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Memory Care

Dementia is an illness not to be taken lightly. It is an illness that causes the brain to be

confused and alter every aspect of one’s life. It has various stages. In some instances taking

medication can prevent further deterioration as time passes by, but in most cases even taking

medication would not help. It is more common than anyone thought, I, myself was surprised by

the amount of people that have problems with mental health. It requires a lot of attention and

care. The feeling of not getting full control of anything, even the things that are surrounding you

can be tough and confusing for someone. Being stuck in a compacted space acting as if nothing

changed when in fact everything did change. Time passes, everything evolves and changes but

that same memory constantly replays. It is like relieving the feeling of being a baby but an older

version of it.

I never would have thought that my first job would be at an elderly home. I did not expect

that I would experience the start of my medical path this early even though I just helped them in

the smallest way, because it helped me gain more knowledge about certain mental disabilities. I

did not reject this opportunity because ever since I was a kid I was dreaming about doing

something related to medicine, so this job opened a whole lot of excitement for me because I

have been learning a lot. Ever since I started my first job I did not quite understand why residents

in this facility needed so much care. Since I have not learned anything about dementia, I did not

realize that they need people to remind them what, how, when to do certain activities. As I

observe the day-to-day activities, I became interested in learning more about them. I wanted to

know how they operate and live their lives, since they forget almost everything even though they

just performed the task that they did. It got me thinking, is there even a cure for something to

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this? Do they even recover? Can it be prevented early? Ultimately, I want to investigate: What

are the course of actions toward dementia and how is technology improving them?

Contrary to popular perception, dementia can be avoided as people age. Dementia risks

can be prevented or delayed if we try. This means living healthy and choosing to improve and

make better lifestyle choices. In this generation this might be a problem for many, since people

have been experimenting with new things, some of the choices that are being made have a higher

impact and risk on procuring dementia. Ever since technology has been part of society it has

done wonders for everyone but also has side effects. According to one of the articles titled

“Assistive Technologies for People with Dementia: Ethical Considerations.”, “In 2012, WHO

(World Health Organization) concluded that “dementia poses one of the greatest societal

challenges for the 21st century. In many countries, an aging population will be associated with a

disproportionately large rise in the number of people living with dementia…” (Bennett B, et al.).

As we age, taking care of our very own selves becomes much more vital, because every person is

not the same as when they were young. Even taking into consideration the less developed

countries individually should still consider taking care and not letting individually down.

Quoting Ballard, Clive on his take on how to reduce dementia he said “We are now developing

trials to robustly assess other interventions to promote brain health and reduce dementia risk…”

More tips for preventing dementia try regularly exercising, eating much healthier, and not

drinking and smoking. There are a few ways that can help people lead a much more healthier

like, eating more green and leafy foods, exercising regularly but only moderately, it is important

to never over exert, then there are also consuming less salts and sugars, avoid alcohol, cigarettes

and so on, get updated on vaccinations, take multi-vitamins but consult doctor first, drink water

regularly and so forth. There are many more ways to keep the body healthy and active, just

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consult a doctor for more information on being healthy because nobody knows the body more

than a doctor.

Technology has been a big part of the world ever since. As the earth revolves,technology

improves. It has helped people make lives easier and much more efficient. Talking about

technology, there is technology created for people who have problems with the brain, like

dementia in particular. These are called “assistive technology” (AT), “Assistive technology has

been suggested as a means to support persons with dementia to stay independent and remain in

the community and assist carers by providing them with a sense of safety, reassurance and

communication with the person with dementia” (Sriram). These types of technologies are made

for people to make them feel safe, supported and comforted in a way. Examples of that assistive

technology are “wander guards” made to be a life altering device. It helps the nurses and

caregivers know whether there is a problem with the patient.“Some new assistive technologies

are potentially valuable for improving health and care for people living with dementia: memory

and communication aids, safety devices, global positioning system tracking, companion robots

and technology for so-called smart homes'' (Bennett). While volunteering, finding out this new

assistive technology that helps seniors. It is called “Dakim”, which is clinically proven and tested

to help elderly with their everyday lifestyle. This helps them keep their memory sharp and

precise. This means that these are not only for assisting people who have dementia, they can also

be called “everyday technology” or ET because caregivers, nurses, patients or residents use it in

their everyday lives for a more efficient and better lives. A take on a more personal perspective

about how technology helps with everyday lives. Melissa Yu, A caregiver who had been working

with elderly who have been diagnosed with mental diseases mentioned that, “Yes, It does

improve the quality of life for them since everything is within their reach, although sometimes

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they do complain about not having this and that, we provide as much as we can so they can feel

just at home in their houses”. Technologies have been a huge help for everyone, not only for the

people who suffer with the mental illness but also the people who use them to help them. These

tools help them get through the day because caregiving is not easy like Yu mentioned in another

part of her personal experience “I think it does help them because technology provides them a

safer environment like from what I have said earlier. We have door alarms and call lights. These

“inventions” make them feel safer and us, with relief that they do not go missing and all”. This

means that assistive technology or everyday technology is for the betterment and efficiency of

people who suffer with disabilities.

Even though technology evolves there is still stigma surrounding dementia. This is

preventing experts from moving forward with advancing the technology for dementia. In a

research study written by Gaber, Sophie she mentioned that “In order to develop technologies

that are assistive for older people with and without dementia, it is important to gain further

insights…”. Finding a cure can be hard for experts if they cannot find research for dementia

since collectively some people do not really talk about it or even know about things that are

surrounding dementia, Another quote from Eccleston “Raising dementia awareness and

understanding is a core component of most national dementia policies, with the aim of

addressing the persistent misconceptions and associated stigma that remains about dementia”. It

does not matter that much if random people do not want to study or learn it, but even caregivers

do not have dependable knowledge about dementia, quoting Eccleston, Claire “The knowledge

of caregivers, health professionals and the general public about dementia is consistently reported

as inadequate”. Having people talk more about dementia as they learn can lessen the stigma

around it and can help people find more prevention and cure to help people who suffer from this

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illness. As of now this generation is getting more comfortable in talking about mental illnesses,

meaning now, there is less stigma in this topic and people actually are gaining more knowledge

about it. This means that education around dementia, conversation about it is important, not only

to normal people who just go about their day without a care in the world but it is much more

important for health care professionals and families that wish to learn more about dementia and

for people they care for.

Talking about education in dementia, people should have at least enough knowledge for

it, since it has been increasing over the past few years. Healthcare professionals do not have that

much knowledge with the people that they take care of, “Levels of knowledge about dementia

are inadequate in informal carers and healthcare professionals” (Mo, Guang Ying et. al). One to

three training sessions a month can change a lot. Replenishing the mind and learning new

knowledge can help prevent a lot of incidents, when or if someone forgot how to do something.

Since from a study wr “the aged care workforce is inadequately resourced and prepared to meet

the growing need for dementia care and dependency on informal community care is increasing”

(Eccleston). This would be very helpful in a lot of ways. If people are not willing to learn at least

some of it, there would not be progression in this area. There would not be questionnaires and

studies about this if they do not want to. It will also be harder to find cures and preventions for

this because nobody would know what to talk about if this topic comes up. It would not hurt

anyone or anything to at least learn a little on this topic. There are some sites and online courses

that people can access if they want to learn more about it. One of those sites being, “The

Understanding Dementia MOOC (UDMOOC19)” aims to improve knowledge of dementia in a

broad international community” (Eccleston). Learning more about mental disabilities can help

professors and healthcare professionals gain more information and more insights on dementia.

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This can help them help more people who have problems searching for resources and finding

more information about dementia and people who just want to learn more about it. Helping

people know about the upcoming mental illness and help prevent it will give some relief to the

new generation.

Generations, Slangs, Problems and so on, change as time goes by. Attitudes in aging

differ every time. The attitude that individuals have on aging right now can affect future

mentality. “ATOA are associated with cognition and cognitive subdomains and whether levels of

ATOA differ across dementia subtypes” (Sabatini). A research that was found says that, “there is

a growing interest in subjective aging and how it relates to cognition and both physical and

mental health” (Sabatini). When people age it can lead to a lot of things, it could be illnesses,

diseases, infections and so many more. As people age, they should be more careful in what they

do, physically and most importantly mentally. Not taking care of the body and mind can lead to a

lot of damage as people age. It was mentioned in an article that having positive attitudes in aging

would have a significant and progressive in cognitive domains, including executive and memory

functions. As for the negative attitude for aging it does a lot of damage, like having an increase

of risk of having dementia in later life, higher risk in cognitive decline. It is mostly dependent on

mental health rather than physical health, since it is connected more on the brain rather than

physical traits. This is why taking care of our own selves, more importantly body, brain and soul

is a must because everything in our body is connected. Every decision that anyone makes has a

cause and effect, what individuals intake from day to day, what people put on our skins, the

experiences that they go through everyday, it affects the future versions of individuals. But this

does not entirely mean that the attitude toward aging is solely the reason, there is more to it other

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than this. Reasons that sometimes people cannot explain but there are also reasons that it could

be one has a disability of some sort or it runs in the family.

On the topic about family, caregivers and people who suffer with these diseases are

practically family; some are even family members taking care of their own, sharing the same

pain and suffering but no one really talks about the caregivers' pain. Another glimpse on the life

of being a caregiver Yu also mentioned that, “The hardest part of taking care of them would

probably be their inability to perform their daily activities, such as eating, bathing, grooming and

communicating. Since they are losing the ability to use their motor and cognitive skills it is hard,

but we do try our hardest to help them in any way we can…”. Nobody really talks about the

obstacles of taking care of someone who almost cannot do all the things that they were used to

doing. Everybody knows the complaint and the hardships of the patient but nobody listens and

sees the hardships that caregivers go through. The struggles of not having enough time with

family, all that they can depend on is technology to help them forget at least for a second how

hard a job that is basically taking care of a “gigantic baby” feels like. Using technology as an

escape from the reality that they are facing everyday. According to this research it says that,

“Devices such as smartphones, tablets and computers can be a helpful tool in alleviating the

caregiver’s psychological burden, encouraging social engagement and easing the burden of daily

activities” (Wojcik et, al.). What goes on in their heads is as important as the patients because if

they do not have the right mind to take care of themselves they cannot take care of another

person who already is having a hard time. The idea of taking care of other people who are not

even family is tiring and hard but with the help of technology, “reduce caregiver burden, such as

the physical strain of providing care or concerns about care recipients accidents or injuries” (Mo

et al.). A good outcome from the use of technology while taking care of the elderly is that it

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reduces the amount of mishaps, and they can take care of themselves physically. They only need

to worry about coping for the mental burden that they acquire as they try their best to help the

people with disabilities.

Surprisingly, but at the same time not surprising, to answer the question that was stated in

the beginning, the courses that have been found while researching the answer that came up is

technology has been the key all along and a set of technology have been invented to help them

help themselves while going through it. It does not really have a name but since it assists them

for their everyday life it is called, “assistive technology”. Examples of technology that help them

are wander guards, door alarms, call lights and so on. It has been concluded that assistive

technology has helped their lives easier and makes them feel much more safer. In order to

actually make progress, dementia should be talked about more if people want to have more

information in order to make more technologies that can help them in their everyday life and

even might develop a cure in the near future. The important key points on this will be that

individuals would not be anything if there is no technology. This should matter to others because

this information can one day save them through the problems of having cognitive decline and not

not knowing how to help themselves in any way. Preventing all sorts of problems in the future is

way better than suffering through them and this is why it is important to learn new pieces of

information from time to time, because it can be a great way to help people who need it.

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Works Cited

Ballard, Clive. “Action You Can Take to Reduce Your Risk of Getting Dementia: In

Dementia Action Week, World-Leading Researcher Clive Ballard Summarises the

Evidence.” The Western Morning News, 21 May 2018,

p.10.https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/action-you-can-take-reduce-your-risk-getting/

docview/2041539924/se-2?accountid=41498. Accessed 1 Mar. 2023.

Bennett B;McDonald F;Beattie E;Carney T;Freckelton I;White B;Willmott L; “Assistive

Technologies for People with Dementia: Ethical Considerations.” Bulletin of the World

Health Organization, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Nov. 2017,

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29147055/. Accessed 3 Mar. 2023.

Eccleston, Claire, et al. “Building Dementia Knowledge Globally through the

Understanding Dementia Massive Open Online Course (MOOC).” Npj Science of

Learning, vol. 4, no. 1, Apr. 2019, . 4 Dec. 2019.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-019-0042-

4. Accessed 26 Feb. 2023.

Gaber, Sophie N., et al. “Social Participation in Relation to Technology Use and Social

Deprivation: A Mixed Methods Study among Older People with and without Dementia.”

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 17, no. 11,

June 2020, p. 4022, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17114022. Accessed 20 Mar. 2023

Mo, Guang Ying, et al. “Technology Use among Family Caregivers of People with

Dementia.” Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue Canadienne Du Vieillissement, vol.

40, no. 2, June 2020, pp. 331–43, https://doi.org/10.1017/s0714980820000094. Accessed

2 Mar. 2023.

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Sabatini, Serena, et al. “Attitudes toward Own Aging and Cognition among Individuals

Living with and without Dementia: Findings from the IDEAL Programme and the

PROTECT Study.” BMC Geriatrics, vol. 22, no. 1, Aug. 2022,

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-022-03336-5. Accessed 22 Mar. 2023.

Sriram, Vimal, et al. “Carers’ Experience of Using Assistive Technology for Dementia

Care at Home: A Qualitative Study.” BMJ Open, vol. 10, no. 3, Mar. 2020, p. e034460,

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034460. Accessed 22 Mar. 2023.

Wójcik D;Szczechowiak K;Konopka P;Owczarek M;Kuzia A;Rydlewska-Liszkowska

I;Pikala M; “Informal Dementia Caregivers: Current Technology Use and Acceptance of

Technology in Care.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public

Health, U.S. National Library of Medicine, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33808644/.

Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.

Yu Melissa. Personal Interview. 06 Mar. 2023

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