In the extension world for the last year or so we have been talking endlessly about early detection of Alzheimer’s disease, which is a form of dementia. One of the signs is less of a social life if that person has been social in the past. What I find most interesting is that social interaction helps fight, or slow down aging. If that isn’t reason enough to get out of the house then think of socializing helping to fight osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and some forms of cancer. Aging adults who are socially active and maintain or increase their interactions with others as they age have a slower progression of health declines than elderly people who become less socially engaged over time. These aging adults who are
There have been many occasions where I wished to have taken back something I had said about someone else, without knowing he or she was present. In particular, I remember speaking about the work abilities of a co-worker right when she stepped into the conversation. I work as a CNA at a nursing home, and this incident occurred at the end of shift after spending a shift working along with this particular co-worker in the Alzheimer’s Unit. I was speaking to another co-worker while emptying the trash out about how it was difficult to work with this person and how the residents were being extra difficult that day. Since it was my worker and me alone at the garbage disposal, I thought it was safe to say, “I really don’t like working with her. She
1.2 Explain how physical and mental health factors may need to be consider when communicating with an individual who has dementia.
The way a person is behaving is usually a good indicator of what they are trying to communicate, especially if they have difficulty expressing their feelings with words. Body language will also provide clues. People wish to be heard and validated and the way they behave may indicate how they are feeling. so a person presenting as angry may be feeling frustrated. People presenting as sad may be experiencing vivid memories of a past event that seems very real and current to
Some experts in the field have concluded that the health effect of social relationships may be as important as established risk factors such as smoking, physical activity, obesity and high blood pressure.
According to Vaillant, creating a new social network is a key to a healthy retirement. My grandmother has more of a social network than I do. She is a member of the Moose Lodge in downtown Middletown. At the moose my grandmother and grandfather meet with old friends to catch up and play darts or pool. My grandmother's biggest social interaction is with her grandchildren. She has a social encounter with at least one
Relationships, conversations and practicing new and old skills provides cognitive stimulation for individuals. Leisure programs can also act as a support system for older adults, as well as provide accountability. For example, many older adults who live alone have poor nutrition because they do not enjoy eating alone, community dinners provide an opportunity to engage in conversation, but it also increases the chance of the individual eating a proper and balanced meal. Additionally, leisure programs can provide resources for individuals to find and receive the care they need. These positive health outcomes suggest the prevention of social isolation is an important step in increasing the quality of life of older people and reducing public expenditure on medical costs for this
Every day I went to school and surrounded myself with friends who had similar interests. However, interacting with the elderly showed me that I can reach out, with a caring heart, to any person and relate to them in some way. I found, despite the age difference, the elderly are still similar to me; their opinions and
1.1 Losing the ability to communicate can be one of the most frustrating and difficult problems for people with dementia, their families and carers. As the illness progresses, a person with dementia experiences a gradual lessening of their ability to communicate. They find it more and more difficult to express themselves clearly and to understand what others say.
Dementia sufferers communicate in many different ways. They may not be able to speak but they can communicate non-verbally with positive or negative behaviour. They can also communicate using body language and through posture.
The impact of loneliness on physical health can also be better understood by the study conducted by Uchino and colleagues (1996). They found that social individuals have lower blood pressure, better immunity and lower levels of stress hormones than the socially isolated people. In contrast another study described by Arthur 2006 demonstrated that it is not yet clear that group therapy or socialization can improve the secondary prevention of Coronary heart Disease. After considering all the studies and arguments by different authors it can be conclude that it is necessary to do more research on the impact of socialization on physical health of individuals.
I enjoyed reading your post and found your question to Del intriguing. I hope you don’t mind me commenting on your post.
Some researches indicate that social relations play an important role on the cognitive function in late adulthood. In fact, the size of social networks are highly related to the well-maintained cognition in human memory (Carstensen, & Hartel, 2006 ; Doge, Ybarra, & Kaye, 2014 ; Howieson, 2015) because it provides social support to old adults. Krause (1986) developed the concept of social support and separated it into three categories which are informational, emotional and network support. More studies claim that it provides environmental stimulation to elders, thus, their cognitive function is enhanced and reduced the risk of cognitive deterioration (Arbuckle, Gold, Andres, Schwartzman, & Chaikelson, 1992 ; Yeh & Liu, 2003). Holtzman, Rebok,
Therefore, psycho-social vulnerability and social isolation were significant factors which enhanced both mental and physical functional vulnerability leading to frail older adults. Thus, the fall in social support may affect psychological and physical vulnerability, while social vulnerability has a potential to predict an increase of frailty in the
A very long time ago a wise man named Aristotle noted that human beings were “social animals”. As such, he surmised, they sought out companionship to enhance their well-being. Humans who did not have access to plentiful social situations did not have the same levels of well-being as those who did. Modern psychologists have backed upped Aristotle's thoughts with science. It turns out that positive social interactions truly are linked to both psychological benefits and overall health.
Finally, social development also plays a fundamental role in promoting and maintaining good health. Perry (1997: 26) notes that the elderly that live with their children and grandchildren gain several positive impacts on their social and mental well-being. These benefits include emotional and physical support from their children along with a close-knit social network, both of which are significant to maintaining good social condition as evidenced by World Health Organisation 's definition of 'health '. Conversely, the elderly are able to give emotional support to