Day services

Traditionally, day care for elderly persons has been provided by health or social services; however, recently facilities have been developed by voluntary organizations. This study was conducted to examine the characteristics of elderly clients with mental health problems attending these various settings, and to identify any areas of unmet need.

It is important to find out which services benefit people with dementia and their carers most: in particular whether carers gain more support from respite care and short breaks or from other services. Hilary Arksey and Helen Weatherly review the research evidence to date and comment on its limitations, given the wide range of different services covered.

Background: A previous study in Amsterdam showed that combined family support in the Meeting Centres Support Programme, in which dementia patients and their carers are both supported by one professional staff member, is more effective in influencing behaviour problems and mood of dementia patients living in the community than non-integrated support, such as day care only.

Objective: A multi-centre implementation study tests if similar effects are achieved in other regions of The Netherlands.