagnosis. Incontinence can result from different causes and might occur with either constipation or diarrhea. Continence is maintained by several interrelated factors, including the anal sampling mechanism, and incontinence usually results from deficiency of multiple mechanisms. The most common causes are thought to be immediate or delayed damage from childbirth, complications from prior anorectal surgery (especially involving the anal sphincters or hemorrhoidal vascular cushions), altered bowel habits (e.g., caused by irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, food intolerance, or constipation with overflow incontinence), and receptive anal sex. An estimated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Urinary Incontinence
Urinary incontinence (UI), also known as involuntary urination, is any uncontrolled leakage of urine. It is a common and distressing problem, which may have a large impact on quality of life. It has been identified as an important issue in geriatric health care. The term enuresis is often used to refer to urinary incontinence primarily in children, such as nocturnal enuresis (bed wetting). UI is an example of a stigmatized medical condition, which creates barriers to successful management and makes the problem worse. People may be too embarrassed to seek medical help, and attempt to self-manage the symptom in secrecy from others. Pelvic surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause are major risk factors. Urinary incontinence is often a result of an underlying medical condition but is under-reported to medical practitioners. There are four main types of incontinence: * Urge incontinence due to an overactive bladder * Stress incontinence due to "a poorly functioning urethral sph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Person-centered Care
In health care, person-centered care is a practice in which patients actively participate in their own medical treatment in close cooperation with their health professionals. Sometimes relatives are also included in creating the health plan. The person-centered model of health care is used both for in and outpatient settings, emergency care, palliative care as well as in rehabilitation. Background The concept of person-centered care can be distinguished from a traditional treatment model which views the patient as a passive receiver of a medical intervention. Many health professionals are traditionally focused on the needs of the patients instead of their resources. Rather than the conventional way of making medical recommendations from health professionals to a patient, the person-centered care model allows for the inclusion of the patient and their relatives in making a joint design and mutual agreement on the medical plans and treatments. The overall perspective of the life ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emotion And Memory
Emotion can have a powerful effect on humans and animals. Numerous studies have shown that the most vivid autobiographical memories tend to be of emotional events, which are likely to be recalled more often and with more clarity and detail than neutral events. The activity of emotionally enhanced memory retention can be linked to human evolution; during early development, responsive behavior to environmental events would have progressed as a process of trial and error. Survival depended on behavioral patterns that were repeated or reinforced through life and death situations. Through evolution, this process of learning became genetically embedded in humans and all animal species in what is known as flight or fight instinct. Artificially inducing this instinct through traumatic physical or emotional stimuli essentially creates the same physiological condition that heightens memory retention by exciting neuro-chemical activity affecting areas of the brain responsible for encoding ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Built Environment
The term built environment refers to human-made conditions and is often used in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, public health, sociology, and anthropology, among others. These curated spaces provide the setting for human activity and were created to fulfill human desires and needs. The term can refer to a plethora of components including the traditionally associated buildings, cities, public infrastructure, transportation, open space, as well as more conceptual components like farmlands, damned rivers, wildlife management, and even domesticated animals. The built environment is made up of physical features. However, when studied, the built environment often highlights the connection between physical space and social consequences. It impacts the environment and how society physically maneuvers and functions, as well as less tangible aspects of society such as socioeconomic inequity and health. Various aspects of the built environment contribute to scholarshi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aging In Place
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines aging in place as "the ability to live in one's own home and community safely, independently, and comfortably, regardless of age, income, or ability level". Environmental gerontology Research in environmental gerontology indicates the importance of the physical and social environment of housing and the neighborhood (public space), as well as its implications for aging in place. Preference Most adults would prefer to age in place—that is, remain in their home of choice as long as possible. In fact, 90 percent of adults over the age of 65 report that they would prefer to stay in their current residence as they age. One-third of American households are home to one or more residents 60 years of age or older. Technology can be an enabler for aging in place—there are four categories of technology that acts as an enabler—Communication and Engagement, Health and Wellness, Learning and Contribution, and Safety and Secur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Memory And Aging
Age-related memory loss, sometimes described as "normal aging" (also spelled "ageing" in British English), is qualitatively different from memory loss associated with types of dementia such as Alzheimer's disease, and is believed to have a different brain mechanism. Mild cognitive impairment Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a condition in which people face memory problems more often than that of the average person their age. These symptoms, however, do not prevent them from carrying out normal activities and are not as severe as the symptoms for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Symptoms often include misplacing items, forgetting events or appointments, and having trouble finding words. According to recent research, MCI is seen as the transitional state between cognitive changes of normal aging and Alzheimer's disease. Several studies have indicated that individuals with MCI are at an increased risk for developing AD, ranging from one percent to twenty-five percent per year; in one st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
