- NURS 600 Assignment 3.3: Connecting Developmental Theory
Student Name
Maryville University
NURS600
Professor Name
Submission Date
Introduction
It is a vital element in the treatment of the patient in the sense that, at every age, the informational growth in relation to the developmental theories of the patient is formed. It will subsequently apply this theory of development to nursing care and management of an aging person. To show how the various developmental theories may be taken into account in the care plan of an older adult with late-stage Alzheimer’s disease due to the progression of the disease, the author is a Nurse Practitioner, but was awarded a Nurse Management specialty in Geriatric Population (Kokorelias et al., 2020).
In spite of the fact that it is possible to say that this conclusion can be made due to some reasons, these reasons are clearly based on the idea to reconcile the old patients who developed Alzheimer’s disease with the needs of development of psychosocial aspects of their lives in order to guarantee them the quality of their life.
Patient Case
Patient Profile
Mr. John Doe is a 78-year-old male with an advanced diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. He is a diabetic patient, living with his daughter, and is supported by her. He also has a son; however, he does not interact with him much because the son resides in a different state. Mr. Doe is a young (type-2 diabetic patient), hypertensive, long-standing on maintenance diabetic medicine, retired engineer. Being a victim of such an illness himself, now he is a widower, and he is incapable of carrying this illness while holding his family. He has a daughter, who takes care of him on a daily basis and is almost always there checking on his physical, much more on his psychological status, due to his ever-weakening dementia.
Developmental Stage Analysis and Integration of Theories
Freud’s Theory (Psychosexual Stages)
He has already surpassed the age group of the psychosexual staging; these theories could also be potentially put to use when introducing the care of Mr. John Doe. In the case of the patient who has Alzheimer’s disease, the anxiety and behavioral concerns of the patient may be connected to external fears and conflict, which are implicit (Di Giuseppe & Perry, 2021). The caregiver must know these automatic features and take action when they happen by talking in a reassuring tone, ensuring the environment is in the best possible condition, and doing other activities that would turn off the anxiety system and turn on the security system.
Erikson’s Theory (Psychosocial Stages)
Application Using the psychosocial theory of Erikson, the case of the individual who is the patient, Mr. John Doe, is in the stage of Integrity vs. Despair. Despair. It provides the paradox of end-of- life care to get him in his high advanced Alzheimer’s disease, yet it has a graceful moment of helping him back on his ethical and moral standards, when you show and clarify the results of his life, and his place in his life story.
Reminiscence therapy is proven to help patients preserve their dignity and self-esteem, and it would be helpful to talk about what positive things the patient has managed to do and evoke recollections about his or her accomplishments. The former also require emotional support in life aspects, such as managing disappointment associated with negative cognitive changes, which the emotional development in old age is investigated to allow elderly individuals to enjoy the quality of their life in old age (Cicirelli et al., 2021).
Piaget’s Theory (Cognitive Development)
Stages of cognitive development used by Piaget cannot be applied fully to Mr. John Doe, as he is aged and may have a greater chance of having Alzheimer’s disease, which may suppress his ability to think, but most important in his treatment plan is the knowledge of cognitive processes. To accommodate the Piaget assumption, it is necessary to take these cognitive changes into consideration and start living with them (Main, 2021).
This can include putting Mr. Doe on a similar routine, as a way of structuring his day, reminding Mr. Doe of his activities and his tasks on a daily basis, having Mr. Doe perform various activities which will also demand a lot of attention of his mind and creation of a routine which will help him as much as possible which will in turn help him and improve his quality living.
Vygotsky’s Theory (Sociocultural Development)
The level Mr. John Doe is at as far as learning is concerned has highlighted the issue, as Vygotsky and the Socio-cultural theory of development explain the importance of social interaction in the development. However, when a person has Alzheimer disease, social interaction plays a very important role as it supports general welfare. Using the theory of Vygotsky in his treatment, one should say that the family members will have to develop important and productive relationships with Mr. Doe. Ordinary visit traditional activities and upkeep of talks that bring back past experiences, and application of hobbies and passions could become a significant social exposing, empowering, and cognitive difficulty that can benefit more learning and wellbeing of the patient despite the presence of condition (Petersson et al., 2022).
Smilansky’s Play Theory
Though Mr. John Doe cannot be analyzed directly using the theory of play offered by Smilansky, since he is too young to be called an elder, he is not physically dextrous enough to do it, and his memory is so bad due to the impacts of Alzheimer’s disease, so this theory can be scaled down and used to help him. Through planning, structuring activities and play-like therapies, such as music therapy and arts, or remembering the events that occurred in the past, one can assist Mr. Doe in remembering the information he has gotten previously and, at the same time, in enjoying himself.
Such interventions provide a chance to touch the sensual surfaces of his environment, demonstrate or not demonstrate emotions, interact with others, and, therefore, live a more productive life with ASD (Waizbard‐Bartov et al., 2023). In this instance, we can use play intervention to enhance the cognition and psychosocial well-being of Mr. Doe with the help of several individualized methods.
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory
In the case of Mr. John Doe, especially, the social learning theory developed by Bandura, with emphasis on observational learning and modeling, has proved to yield some useful data on whether it is possible to offer care to him, in spite of his degeneration. Through intervention in modeling and observational learning, the caregivers in the provision of care to Mr. Doe should be convinced that they are working on what fosters positive behaviors and not the ones that foster aggressive behaviors, such as agitation. As a parent, it is possible to ensure that Mr. Doe watches and practices the positive actions of a calm individual, through the teaching of the conditional application of positive language and by example.
In addition, it will be beneficial to plan the process and introduce certain patterns and familiar tasks that will allow him to feel safer and more comfortable, which means that further effective communication with him can be improved, and experiences of distress can be effectively mitigated. With the application of the theory of Bandura, the caregivers can adopt observational learning as one of the methods of developing an effective solution in enhancing the correct behavior and bettering the quality of life of Mr. Doe despite the minimal potential of PT that Alzheimer’s disease provides.
Bowlby’s Attachment Theory
In examining some of the main ideas offered by the attachment theory developed by Bowlby, there can be no denying the fact that securely attached adults possess the situations that contribute to their health and flexibility across different phases of life, including older age (Mr. John Doe), through the application of the attachment theory. In the case of Mr. John Doe, that is, the dynamics and aspects of the relationship between Mr. John Doe, his daughter, nursing staff, and medical staff will have to be continuously supported, both emotionally and physically, to develop safety and security.
This way; by establishing this fatherly trust and safety with the help of the knowledge held by the narrator about the emotional safety and physical closeness formed with his relationship with Mr. John Doe; will motivate and shield him against the feeling of anxiety as well as allow him more ability to adjust to the requirements brought about by Alzheimer disease leading to the development of a better mental/emotional health in Mr. John Doe and his daughter (Shou).
Anticipated Treatment and Care Plan
Medical Management
Continuous medication for Mr. John Doe’s Alzheimer’s, hypertension, and diabetes has to be addressed to adequately cater to his medical needs. Thus, the outcome of the process and potential side effects are effectively controlled by healthcare professionals with the help of routine follow-up on the medication schedule of the patient and modifications in the doses of the different chemicals (Knopman et al., 2021).
Psychosocial Support
The planning of the reminiscence therapy may be a special opportunity to make a contribution to the amelioration of the loss of identity feelings by Mr. Doe as a result of his dementia disorder. The personal stories that Mr. Doe hears or reads every day can help him to have hope in life and something to live by through the discussions and activities that make the patient recollect good things in his life.
Hence, addressing not only the needs of the carers but also providing education and support to the carers will go a long way in managing as well as preventing carer stress, therefore leading to good caregiving. Increasing self-care resources and empowerment to caregivers enhances the skills of caregivers in the caregiving tasks since they would be more effective in addressing the needs of their caregivers.
Cognitive and Behavioral Strategies
The use of different visible cognitive challenging tasks according to the capacity of Mr. Doe is effective as it improves cognitive attributes and maintains optimal mental health. The brain processes, solving puzzles, playing words, or maybe the games involving music and singing, help to form neural tracks and, possibly, help to avoid the route of cognitive degradation. Moreover, the behavior modification techniques such as redirection and environmental modification should be utilized to maintain the manifestations of aggression and pattern of confused behavior, thereby improving the quality of life of Mr. Doe and ensuring that he is safe.
Social and Environmental Modifications
It is mandatory that Mr. Doe take into account the safety and suitability of alternative living arrangements due to his being disabled. Most of these risks are caused by his condition; therefore, removing the elements that endanger him and introducing some of the amenities will make Mr. Doe less prone to falls or getting into an accident. The involvement of the elderly with other family members or friends in this aspect will help them to overcome the sense of loneliness, as it is a normal experience that the majority of the elderly feel (Kovalenko, 2022). Similarly, these social practices play a crucial role in helping him or her to meet his or her psychological needs and also facilitating meaningful interaction to enhance his or her overall social interaction as a human being.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the actualization of the role of development theories in treating the elderly, especially those such as Mr. John Doe, who has a history of Alzheimer’s disease, has been brought to the fore vividly in this particular assignment. Therefore, according to some of the related theories, including the ones developed by Freud, Erikson, and the rest of the theories on child development, including Vygotsky, etc., the caregivers should provide some and more stringent interventions that will meet the perceived developmental/psychosocial needs of Mr. Doe.
This is a more comprehensive treatment of providing not just a plus to his medical needs, but also the social-emotional and cognitive level. As such, valuing the developmental theories and closely incorporating them into the care of patients like Mr. Doe will help healthcare providers make the later years of the lives of many patients, including Mr. Doe, quality.
References
Cicirelli, G., Marani, R., Petitti, A., Milella, A., & D’Orazio, T. (2021). Ambient Assisted Living: A Review of Technologies, Methodologies and Future Perspectives for Healthy Aging of the Population. Sensors, 21(10), 3549. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21103549
Di Giuseppe, M., & Perry, J. C. (2021). The hierarchy of defense mechanisms: Assessing defensive functioning with the defense mechanisms rating scales q-sort. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(718440), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.718440
Knopman, D. S., Amieva, H., Petersen, R. C., Chételat, G., Holtzman, D. M., Hyman, B. T., Nixon, R. A., & Jones, D. T. (2021). Alzheimer disease. Nature Reviews Disease Primers, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-021-00269-y
Kokorelias, K. M., Gignac, M. A. M., Naglie, G., Rittenberg, N., MacKenzie, J., D’Souza, S., & Cameron, J. I. (2020). A grounded theory study to identify caregiving phases and support needs across the Alzheimer’s disease trajectory. Disability and Rehabilitation, 44(7), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2020.1788655
Kovalenko, O. (2022). Loneliness of the old age and ways to overcome it. Edukacja Ustawiczna Dorosłych, 117(2), 109–124. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=1062695
Main, P. (2021). Jean piaget’s theory of cognitive development. Structural Learning. https://www.structural-learning.com/post/jean-piagets-theory-of-cognitive-development-and-active-classrooms
Petersson, C., Nygårdh, A., & Hedberg, B. (2022). To support self‐management for people with long‐term conditions – The effect on shared decision‐making, empowerment and coping after participating in group‐learning sessions. Nursing Open, 9(5). https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1261
Waizbard‐Bartov, E., Fein, D., Lord, C., & Amaral, D. G. (2023). Autism severity and its relationship to disability. Autism Research, 16(4). https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2898