Language Barriers and Dementia. Reflection

Academic Paper from the year 2019 in the subject Health - Nursing Science - Dementia, grade: 80, University of Derby, language: English, abstract: This assignment aims to critically evaluate nurses' attitudes related to language barriers in the context of communication with people with dementia. Furthermore, a need is felt to reflect on how such attitudes hinder positive practice when communicating with people possessing limited English proficiency and to identify the extent to which nurses take into consideration peoples' cultures, norms and values. To understand the implications that may arise when professionals display certain attitudes towards people with dementia and limited English language, this assignment will take the form of a reflection which is an important part of nursing practice. Dementia appears to be a major worldwide concern as figures suggest a rapid increase in the number of people diagnosed with this illness. According to Atkins et al (2012), in 2012 almost 25 million people around the globe were diagnosed with dementia and it is expected that by 2040 this number will almost triple. Moreover, World Health Organization (WHO) in 2017 estimated that almost 47 million people were considered to have dementia and this number will continue to grow (WHO, 2017). These figures imply huge costs for society. In fact, Knapp et al. (2014) suggests that in the UK the cost of dementia rose to £26 billion per year.