Acopia: Difference between revisions
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#REDIRECT Dyscopia |
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'''Acopia''' means "inability to cope" and is often used as a euphemistic medical term which is used to denote [[psychosocial]] inability to function in a person's usual home environment (usually leading to presentation to a hospital), without there being a discrete medical or psychiatric problem causing the acute presentation. But mostly the cause of acopia is physical/mechanical. Inability of the person concerned to physically do the activities of daily living on his own. These are one of the most common admissions to the hospitals in Uk leading to [[Bed Blockers]] in long term. |
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==Use of term== |
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The word 'acopia' along with the word dyscopia crept into medical parlance as a deliberate mistranslation (the Latin word 'copia' actually means abundance or plenty <ref>http://www.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/lookup.pl?stem=cop&ending=ia</ref>) used as a tongue-in-cheek shorthand notation for patients who, after being examined and found to have no specific medical condition, were deemed to be not 'coping' with certain aspects of their life and presumed to be seeking some comfort from the medical profession. |
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The words have also been used in medical notes to indicate that certain members of a seriously ill patient's family are not coping with the situation and should be afforded some extra consideration to their feelings when the case is being discussed. |
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Acopia (and likewise dyscopia), in this context, is not, and never has been a 'diagnosis' and most responsible members of the medical community do not use it as such for fear of insulting their patient and bringing their professional standing into question<ref>http://www.rsm.ac.uk/media/downloads/j08-04older-better.pdf</ref><ref>"‘Acopia’ and ‘social admission’ are not diagnoses: why older people deserve better" Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 2008: 101: 168–174</ref>. It may be true that the patient, though infirm and not coping, may also know a thing or two about Latin! |
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Another misuse of these words arises from the field of neurology. The words are used to describe a type of dyspraxia related to dyslexia and dysgraphia (inability to read or write). Here acopia is taken to mean an inability to copy and dyscopia to mean difficulty with copying.<ref>http://www.dyscopia.com/ |
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</ref> More 'correct' terms would be atranscribia and dystranscribia. <ref>http://www.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/lookdown.pl?copy</ref> |
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A strict translation of the Latin might see 'acopia' (or 'dyscopia') applied as a diagnosis to one who is unable to comprehend (or has difficulty acknowledging) the fact of having arrived at a state of abundance or plenty. That is: a wealthy individual who still has a chronic need to accumulate. |
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The discussion which follows relates to the 'not coping' interpretation of the word which would be better labeled simply as 'not coping' so that the obvious question: 'not coping with what?' might result in adequate assistance by appropriate agencies. |
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==Common causes of acopia== |
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Acopia is, unfortunately, sometimes used as a diagnosis in cases of no obvious or specific pathology in the face of a deterioration of function. It is better thought of as a symptom of an underlying problem rather than an actual disease. |
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Usually the above implies that there is a social problem such as: |
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* Inability or unwillingness of family members to care adequately for the patient (for whatever reason) |
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* Inappropriate or unsafe home environment eg low level vs high level [[residential care]] |
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Other medical presentations that are sometimes given as examples of acopia include: |
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* Increased falls (though investigation of falls is in fact a legitimate reason for admission) |
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* Decline in mobility (though similarly to increased falls, investigation of this is in fact a legitimate reason for admission) |
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* Increasing unexplained pain |
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==Treatment of acopia== |
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Despite the above definition of acopia as lacking an obvious cause, the treatment of acopia relies on proper identification of the cause for decline in function and ability to cope.<br /> |
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Treatment therefore may range from arranging appropriate placement (such as within a [[aged care]] facility) to imaging, surgery or medication. |
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==Controversy== |
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While acopia is at times cited as a working diagnosis or reason for admission, it is not an accepted medical condition due to its nebulous nature, downplaying of potential underlying medical or psychological causes for the decline in function and increased potential for failure to investigate true medical complaints, and therefore is actively discouraged as a diagnosis for admission to hospital. |
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Some people consider the entire concept of acopia as pernicious. They regard it as another vague diagnostic catch-all that results in the patient being blamed for their suffering. Instead, they wish to re-lable acopia as 'a failure of healthcare to provide a proper bio-psycho-social (and preferably spiritual) assessment'. |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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[[Category:Psychiatry]] |
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Revision as of 16:27, 5 October 2009
- REDIRECT Dyscopia