Psychological Effects of Early Diagnosis: Coping with Alzheimer’s disease and Other Dementias

Abstract

The major aim of this study was to extensively assess the psychological effect of an early diagnosis of dementia on patients and the efficacy of various psychological interventions in improving emotional resilience among dementia patients and caregivers. For this purpose, a quantitative research design was used, whereby data were carefully collected from a large sample of 200 participants from different parts of Pakistan through a self-report questionnaire in the Likert scale format. The results of this extensive analysis identified that an early diagnosis of dementia does not prove to have a significant relationship with increased psychological distress among diagnosed individuals. However, high positive correlations were identified between coping strategies employed, support systems used, and the overall psychological well-being of the participants, thus indicating the imperative role these factors play in promoting emotional resilience. Further, the results of the ANOVA analysis identified a statistically significant difference in levels of psychological distress among participants receiving psychological interventions, thus effectively depicting the imperative role of counseling and therapy in the management of emotional issues among these individuals. Guided by these findings, the study recommends the imperative integration of mental health professionals within dementia care teams and advocates the initiation of public awareness campaigns for the removal of the stigma of dementia. The implications of these findings are vast, as they have important considerations for healthcare policy and the planning of future dementia care approaches, especially in developing nations such as Pakistan.