Vol 10, No 3 - Financial Planning Association of Malaysia

Normal Living & Life
Physical Care
Spiritual Care
Encouraging
Humour, Joy
Smiles
Supporting
Psychological/
Emotional
Welfare
Home
Valuing &
Respecting
Diversity
Giving
Compassion,
Empathy,
Love
Valuing
Commitment
Family Members
Clients
Asian Communities
INDIVIDUAL
Staff
Maintaining
Dignity
Ensuring
Comforting
& Security
Harmony
with the
Environment
Encouraging
Individuality
Taking Pride
and Satisfaction
in Work
Providing
Time
& Other
Resources
on the residents and their social wellbeing.
Communicating
Respect
& Trust
Visitors
Volunteers
Expressing
Spirituality
Residents
Psychological / Emotional Care
Palliative Care
Advocating for
Those Who
Cannot
Providing
Education
- Internal
& External
Fostering
Relationships
Between
People
Promoting
A Sense of
Belonging
Spatial
Bereavement Care
Quality of Care – consider
individual needs and a host of
complex and inter-related
relationships and the
environment.
Individual - Focus
Rights
Dignity
Quality of Life
Lifestyle
Independence
Social Opportunities
Model of Care
There is evidence now to suggest that
children are more willing to send their
parents to nursing homes if the standard
of care is better and parents are more
willing to go to nursing homes if the place
has a more homely setting.
Caring for Elderly Malaysians
with Dementia
many as half of the people in their 80s
suffer from dementia.
One source has estimated that up to
346,000 Malaysians currently have
dementia or signs of dementia and this
figure is expected to increase significantly
in the future.
Dementia is likely to become the largest
cause of ‘disability burden’ after depression
for the elderly in the years to come.
The financial burden of this disease was
quantified at the Alzheimer’s Disease
International Conference in March 2009
which noted that the societal cost of
this disease in Malaysia amounts to
US$511 million (RM1.65 billion) a year. By
whatever measure, it is a huge burden to
family members and caregivers and to the
country as a whole.
This leads to the next question of how we
care for these elderly with dementia when
family members do not have the capacity
to care for them at home anymore. To
care for these elderly professionally and
compassionately, we need specially
trained nurses and caregivers in a purpose
built facility. There is currently no such
Dementia has been used to describe the
loss of memory, intellect, rationality, social
skills and normal emotional reactions.
The most common symptoms include
confusion, personality change, apathy,
withdrawal and loss of ability to do simple,
everyday tasks.
It is one of the most frightening and
fearful diseases that affect the elderly
and indirectly their immediate family
members.
At a conference held in the U.S. in 2007, it
was noted that people with Alzheimer’s
disease will increase from 26 million
worldwide in 2006 to 106 million in 2050.
The largest increase in this disease will
occur in Asia, where 48 percent of the
world’s Alzheimer cases currently reside.
As for Malaysia, the Malaysian Psychiatric
Association reported that 5 to 8 percent of
all people over the age of 65 have some
form of dementia and estimated that as
“There is evidence now to suggest that children are
more willing to send their parents to nursing homes
if the standard of care is better and parents are more
willing to go to nursing homes if the place has a more
homely setting.”
18 The 4E Journal