Bonnel, W. (2013). Becoming part of the plan to help conquer Alzheimer’s disease: The National Alzheimer’s Project Act. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 39(8), 9-11.Â
In her research, Bonnel aimed to discuss the advantages of promoting the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) as an effective plan of actions in order to provide the care for persons with Alzheimer’s disease. Bonnel’s article presents the results of the case study conducted in order to analyze the effectiveness of the approaches listed in the NAPA and used to address the issue of Alzheimer’s disease in the society. The researcher analyzed the national plan regarding its importance and appropriateness to respond to the problem at the current stage of the research in the field. Bonnel found that the NAPA is effective to improve the quality of care for patients with Alzheimer’s disease because the plan addressed the main aspects of the problem. From this point, the value of this research is in providing the complex analysis of the NAPA with the focus on the role of public partnerships in its development and on the role of cooperation with the community-based organizations because these points were not discussed in previous analyses. In addition, the research provides concrete conclusions regarding the application of the NAPA principles to practice.
Bonnel’s research presents the necessary evidence to support the discussion of the problem of Alzheimer’s disease because it describes the concrete roles for nurse clinicians determined according to the NAPA in order to create the supportive and safe environment for patients with Alzheimer’s disease. However, it is possible to state that the research can be discussed as biased because the analysis of the NAPA weaknesses or undeveloped aspects is not presented in the case study in order to cover all the points of the proposed plan of actions.
Can Alzheimer’s disease be prevented? (2009). Journal of Practical Nursing, 59(2), 8-13. Web.
The purpose of the research conducted by specialists in the Alzheimer’s disease genetics was to answer the research question regarding the ways to prevent such complex and genetic diseases as Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers focused on the analysis of a range of approaches discussed as effective to prevent Alzheimer’s disease in order to state what means could be considered as appropriate to be used in the health care practice and in the context of preventive medicine. The authors classified risk factors, focused on the biological and genetics risks that could not be prevented, determined such factors as lifestyle that could be modified, and analyzed the role of animal and epidemiologic studies in developing the strategy for overcoming Alzheimer’s disease. The significance of this research is in attempts to answer the most problematic research question in the field of knowledge. The researchers not only provided practical recommendations for the public and health care specialists but also contributed to the investigation of genetic diseases while focusing on the analysis of technologies that can be helpful for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease.
The researchers concluded that health care workers and communities could unite in their attempts to predict and prevent Alzheimer’s disease while focusing on the work with changeable factors that included the aspects of the environment, lifestyle, habits, and physical, intellectual, and social activities. In spite of such shortcomings as the lack of the research to support certain claims in the article, the research can be discussed as contributing to the practice of nursing specialists who work with patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease because it provides the practical guidelines regarding the improvement of the quality of care and patients’ life.
Harder, K. (2012). Management of clients with Alzheimer’s dementia and co-morbid depression. Australian Nursing Journal, 19(9), 35. Web.
The purpose of Harder’s research was to explore the most effective ways to manage patients with Alzheimer’s dementia in order to address the principles of the client-centered care. The researcher focused on conducting the qualitative research involving a small number of elderly patients who were treated with the help of antidepressants and antipsychotics. Harder chose to analyze the medicines’ possible side effects and their negative impact on the patients’ blood pressure, disorientation, and the level of toxicity. It was found that antidepressants and antipsychotics had the negative effect on the elderly patients’ quality of life. The value of the research is in the fact that Harder attempted to draw the professionals’ attention to the problem of using inappropriate medications in the process of treating patients with Alzheimer’s dementia.
The researcher concluded that it was important to pay more attention to choosing medications while working with vulnerable patients, and she also focused on the role of the environment to support treatment and effective communication between the health care professional and patient. Possible bias in the work is associated with the researcher’s subjective vision of the quality of treatment and the role of different factors in affecting the provision of care for patients with Alzheimer’s dementia in different environments. Nevertheless, the research findings are important to be referred to while discussing the role of the client-centered care while working with vulnerable elderly patients suffering from such diseases as Alzheimer’s dementia.
Schutte, D. (2013). Genetic testing and Alzheimer’s disease: Implications for psychiatric-mental health nursing. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing & Mental Health Services, 51(11), 14-18.Â
The purpose of Schutte’s research was to explore the current situation in the field of genetic testing related to diagnosing and preventing Alzheimer’s disease and to provide recommendations for Psychiatric-Mental Health (PMH) specialists and nurses regarding the improvement of testing and services for persons with Alzheimer’s disease. The author focused on conducting the qualitative research while reviewing and analyzing the recent researches in the field. The researcher focused on analyzing the achievements in predictive genetic testing and compared this type of testing with the susceptibility genetic testing. The results of the analysis were used to provide the recommendations for PMH specialists and nurses.
The significance of Schutte’s research is in the fact that the author provided the practical recommendations not only for PMH specialists but also for nurses, while accentuating their roles in identifying individuals with the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and in providing necessary supportive interventions. Furthermore, the researcher provided the sound argument why it is ineffective to use such types of testing in asymptomatic children and compared the advantages of different approaches to discovering and analyzing genes. Thus, Schutte concluded that the predictive genetic testing was an effective and cost-efficient approach that should be chosen by PMH specialists in order to discuss the probability of development of Alzheimer’s disease in patients. The bias in the research is limited because of the focus on the review of the recent studies. This research provides the additional evidence to discuss the role of genetic testing in diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease. The research is useful to understand opportunities for predicting Alzheimer’s disease and communicating its risks.
References
Bonnel, W. (2013). Becoming part of the plan to help conquer Alzheimer’s disease: The National Alzheimer’s Project Act. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 39(8), 9-11.
Can Alzheimer’s disease be prevented? (2009). Journal of Practical Nursing, 59(2), 8-13. Web.
Harder, K. (2012). Management of clients with Alzheimer’s dementia and co-morbid depression. Australian Nursing Journal, 19(9), 35. Web.
Schutte, D. (2013). Genetic testing and Alzheimer’s disease: Implications for psychiatric-mental health nursing. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing & Mental Health Services, 51(11), 14-18.