Psychiatric Medications Q 39
A 65 years old client is in the first stage of Alzheimer’s disease. Nurse Patricia should plan to focus this client’s care on:
A. Offering nourishing finger foods to help maintain the client's nutritional status.
B. Providing emotional support and individual counseling.
C. Monitoring the client to prevent minor illnesses from turning into major problems.
D. Suggesting new activities for the client and family to do together.
Correct Answer: B. Providing emotional support and individual counseling.
Clients in the first stage of Alzheimer’s disease are aware that something is happening to them and may become overwhelmed and frightened. Therefore, nursing care typically focuses on providing emotional support and individual counseling. Identify possible support systems and ability to participate in social activities. Community resources are available for clients and families dealing with stages of AD that provide information and assistance.
Option A: During this stage, offering nourishing finger foods helps clients to feed themselves and maintain adequate nutrition. Offer vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, and lean protein foods. Some fat is essential for health — but not all fats are equal. Go light on fats that are bad for heart health, such as butter, solid shortening, lard and fatty cuts of meats.
Option C: The other options are appropriate during the second stage of Alzheimer’s disease when the client needs continuous monitoring to prevent minor illnesses from progressing into major problems and when maintaining adequate nutrition may become a challenge.
Option D: Instruct the family to utilize distraction techniques, such as soothing music, going for a walk, or looking at picture albums if the patient has delusions. Distraction may be effective to calm the patient if stressful situations occur. Instruct the family to avoid having the patient watch violent TV shows. The patient cannot make a distinction between reality from fiction, and witnessing violent acts on the screen may be frightening to the patient.