Social Care Provision for Elders with Dementia - Research Proposal Example

Understanding of the service user concerns and an identification of ethical issues would be some of the key considerations in the thesis. In case of the first learning outcome, the role of evidence based knowledge would be tested in terms of social work practice and theory. Providing care to the elderly with dementia according to certain provisions would be a practice based issue and a critical review of research based material could show the relation between theory, research and evidence or practice.

The topic here is on care of the elderly and provisions of care already provided and how these provisions need change according to the needs of the elderly. The focus here is on well being and tackling problems such as isolation in the elderly who suffer from dementia. This section deals with the background or literature on dementia and the social care provisions already available for the care of the elderly suffering from dementia. Some of the problems of dementia identified here related to well being issues and isolation and tackling these problems effectively has been a focus of research on the illness and its care.

An explanation of the term dementia would describe symptoms that occur when an individual's brain is affected and the condition is mainly found during old age. Alzheimer's disease, stroke, and other conditions can result in memory loss, confusion, speech and understanding problems leading to dementia. No cure has been identified for dementia and although the condition is fatal, death comes slowly. Symptoms and effects of dementia may be due to changes from Alzheimer's disease or due to mini strokes destroying small areas of cells (DoH, 2007).

The condition is usually found in older people especially after stroke or other damaging conditions and 6% of elderly individuals above 65 suffer from the illness (DoH, 2007). According to the Department of Health, some of the problems of dementia relate to loss of memory, difficulty in holding conversation or communication, loss of physical coordination, and embarrassment and frustration about declining abilities. For social care provisions, carers and social workers are asked to keep things normal, and to treat the patient normally as the person is still capable of independent activities.

Normal life with usual entertainment and lifestyle should be followed. The person should also be allowed to carry on his or her life independently and avoid all frustrations. Carers should also avoid confrontations understanding the limitations of the patient and also avoid crises as at certain times patient can become more confused or show disagreements. Making things simpler, safer and establishing a routine could be helpful for the elderly. Maintaining general fitness and health of the individual is also important with constant checks on diet and physical exercise of