When entering the stage of aging, people become increasingly prone to the development of health issues. The alterations in the functioning of affected organs lead to the deterioration not only of physical functions but also of mental ones (Kurasz et al., 2020). Therefore, dementia becomes a tangible threat to aging people. Furthermore, the deterioration of mental health functions is strongly correlated with a range of dangerous conditions that impede the performance of essential physical and mental functions in aging people (Kurasz et al., 2020). As a result, the target population’s quality of life deteriorates rapidly, affecting aging people’s well-being and leading to a drastically miserable state, as well as significant suffering (Kurasz et al., 2020). Among these, Lewi Body Disease (LBD) takes an important spot (Kurasz et al., 2020). By combining the use of education with extensive professional support, as well as the provision of vital services and active education of family members, one can improve the quality of LBD patients’ lives significantly.
Dementia is typically associated with the process of aging, for which there are substantial reasons. The failure to maintain their cognitive functions at the proper level and gradually losing the capability of proper reasoning, using one’s memory effectively, and keeping one’s personality characteristics intact is highly prevalent in aging people (Hou et al., 2018). However, apart from impaired cognitive functions, aging people with dementia are also likely to experience a range of comorbid mental and physical health issues, among which Levi’s Body Disease (LBD) is the second most common one after Alzheimer’s disease (Hou et al., 2018). Defined as a disorder caused by increased deposits of alpha-synuclein in the brain, LBD affects the quality of aging people’s lives enormously, causing them to experience tremendous distress (Hou et al., 2018). However, being massively underresearched, the issue remains mostly unmanageable (Hou et al., 2018). Therefore, tools for alleviating the effects of LBD in aging patients and improving the quality of their lives must be introduced into contemporary nursing.
The cultural implications of LBD are quite drastic, given the low level of public awareness about the disorder. Specifically, due to the low level of health education among affected citizens and groups at risk, the management of the problem becomes increasingly complicated. Additionally, studies show that LBD represents an especially big risk to people of specific ethnic and racial backgrounds (Kurasz et al., 2020). Namely, research has shown that the disease is prevalent in African Americans and Hispanic Americans (Kurasz et al., 2020). Belonging to ethnic and racial minorities, the specified populations should be seen as especially vulnerable and facing a particularly serious threat of being affected by LBD (Kurasz et al., 2020). Therefore, awareness must be raised, and patient education must be actively reinforced among the specified groups to prevent the disorder from developing early and ensure that those affected by LBD retain a high quality of life.
Additionally, embracing the cultural implications of LBD affecting different population groups, one must emphasize the role that cross-cultural differences play in the promotion of awareness concerning the issue of LBD and the efficacy of nurse-patient communication. Namely, the challenges associated with overcoming specific stereotypes, including health-related myths that some of the target populations align with, and the presence of prejudice toward specific ethnicities and races in nurses, need to be mentioned. For instance, the study by aa (Hou et al., 2018) concludes that patients who are most likely to be affected by LBD tend to lack higher education and financial support, with the predominant part of the specified group being represented by aging single women (Kurasz et al., 2020). Therefore, as a nurse, one must realize that barriers to effective patient education may include cultural factors such as the propensity not to address healthcare services unless completely unavoidable, as well as the lack of awareness regarding the key symptoms associated with LBD (Hou et al., 2018). Furthermore, as a nurse, one must ensure the complete absence of any personal biases based on patients’ race or ethnicity.
Addressing the available treatment options, one must mention that LBD is presently incurable. Indeed, research admits that no effective methods of removing the deposits of alpha-synuclein in a patient’s brain and restoring the cognitive functions that have been impaired due to LBD have been discovered so far (Kurasz et al., 2020). However, with a further focus on understanding how LBD is developed in patients and what mechanisms launch the process, one might be able to introduce the medication or intervention that will cure the disease.
Delving into the financial implications of the disease, one must raise the issue of poor research on the subject matter once more. Due to the absence of effective techniques that allow for curbing the levels of LBD, the available medication options are quite scarce (Hou et al., 2018). As a result, the extent of spending that one can expect when dealing with the problem of LBD in an elderly family member is exceptionally great. Presently, the extent of funding available for research on LBD averages a comparatively low number, with very few organizations promoting LBD research as a result (Hou et al., 2018). The Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA) is one of the few entities that seek to explore LBD nature and treatment (Kurasz et al., 2020). Therefore, future emphasis must be placed on the creation of entities and programs geared toward helping patients with LBD, families with LBD patients, organizations providing services and education to LBD patients, and especially organizations conducting research on LBD and the opportunities for preventing and managing it.
Similarly, the subject matter suggests the presence of certain ethical concerns. Namely, it is vital to protect the rights of patients with LBD and ensure that their needs and rights are fully met. Namely, ensuring that patients retain their autonomy to the maximum extent possible and that every action taken toward LBD patients serves their beneficence (Kurasz et al., 2020). Finally, maintaining justice in addressing LBD is particularly important, given the vulnerability of the target population (Kurasz et al., 2020). Specifically, the involvement of patients with LBD in nursing research should be considered with great caution (Kurasz et al., 2020). Additionally, patients must be represented adequately in the ensuing context so that their needs can be managed properly (Hou et al., 2018). Thus, the main ethical concerns related to LBD patients can be avoided successfully.
The ethical concerns outlined above are closely related to legal issues that the management of LBD in nursing and especially conducting LBD-relate research may cause. Specifically, patient advocacy must become central to performing LBD research in nursing (Hou et al., 2018). Likewise, the issue of informed consent must be handled with proper scrutiny to avoid any controversies and ensure that the vulnerable population in question is not affected. Specifically, the consent of family members or legal guardians must be sought to ensure that the research is conducted legally.
The problem of LBD patients not receiving the required care and support due to the lack of research on the health concern at hand, as well as the lack of support for families with LBD patients and groups at risk, should be resolved by introducing new resources to the target setting, as well as reallocating the existing ones. Presently, the range of support services for LBD patients is quite scarce, being restricted to adult day centers and respite care centers. In the U.S., the AEDAR center represents the best-known authority for supporting the target population (Hou et al., 2018). However, the existing resource pool is very small, which implies that additional funding needs to be sought to expand the range of resources for LBD research and assistance for LBD patients.
Unfortunately, the issue of costs represents a major obstacle to addressing the disorder adequately. Specifically, the current costs per person for maintaining the required level of life quality in patients with LBD approximates $23,500 (Hou et al., 2018). Therefore, further strategies for addressing LBD as a public health issue that affects a predominantly vulnerable population must be geared toward reducing the costs for the required interventions and medications, as well as the assistance, support, and related services of nurses and healthcare providers. Specifically, reducing the costs for dementia home support by means of fundraising and restructuring the available budget should be seen as vital changes to be made to the current framework for LBD patient support. Additionally, educating families of the target population so that they could offer their LBD family members adequate care could be seen as a temporary measure for minimizing the costs of managing LBD in aging people and ensuring that they have the appropriate quality of life.
The proposed intervention of educating the target demographic and offering consultations to patients, family members, and groups at risk can be considered quite sustainable. Specifically, the idea of providing the target population with continuous psychological and emotional support, both from nursing experts and from family members, can be seen as rather viable since it is grounded in the idea of continuous education of the target population. Additionally, the patient-nurse dialogue can be maintained rather consistently with the help of innovative digital technology. However, as far as medications are concerned, the existing therapies can be considered rather inefficient since they delay the progression of the disorder only by a small margin (Hou et al., 2018). Thus, further research must be funded to discover new methods of reducing the pace of LBD and, possibly, even discovering a cure for it.
By incorporating medical treatments with the support of experts in nursing and patient counseling, as well as thorough education of family members, nurses will be able to contribute to a notable improvement in the quality of LBD patients’ lives. Moreover, since the disease is insufficiently researched, the opportunity to observe the effects of the proposed intervention on aging patients with dementia will provide the basis and rationale for future research, therefore, creating a platform for further improvements in the quality of care and patients’ lives. The intervention in question is believed to be quite sustainable given the fact that it will launch the process of developing health literacy in family members of patients with LBD, as well as provide a strong framework for improved nursing services, particularly counseling. Therefore, a study of the effect that counseling and the integration of interventions based on family involvement will produce a positive effect on the well-being of the target vulnerable group.
References
Hou, X., Fiesel, F. C., Truban, D., Castanedes Casey, M., Lin, W. L., Soto, A. I., Tacik, P., Rousseau, L., Diehl, N. N., Heckman, M. G., Lorenzo-Betancor, D., Icon, I. F. O. I., Arbelo, J. M., Steele, J. C., Farrer, M. J., Cornejo-Olivas,M., Torres, L., Mata, I. F.,… Springer, W. (2018). Age-and disease-dependent increase of the mitophagy marker phospho-ubiquitin in normal aging and Lewy body disease. Autophagy, 14(8), 1404-1418. Web.
Kurasz, A. M., Smith, G. E., McFarland, M. G., & Armstrong, M. J. (2020). Ethnoracial differences in Lewy body diseases with cognitive impairment. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 77(1), 165-174. Web.