Caregivers and COVID-19: Case of Ms Baker - Essay Example

"Caregivers and COVID-19: Case of Ms. Baker" is a wonderful example of a paper on care. 
Based on your observations, what are your initial thoughts regarding Ms. Baker's physical and cognitive well-being?

Ms. Baker seems physically healthy for her age. She engages in several physical activities with other members of the green valley and enjoys helping others in the community. She exhibits some dementia symptoms, which makes her cognitive well-being a bit unstable. However, she enjoys knitting and playing board games, which shows her ability to focus. She is also not turned down with the current pandemic situation but maintains a positive attitude about everything.

What might you conclude about a potential cognitive level and diagnosis for Ms. Baker? Why? What observable, behavioral actions did you see/hear that lead you to this conclusion?

Ms. Baker may have Alzheimer's disease in the near future with increased memory loss of her day-to-day activities. During the interview, she cannot answer what day it was and hesitates when answering what she ate for breakfast. Also, Ms. Baker is repetitive in some of her statements (repeating information she had already shared). This is a common symptom of dementia.

As a therapist establishing an occupational profile on Ms. Baker, what questions might you have at this point for her caregiver? Please provide at least three (3) specific questions and identify how they would help the assessment process. (4.4)

Does anyone in Ms. Bakers' family have dementia? Family history helps practitioners determine the chances of a disease re-occurring on a patient based on genetics, surrounding conditions, and lifestyle.

Is Ms. Baker forgetful? If yes, How often? Does she always remember where things usually are, names of people, and details about her life? The information will help understand the intensity of the illness at a specific point. Consequently, and appropriate treatment can be determined.

What type of activities does Ms. Baker perform solely without help? This will provide knowledge is the patient can take care of themselves without self-injury.

Identify two (2) other methods (s) (standardized/non-standardized/formal/informal) you might use as an OTA to gather more information in collaboration with the OTR? (4.24) What additional information would you hope to gain as a result?

Assigning simple tasks that require both physical and mental activity to the patient and rating the performance. The intensity of illness and the needed support can be determined from this information.

Talking to family members of the patient will help get more information on any possible illnesses.

Watch the remainder of the interview with an adult caregiver, Kathi Skibek, to answer the rest of the assignment

Based on the caregiver's information, what are your conclusions on Ms. Baker's cognitive level and/or diagnosis? How, if at all, has this changed since your response after the first portion of the interview? (4.6)

The caretaker's interview indicates that the patient has Alzheimer's and is unable to take care of her daily needs. Initially, Ms. Baker's sentiments were not pointing out the fact that she is unwell. Dementia seemed not to be intense, as indicated by the second portion of the interview.

How has the COVID -19 pandemic impacted Ms. Skibek and her mom differently?

The pandemic has put a lot of responsibility on Ms. Skibek since they are supposed to keep away from other people. Usually, attending the church and visiting other family members would help her find time to do her activities. Currently, all her efforts are directed to her mother.

What might you identify as primary areas of concern impacting occupational performance when focusing on Ms. Baker during this time? Why?

The social distancing is impacting Ms. Baker’s occupational performance because she does not get to meet other people as she used to. Her circle has been lessened to her daughter and son-in-law. She does not go to church as she normally does, which helps her a lot with her disease.

What might you identify as primary areas of concern impacting occupational performance when focusing on Ms. Skibek during this time? Why?

Ms. Skibek is the sole caretaker of the patient and must attend to Ms. Baker’s needs. This affects her work because her concentration must be on her mother all the time. She also feels tired and is frustrated about this fact. She cannot find time for herself.

If you were a therapist working with a family unit (caregiver role with the client), identify an occupation-based intervention that you might incorporate into your next home visit to address psychosocial factors and support occupational performance? (4.9)

Using pre-recorded videos of an activity such as a church session will help the patient engage in a different activity than staying at home. The video will encourage singing and dancing, which will support occupational performance.

Making Connections: Describe one (1) thing from this video that helped reinforce or connect classroom content with “real-life” client application.

The frustration and fear of failing to provide the required care by a caregiver due to unavoidable circumstances can lead to distress. A caregiver has to find a way of coping with the frustration to avoid giving up.