Assessment Care Adult

Assessment Care Adult The purpose of this assignment is to discuss the approaches and models of assessment, which can provide possible insights and better understanding to the presenting issues in the case study. The essay will begin by giving a brief overview of the issues that are present within this family. It will then outline the purpose of an assessment and critically evaluate models of assessment. For the purpose of this essay it will explore two concepts namely abuse and memory loss focussing mainly on Ted. This essay aims to critically evaluate the research and theory that underpin the concepts. It will define abuse and elder abuse; discuss risk factors for elder mistreatment. Various causes of memory loss will be discussed. The issues of discrimination that older people endure will be highlighted. The issues presented in the case study are; Queenie has moved to long-term care in a residential home. She was Ted’s carer for over 18 months. Ted is in need of care and has asked his daughters to share looking after him. Ted is reported of having an authoritarian approach to parenting. He suffers from chronic arthritis in his legs, has suffered from a mild stroke and has weakness in one of his arms. Ted has been reported of presenting as being confused and is experiencing forgetfulness. He has bruises on his arms and chest; there is a possibility that he is undernourished and dehydrated. Regan is an informal carer and looks after her father Ted. She has moved in with Ted. Regan is experiencing increased difficulties in balancing her 25 hours part time bar work and looking after Ted. She has been drinking heavily and has increased her involvement with her father’s financial affairs. Regan has declined offer from her sister Cordelia in looking after her father, she also discourages her from visiting Ted. Regan is a victim of domestic violence. McDonald (2006, p31) defined assessment as â€Å"a perceptual, analytic process of selecting, categorising, organising and synthesising data†. This means gathering of information, evaluating it to identify areas of strengths and difficulties and explore plans in order to achieve preferred scenario. Thompson (2005, p64) highlighted that assessment is a â€Å"holistic process† that takes into account all relevant and interactive domains. Trevithick (2006) stated that the purpose of an assessment is to assist people sustain their livelihood and decrease deterioration. Stepney and Ford (2000) suggested that choosing the right model of assessment determines the quality of the assessment. Coulshed and Orme (2006) described two approaches to assessments namely positivists and constructivists. Positivist approach is on the assumption that undertaking an assessment requires a person to have good â€Å"administrative† and interpersonal skills. This helps people to address, identify and respond appropriately to issues that are affecting them. Berger and Luckman cited in Coulshed and Orme (2006) highlighted that the constructivist approach is based on the notion that individuals are able to identify their problems and can contribute to recognizing their needs or solutions. Therefore it is important that social workers are open and honest to service users in what can be offered.