BEHS 380 Project Proposal

Project Proposal

Old age is a stage characterized by complex health problems. The elderly populations are increasingly predisposed to health problems such as dementia, depression, and heart disease among others. Nurses and other healthcare providers play crucial roles of ensuring the prevention of these conditions through the delivery of screening services and early treatments. However, some conditions such as dementia and depression require life long treatments to promote the optimum health and wellbeing of the elderly (Li et al., 2020). Therefore, this paper is a proposal for the use of reminiscence therapy in patients with dementia.

Topic Description

My topic of interest is the investigation of the effectiveness of reminiscence therapy for patients suffering from dementia. Dementia is a common neurocognitive problem among the elderly patients. Statistics shows that it affects at least 46 million people globally, with more than 100 million people being estimated to be affected by 2050 (Carós et al., 2020). Up to 50% of community-living adults aged 85 years and above suffer from different types of dementia, including Lewy bodies dementia, vascular dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease. Dementia has adverse effects on the health and wellbeing of the elderly, as evidenced by functional decline, cognitive deterioration, and presence of behavioral symptoms (Li et al., 2020). The mainstream treatment of dementia is the use of pharmacological interventions. However, non-pharmacological interventions such as reminiscence therapy have been found to be efficacious (Abu Khait et al., 2021). Therefore, my project seeks to examine its effectiveness in symptom improvement among elderly patients with dementia.

Academic Discipline

The context of understanding my chosen topic is based on gerontology discipline. Gerontology is a discipline focusing on ageing processes and health issues experienced by the elderly. It offers insights into the physiological and physical changes that happens in old age and their effect on health and wellbeing. The general approach of gerontology entails an analysis of changes that occur across lifespan, with a focus on old-age (Nevedal et al., 2019). Therefore, its understanding would be crucial for the proposed project.

What I hope to Find Out

I intend to learn some things by engaging in this project. One of them is learning about the effectiveness of reminiscence therapy in dementia patients. I intend to learn its effectiveness as compared to the use of pharmacological interventions. I also intend to learn the effectiveness of the intervention when combined with pharmacological interventions. I also intend to learn about the factors that influence the success of reminiscence therapy. This will inform practice recommendations in nursing and healthcare (Carós et al., 2020; Nevedal et al., 2019). I also intend to learn about the provider’s role in the delivery of reminiscence therapy. This will enhance my focus on the nurses’ role in facilitating the therapy.

Resource

I intend to use the book by Bryant (2003) in this project. In specific, I will utilize chapter 49, which focuses on formal and informal caregiving at the end of life. This chapter is relevant to the project since it will provide insights into the effectiveness of therapies such as reminiscence therapy in facilitating effective management of end-of-life issues. The chapter will also enrich the understanding of the effect of different caregiving approaches on the health, wellbeing, and care experiences of patients on end-of-life care.

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Relevant Organization

A relevant organization for my project is Dementia Society of America. Dementia Society of America is an organization established with the aim of enhancing the quality of life for patients living with dementia, as well as their caregivers and the community. It provides programs that increase awareness and skills levels of patients and their caregivers on dementia management. It also provides resources for individuals and communities on issues such as meaningful therapies for patients affected by dementia. Dementia Society of America will provide crucial insights into the different therapies utilized for dementia management (Dementiasociety.org, n.d.). It will also offer insights into the different approaches such as community programs in facilitating dementia management.

Scholarly Sources

Two scholarly resources have been obtained to be used in this project. One of them is that by Li et al., (2020). Li et al., (2020) conducted a study that investigated the efficacy of group reminiscence therapy on depression, cognition, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and activities of daily living among patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Data obtained from 90 participants demonstrated that group reminiscence therapy improved neuropsychiatric symptoms, depressive, and mean Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia scores. This research will provide insights into the benefits of reminiscence therapy on different dimensions of dementia care.

The other resource that would be used is the research by Abu Khait et al., (2021). Abu Khait et al., (2021) performed an integrative review that evaluated the use of reminiscence intervention for psychosocial and behavioral problems in dementia patients. The results of the review showed that reminiscence therapy enhanced cognitive functions, filled memory gaps, contributed to fulfilled life in late adulthood, and recovery from depressive symptoms. This article will provide insights into the effectiveness of reminiscence therapy on the different effects of dementia on the affected populations.

Conclusion

The area of interest is dementia management using reminiscence therapy. I expect to learn about therapy effectiveness and comparison with mainstream treatments for dementia. I will utilize different resources to achieve this outcome. The research will contribute significantly to the body of evidence in nursing and healthcare on dementia management.

BEHS 380 Project Proposal References

Abu Khait, A., Reagan, L., & Shellman, J. (2021). Uses of reminiscence intervention to address the behavioral and psychosocial problems associated with dementia: An integrative review. Geriatric Nursing, 42(3), 756–766. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2021.03.021

Bryant, C. D. (2003). Handbook of Death and Dying. SAGE.

Carós, M., Garolera, M., Radeva, P., & Giro-i-Nieto, X. (2020). Automatic Reminiscence Therapy for Dementia. Proceedings of the 2020 International Conference on Multimedia Retrieval, 383–387. https://doi.org/10.1145/3372278.3391927

Dementiasociety.org. (n.d.). Dementia Society of America®. Dementia Society. Retrieved November 7, 2022, from https://www.dementiasociety.org

Li, M., Lyu, J., Zhang, Y., Gao, M., Li, R., Mao, P., Li, W., & Ma, X. (2020). Efficacy of Group Reminiscence Therapy on Cognition, Depression, Neuropsychiatric Symptoms, and Activities of Daily Living for Patients With Alzheimer Disease. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, 33(5), 272–281. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891988719882099

Nevedal, A. L., Ayalon, L., & Briller, S. H. (2019). A qualitative evidence synthesis review of longitudinal qualitative research in gerontology. The Gerontologist, 59(6), e791–e801. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gny134

RESEARCH PROPOSAL (12 points)

Due at the end of Week 3.

Late proposals lose 10% per day late.

IMPORTANT: Your Proposal must be approved (by me) before you can carry out your project.

Your research project in this course will focus on how one of the social or behavioral sciences addresses a particular topic related to end-of-life issues. Completing this proposal is intended to help give you a clear vision of your research project so that you can carry it out successfully.

Your proposal should be a minimum of two pages and include all of the 7 points listed below.

A paragraph that describes your topic. What do you plan to address? Why is it important? Be sure to define any key terms. Include citations as appropriate.

A paragraph that describes the academic discipline that will set the context for understanding your topic. You can choose any of the disciplines introduced in Week 1 of this course. These include: anthropology, communication, community health, economics, geography, gerontology, political science, psychology, social psychology, or sociology. (If you would like to use another discipline — for example, criminology, please check with me; it’s most likely to be fine.) Explain the general approach of this discipline and include a citation.

A paragraph that identifies at least two things you hope to find out in your project.

Identify one resource from our course that you plan to include in your project and why it’s relevant.

Identify one organization that is relevant to your topic, and include the website URL. Explain why this organization is relevant to your topic.

Select and summarize at least two scholarly sources from the UMGC library that you anticipate that you will include in your final project, and explain how you think the article relates to your paper topic. Summarize each of the articles in 2-3 sentences, and in an additional 1-2 sentences explain why each article may be important to your project. Be sure to include citations and to list the full references in your reference list.

A complete reference list that includes the full references for all sources cited within your proposal.

Your research proposal will be graded according to the attached rubric (also available in the syllabus).

A paragraph is characterized by a minimum of 4 to 5 scholarly sentences. DO NOT use quoted material, all work is to be original and in your own words and thoughts. Paraphrase and give the author credit. Similarity MUST be 15% or less.