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Integrating Family Caregivers of People With Alzheimer's Disease and Dementias into Clinical Appointments: Identifying Potential Best Practices

Family caregiver engagement in clinical encounters can promote relationship-centered care and optimize outcomes for people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Little is known, however, about effective ways for health care providers to engage family caregivers in clinical appointments to provide the highest quality care. We describe what caregivers of people with ADRD and people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) consider potential best practices for engaging caregivers as partners in clinical appointments. Seven online focus groups were convened. Three groups included spousal caregivers (n = 42), three included non-spousal caregivers (n = 36), and one included people with MCI (n = 15). Seven potential best practices were identified, including the following: "acknowledge caregivers' role and assess unmet needs and capacity to care" and "communicate directly with person with ADRD yet provide opportunities for caregivers to have separate interactions with providers." Participants outlined concrete steps for providers and health care systems to improve care delivery quality for people with ADRD.

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Key Information

Type of Reference
Jour
Type of Work
Journal article
Publisher
Sage Publications
ISBN/ISSN
1552-4523
Publication Year
2020
Issue Number
11
Journal Titles
Journal Of Applied Gerontology
Volume Number
39
Start Page
1184
End Page
1194