Diagnostic Overshadowing Flashcards
What is dementia?
Disorder of the brain that affect learning, memory, mood and behaviour.
Dementia develops slowly over several months or years
Dementia affects people in different ways
What are the signs of dementia?
- difficulties thinking, problem solving or learning new information
- memory loss
- confusion
- changes in personality
- loss of initiative
- poor or decreased judgement
What is delirium?
Delirium is a condition that comes quickly within hours or days and affects the brain. It is usually temporary lasting one to seven days but should be treated right away.
What is delirium caused by?
Having an illness
Staying in bed too long
Being in a noisy or confusing environment
Having pain
What are the signs of delirium?
Poor concentration Difficulty remembering things Confusion Sleepy or slow to respond Problem eating or sleeping Changes in personality Not showing interest in things
What is depression?
Depression is a medical illness. This does not mean someone is weak. Many people have depression and can be caused by major changes in life. Such as death of a loved one, loss of independence or developing dementia or an illness
What are the signs of depression
Low energy levels Aches and pains Difficulty concentrating Constipation Sleeping more or less then usual Feeling guilty Being agitated
What does depression, dementia and delirium have in common?
Depression and delirium may present with apathy, withdrawal and tearfulness. Dementia and delirium affect the brain.
What is the differences between delirium, depression and dementia?
Delirium occurs suddenly over a matter of hours or days and the symptoms fluctuate.
Depression is a negative change in mood that has persisted for longer then two weeks
Dementia is generally slow and insidious
What is diagnostic overshadowing?
Patient wrongly diagnosed during the nursing process
The process by which a person with a mental illness receives inadequate or delayed treatment on account of the misattribution of their physical symptoms to their mental illness.
How does diagnostic overshadowing affect people with learning disabilities?
Diagnostic overshadowing is important when new behaviours develop or existing ones increase
LD are at higher risk of experiencing a variety of diseases or conditions
People with LD can suffer poor care and avoidable deaths may even occur
How does diagnostic overshadowing affect child nursing?
Children with deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can be often missed due to their neuropathy
Children are more likely to self inflict injuries or mental distress
Parents influence children in how children express and seek support
Communication disorders in children often come with multi comorbidities where one hides the other
How does diagnostic overshadowing affect adult nursing?
- Communication difficulties and challenging behaviour lead to failure in diagnosis critical health pathology
- Existing cognitive impairments prevent adequate assessment of physical and mental health issues
- Hard to identify new changes when they are similar to previous behaviour and dealing with altered mental state
How does diagnostic overshadowing affect mental health nursing?
MHN are not that good at spotting diagnostic overshadowing of physical concerns
MHN can ignore the physical illness story of someone and see only the mental health picture
Working with a population who are overall economically disadvantaged. Such as less access to services, less likely to seek help, less likely to take self help
