Dementia

Objective: To write a narrative review of the role of primary care physicians in the long-term care of people with dementia living at home, with a focus on psychosocial interventions, the provision of information and carer support, behavioural and psychological symptoms and case management.

Methods: The systematic review carried out for the NICE/SCIE Guidelines was updated from January 2006, Cochrane Reviews were identified and other publications found by consultations with experts.

The safe self management of medicines will be affected by the presence of dementia. A qualitative study using grounded theory was undertaken by a community nursing organisation in Melbourne, Australia, in order to develop a strength-based and person-centred approach to the assessment of medication ability. The perspectives of the person with dementia and their carers were explored to see if there were any significant differences in their medication management experiences when compared to those of older adults without dementia and their carers.

In February 2009 the government set out its plan to meet one of the biggest challenges facing England's health and social care system - dementia. The national dementia strategy is one year old but a key study has found progress is slow. Vern Pitt visited Croydon – which has long been held up as a leader in dementia care – to ask professionals and carers about how the strategy’s objectives and the challenges posed by the condition are being tackled.

Objective: To identify carer and patient characteristics associated with various aspects of burden of care.

Method: The burden on 196 carers, each caring for one patient with dementia, was rated by means of the Relative Stress Scale (RSS). Patients were assessed with the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD) and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI).

Older people with dementia living in the community are most likely to be cared for by other older people, predominantly spouses, who will be at increased risk of stress‐related health problems themselves. Appropriate support of such carers is crucial if carer breakdown and consequent care‐receiver admission to residential homes is to be avoided. This paper examines the experience of older carers of frail older people with dementia and examines the kind of support that is provided to such carers.

Purpose: This research aimed to integrate three previously developed assistive technology (AT) systems into one modular, multifunctional system, which can support people with dementia and carers throughout the course of dementia. In an explorative evaluation study, the integrated system, called Rosetta, was tested on usefulness, user-friendliness and impact, in people with dementia, their informal carers and professional carers involved. The Rosetta system was installed in participants‘ homes in three countries: The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.

Describes the process and outcomes of developing a carers' training and education programme, for carers of people with dementia, using a partnership approach.

The film is introduced by the manager of a residential care home for older people with dementia who talks about the importance of understanding the individual, their interests, background and personal history. The benefits of this approach are illustrated by Marjorie’s story. Marjorie has been supported and encouraged to take up her interest in music again and it has brought pleasure to her life. There is an emphasis on relationship-based, individual person-centred care, rather than a functional approach to basic personal care. This is important to maintaining dignity and well-being.

This article draws on findings from a three-year project to develop and deliver culturally appropriate support group materials for South Asian and Eastern European family carers of relatives with dementia living in the UK. Analysis of interview and field note data revealed insights into how understandings of dementia in different cultural contexts can become operationalised through stigma processes and in turn influence the ways in which people with dementia and their family carers engage with formal and informal support. 

Objectives: To investigate whether community-based (CO) day care with carer support according to the proven effective Meeting Centres Support Programme model is associated with higher satisfaction of people with dementia (PwD) and their informal caregivers (CG) and with a higher job satisfaction among care staff compared to traditional nursing home-based (NH) day care.