E-Health and Dementia Care in Poland - Coursework Example

EHEALTH AND DEMENTIA CARE IN POLAND by EHEALTH AND DEMENTIA CARE IN POLAND Introduction and Background Dementia is a general term which encompasses various diseases such as frontotemporal dementia, vascular dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease (Georges et al, 2008). An individual suffering from the ailment experiences a severe loss of his/her cognitive ability. This cognitive loss often exceeds the loss experienced from a normal aging process. The ailment affects the patient’s thinking, behaviour, memory and his/her ability to carry out everyday activities. Among the listed forms of dementia, research has indicated that Alzheimer is the most common. On a wider perspective, dementia as a disease is made up of more than 5o different forms of diseases (McKhann et al, 1984). Several ehealth projects have been initiated to aid patients suffering from the disease. As such, these projects have had a significant impact on people suffering from dementia and their relatives or caregivers (Ball & Lillis, 2001). In 2010, it was estimated that 35.6 million people were suffering from dementia globally. In fact, this number represents approximately 0.5% of the world’s population. Studies estimate the number to rise up to 115.4 million people by 2050. Furthermore, people have a 20% chance of suffering from dementia during their lifetime. In regard to gender, women are at a higher risk of suffering from the disease during their lifetime. Dementia is associated with old age. The older a person becomes, the higher the chances of suffering from the disease. 40 % of people aged above 90 years are suffering from the disease (Ferri et al, 2006). Individual suffering from the disease tend to forget thing easily when compared to normal old individuals or people. Unlike normal people who are able to perform their daily activities easily, people suffering from dementia experience a lot of difficulties while carrying out their daily chores and activities. Dementia is a costly disease to maintain. The total estimated global cost of the disease amounted to 604 billion dollars. This is a significant sum of resources/ funds. Due to the continued increase in dementia cases, the cost is expected to massively increase by 85%. In today’s world, information and communication technology has become an integral part in nearly all sectors of society. As such, mobile applications, the internet and other technologies have infiltrated all sectors including health care (Krishna, Boren & Balas, 2009). Basically, e health is defined as the utilization of ICT to improve and deliver health care services in the society (Maheu, Whitten & Allen, 2002). Through the use of ICT, health care services can be delivered to local, regional and international regions. The use of the e health concept is beneficial to societies since it tends to reduce costs, improve or increase access to health care, and eases access to information. Also, through the provision of personalised medicine and ease of access to health data, e health improves both individual and public health (Kikhia et al, 2010). There is an increase in the use of internet in Poland for medical activities or purposes. This makes the concept of e health to be a vital element for most citizens in Poland who basically rely on it (Glinkowski et al, 2006; Tachakra, 2003). Further, there is a documented increase in the use of the internet by a lot of polish citizens to seek out medical information in regard to a variety of diseases. For instance, a study carried out in 2005 revealed that approximately 42% of adults in Poland used the internet to for health or medical purposes. There was an increase in 2007 to a whopping 53%. Thus, ehealth projects have been established to tackle dementia in Poland and around the world. COGKNOW is such a project. Dementia impacts the society greatly (Flicker, 1999). Scott (2007) states that people suffering from the disease exhibit several mental problems and behaviours. Some of these behaviours include apathy, mania, hallucinations, wandering, major depression and frequent agitation. Additionally, symptoms associated with dementia often become problematic to the caregivers and their patients; especially memory loss symptoms. Thus, people who care for dementia patients experience a lot of challenges. It has been found out that community care for dementia patients does not completely satisfy the needs for these patients. As a consequence, this inadequacy leads to increased stress levels in both the care giver and the patient. Methods The Cogknow project is aimed at helping people suffering from dementia. It is made up of various technologies which are all designed to be user friendly. The Cogknow project utilizes mainstream information technology equipment which are designed specifically for people suffering from dementia. The project uses various technologies such as preventive sensor technology and IST Vivago watch. The preventive sensor technology which is available commercially is designed to act as an early warning to detect problems for dementia patients before they become more serious. The technology registers the patient’s behavioural pattern at home. If changes which necessitate intervention occurs, the caregiver contacts the person responsible for the patient or the patient himself. This avoids the situation form reaching dangerous levels. On the other hand, the IST Vivago watch measures the patient’s wake and sleep patterns by focussing mainly on skin conductivity, skin temperature and their movement. The watch is recommended for dementia patients who experience a disturbed wake/sleep rhythm. Results The use of technological interventions has improved the quality of life for dementia patients (Dröes et al, 2009). Most of the patients utilizing this technology report fewer cases f them falling down. Additionally, most caregivers and patients are generally satisfied with the project. Discussion The project’s main objective is to use technological interventions so as to make sound decisions while dealing with dementia patients. Additionally, the project’s long term goal is to improve the quality of life for people suffering from dementia (COGKNOW Consortium, 2006). In today’s environment, people suffering from dementia prefer to stay in their homes (Andreassen et al, 2007). As such, the use of techno logical interventions is vital. Research shows that the home setting or environment holds a lot of importance for the aging people. Not only is it a place where they can excise their well being and independence, it is also generally cost effective. This is primarily because a person who resides in a nursing home for a longer period incurs a lot of costs. Thus, a home setting is preferable. In light of these, ehealth initiatives enable the caregivers to assess and monitor their patients as if they were in a hospital or a nursing home (Eysenbach, 2001). According to the 2010 world Alzheimer report, there is a need for more investment in both research and cheaper ways of caring for dementia patients so as to cope with the rising number of dementia cases world wide. Both the state and other stake holders should be prepared to take care and provide services to the increasing dementia patients. Ehealth initiatives such as the COGKNOW will play a critical role in improving the quality of lives of dementia patients. The project is economically feasible since its cheaper for dementia patients to stay at home than reside in nursing homes. Additionally, it is cheaper to maintain the technology adopted by the project. Conclusion Technology has been seen to improve immensely how patients cope with the symptoms and effects of dementia. Additionally, ehealth initiatives have a positive impact on the lives of caregivers who are tasked with monitoring and taking care of dementia patients. The technological interventions make their work easier. Nevertheless, further research has to be undertaken to determine fully the effect of ehealth on patients suffering from dementia in terms of personal safety, job satisfaction for the caregivers and an improved quality of life. References Andreassen, H. K., Bujnowska-Fedak, M. M., Chronaki, C. E., Dumitru, R. C., Pudule, I., Santana, S., ... & Wynn, R. (2007). European citizens use of E-health services: a study of seven countries. BMC public health, 7(1), 53. 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