CPD – Parkinson’s Dementia: How to Support

Supporting patients with Parkinson’s dementia can be challenging. This brain disease usually affects older people. At first, they might have movement problems. After many times have passed, they may start to have problems with thinking and memory. Mild symptoms will come as a starter, but for some people, it can develop into dementia.

Indeed, Parkinson’s dementia starts with Parkinson's first, and dementia later. It is different from dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) which comes in dementia first, and movement problems later. The symptoms may vary and change hourly very quickly. These include staying focused, memory loss, and confusion about what they see around them. If we see them sadly, can you imagine how they were feeling as well?

Therefore, the CPD – Parkinson’s Dementia: How to Support is designed to provide the learners with key essentials in this topic. Supporting them can be challenging because they also can’t understand what is inside their head. The caretaker needs to have unlimited patience towards them because sometimes they can be hard to handle.

Programme Overview

The CPD – Parkinson’s Dementia: How to Support allows the learners to understand this illness. The programme includes theoretical knowledge and best practise to support patients who are struggling with those symptoms. This also includes skills to provide the patient with effective and compassionate care. Exploring the nature of it can lead to enhancing the quality of life for patients.

This course can help the caretaker to understand this disease fruitfully. The goal is to help have supportive energy to take care of the patient. Even if they are not certified caretakers, everyone can take part in this course to increase their awareness. With this, they will be capable of recognising its symptoms earlier.

Course Structure

This CPD equips participants with the essential skills and knowledge of Parkinson’s dementia. Professionals made the syllabus to ensure credibility and high-quality content. Understanding this topic can be easier because this course will highlight the important points of it. More than that, participants will also learn the impact of the illness on the patient's daily life. Here are the details we will discuss later in this course:

1. The impact of Parkinson’s Dementia on daily life
2. Communication barriers and strategies
3. Practical care strategies
4. Medication management
5. Creating a safe and supportive environment
6. Building a support network for caregivers
7. Collaboration with healthcare streams

Entry Standards

The CPD – Parkinson’s Dementia: How to Support is open to everyone who is a healthcare professional. Therefore, there is no special requirement to take part in this course because family members can also join. A basic understanding of this disease can also help to understand it better, but not mandatory. For professionals, taking this course will enhance their careers.

What is Parkinson's dementia?

Parkinson’s dementia is a type of dementia that comes from patients with Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's is a movement disorder because the nerve cells have been damaged in the brain. The cause of it is because the dopamine levels drop, leading to Parkinson's symptoms. The medication can help to control the symptoms, but cannot cure the disease. Its chronic can last for years or be lifelong. 

This disease is serious due to it affecting around 145,000 people in the UK. Therefore, raising awareness can help people to have early intervention when the symptoms occur for the first time. This includes tremors and stiffness in a certain body, but continuously. Later after that, they began losing memory and confusion. That is why it is called Parkinson’s dementia.

In the advanced stages of this illness, patients may experience hallucinations. As a result, it will lead them to struggle in their daily activity. The caretaker and family may have emotional and physical burdens because of that. Therefore, it is crucial to have support from professionals and therapists to manage patients’ symptoms.  Besides it can enhance a patient's quality of life, it also helps family members to take care of them.

Parkinson’s dementia life expectancy

Parkinson’s dementia life expectancy can vary. Research shows that it is about 7-9 years after diagnosis. It can depend on many factors, such as age, overall health conditions, and the stage of dementia development. If patients have comorbid conditions such as heart disease, infections, and so on, the shorter life span they could have.

Additionally, factors like mobility issues in patients can reduce longevity. This is because they may have a risk of falling and getting injured. However, responsive treatment can help them to improve patient's quality of life and survival rates. Especially when they have a strong support system that can help patients get proper medical care. This can also lead to improving their lifestyle modifications based on their needs.

Parkinson's dementia complex

The Parkinson’s dementia complex leads to overlapping cognitive and neurological problems. The symptoms have a broader effect on movement and cognitive function. Those conditions become challenging to manage because there are multiple neurological changes. Patients who experience this may feel overwhelmed. This is because the symptoms will be serious over time. The symptoms are:

• Tremors and slowed movement
• Impaired balance and coordination
• Memory problems
• Hallucinations and delusions
• Confusion
• Sleep disturbance
• Depression and anxiety

The more complex symptoms a patient experienced, the more the illness worsened. Moreover, this can lead to affecting their daily life. The proper treatment can help, but not cure its root cause. Therapies only can support their daily functioning to have a better life. This can also affect their lifespan and longevity.

Parkinson’s dementia vs Alzheimer

Parkinson’s dementia or PDD (Parkinson’s disease dementia) are neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but they are different. The distinctive in theirs are from symptoms, causes, and progression. They look the same but there are differences that people can spot. The details will have further discussion on this programme, but here is the overview:

Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD)

• Movement disorder
• Cognitive decline later in the disease
• Confusion and memory problems

Alzheimer’s disease (AD)

• Memory disorder
• Cognitive decline and memory loss
• Hallucinations and delusions

The treatments for those illnesses are also different. PDD needs dopamine-based medications to help motor symptoms, while AD needs Memantine medications to help slow cognitive decline. Additionally, the life expectancies also vary. Patients with Alzheimer’s disease have 8-12 years of life expectancy, while Parkinson’s dementia is around 4-9 years lifespan.

Learn how to support Parkinson's dementia with CCM.

Supporting Parkinson’s dementia patients can be challenging. Therefore, this course is online now with the College of Contract Management to help family members and caretakers. This topic is important for them to have thoughtful discussions with experts. Additionally, CCM is a trustworthy institution that will offer you a professional certification upon completing this course.

The CCM teams offer flexible online sessions to all students worldwide ensuring equal opportunity in education. Even though the class is online, you will have an interactive learning session to have a thorough discussion. This class will be led by an expert in this field, ensuring high-quality content in mind.

The CPD – Parkinson’s Dementia: How to Support course will be online soon after the lecturer confirms its availability. The programme materials are also being created specifically for all people, ensuring a seamless learning session. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to the CCM team through email or live chat.