dementia, occupational therapy,

BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment is common in Parkinson's disease (PD), but care needs and resource use for those with significant cognitive impairment are not well established. METHODS: 675 participants with PD from the international Care of Late-Stage Parkinsonism (CLaSP) study were grouped into those without (n = 333, 49%) and with cognitive impairment (MMSE < 24/30 or diagnosis of dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment; n = 342, 51%) and their clinical features, care needs and healthcare utilisation compared...

The environment, and assistive technologies as part of this, can play an important role in supporting the participation and wellbeing of people living with dementia. If not considered, environments can be overwhelming and disempowering. Disability approaches including environmental considerations and assistive technology were often not offered routinely with people living with dementia. Concerned by this, dementia advocates aimed to create change in this area. The Environmental Design-Special Interest Group (ED-SiG) of Dementia Alliance International was developed as an international consumer-driven community of practice bringing together people with different relevant expertise including living experience (people living with dementia, care partners), architecture and design, occupational therapy, rehabilitation and care provision...

INTRODUCTION: Older adults living with dementia in residential aged care homes receive physical care but may have limited access to meaningful engagement. Due to its multimodal and versatile nature, virtual reality (VR) is speculated to be an effective means of meaningfully engaging residents individually and/or in groups. However, there is little evidence regarding its efficacy as a means of meaningfully engaging older adults living with dementia. The objective of this scoping review is to identify and synthesise published research investigating the use of VR technology in promoting the meaningful engagement of older adults living with dementia in residential aged care facilities...

BACKGROUND: Improving quality of care provided to short-stay patients with dementia in nursing homes is a policy priority. However, it is unknown whether dementia-focused care strategies are associated with improved clinical outcomes or lower utilization and costs for short-stay dementia patients. METHODS: We performed a national survey of nursing home administrators in 2020-2021, asking about the presence of three dementia-focused care services used for their short-stay patients: (1) a dementia care unit, (2) cognitive deficiency training for staff, and (3) dementia-specific occupational therapy...

BACKGROUND: Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are present in most people with dementia (PwD), including Alzheimer's disease. There is consensus that non-pharmacological therapies represent the first line of treatment to address BPSD. OBJECTIVE: We explore the efficacy of the use of a rocking chair (Nordic Sensi® Chair, NSC) in the treatment of BPSD in nursing home residents with moderate and severe dementia. METHODS: We carried out a 16-week randomized, single-blind, controlled, clinical trial with PwD admitted to nursing homes...

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive impairments in behavior, executive function, and language, primarily affecting individuals under the age of 65. This disorder is associated with expressive and receptive anomia, word comprehension deficits, and behavioral symptoms such as apathy, loss of empathy, and disinhibition, all of which closely correlate with functional impairment in daily activities. Despite substantial efforts, research on occupational therapy (OT) interventions has yet to demonstrate clear benefits in managing the disease...

This service evaluation reviewed inclusion of Immersive Virtual Reality (iVR) relaxation activities as part of routine occupational therapy sensory sessions on a specialist dementia unit. Twenty-five sessions were completed over 13 wk with 14 participants. Nine participants chose to engage in multiple sessions. Feasibility was assessed through participant engagement and tolerability. Modal first session length was in the range 30 s to 2 min . This increased to over 2 min on second sessions...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Residents in aged care homes often report lack of life purpose and meaning and limited opportunities to contribute to their community. The JAVA Memory Care program is designed to facilitate engagement for older adults with advanced dementia. This study explored whether JAVA Memory Care engaged such adults meaningfully, on social and occupational levels, within one Australian residential care home. METHODS: A mixed method design guided this exploration...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a dyadic outpatient rehabilitation program focused on improving the real-life daily activities of patients with mild cognitive impairments or dementia and their caregivers. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SUBJECTS: Eight patients with mild cognitive impairments or dementia and their caregivers. METHODS: The rehabilitation program comprised eight 1-hour sessions by occupational therapists with patients and his/her caregivers...

BACKGROUND: Dementia prevalence is increasing, with no cure at present. Drug therapies have potential side effects and risk of mortality. People with dementia are frequently offered non-pharmacological interventions to improve quality of life and relieve symptoms. Identifying which interventions are cost-effective is important due to finite resources in healthcare services. AIMS: The aims were to review published economic evaluations of community and nursing home non-pharmacological interventions for people with mild cognitive impairment or dementia and assess the usefulness of these evaluations for decision making in health services, for use by policy and local and national decision makers...

OBJECTIVES: To adapt the content and functionalities of Brain Health PRO, a web-based multidomain program designed to increase dementia literacy, to the context and needs of users, providers and community organisations across Québec, Canada. DESIGN: Five consecutive qualitative co-creation focus group sessions 30-90 min in duration each, exploring potential barriers and facilitators to usability, accessibility, comprehensibility, participant recruitment and retention...

Systematic review briefs provide a summary of the findings from systematic reviews evaluated in conjunction with the American Occupational Therapy Association's Evidence-Based Practice Program. Each systematic review brief summarizes the evidence on a theme related to a systematic review topic. This systematic review brief presents findings related to interventions within the scope of occupational therapy to manage pain in individuals with dementia.

Systematic review briefs provide a summary of the findings from systematic reviews evaluated in conjunction with the American Occupational Therapy Association's Evidence-Based Practice Program. Each systematic review brief summarizes the evidence on a theme related to a systematic review topic. This systematic review brief presents findings related to interventions to improve cognitive function for individuals living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and mild cognitive impairment.

Systematic review briefs provide a summary of the findings from systematic reviews evaluated in conjunction with the American Occupational Therapy Association's Evidence-Based Practice Program. Each systematic review brief summarizes the evidence on a theme related to a systematic review topic. This systematic review brief presents finding related to interventions for care partners for persons with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

Systematic review briefs provide a summary of the findings from systematic reviews evaluated in conjunction with the American Occupational Therapy Association's Evidence-Based Practice Program. Each systematic review brief summarizes the evidence on a theme related to a systematic review topic. This systematic review brief presents finding related to interventions within the scope of occupational therapy that address behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia.

BACKGROUND: Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) is an incurable neurodegenerative disorder. One variant of PSP is a frontal lobe cognitive or behavioral presentation (PSP-F). Currently, the primary management of this disease is rooted in neurological rehabilitation, therefore, early, and accurate diagnosis is key. CASE REPORT: Here we present a 60-year-old man with a 2-3-year history of functional decline and behavioral changes. He was misdiagnosed with a late-onset psychiatric disorder...

IMPORTANCE: Supporting community residency of adults with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a critical public health initiative. Occupational therapy can contribute to this goal. OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility of a novel telehealth intervention to support occupational engagement in community-residing people with AD. DESIGN: Single-blind, three-arm, parallel, randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Occupational therapy delivered through telehealth in participants' homes...

BACKGROUND: Dementia is a syndrome of acquired cognitive impairment which is severe enough to interfere with independent living. Over the course of the illness, people with dementia also experience changes in emotions, behaviour and social relationships. According to Alzheimer's Disease International, dementia affects approximately 55 million people worldwide. The latest NICE guideline for dementia highlights the value of diverse treatment options for the different stages and symptoms of dementia, including non-pharmacological treatments...

INTRODUCTION: The aging of the population and the high incidence of those over 80 lead to an inevitable increase in chronic degenerative diseases, such as dementia, resulting in increased morbidity and disability. Treatment of people with dementia involves both pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. In particular, robot-assisted therapy is a potentially useful treatment for dementia as it has the advantage of improving mood, encouraging social interaction and communication...

The number of people living with dementia is rising globally as life expectancy increases. Dementia is a multifactorial disease. Due to the ubiquity of radiation exposure in medical and occupational settings, the potential association between radiation and dementia, and its subtypes (Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease), is of particular importance. There has also been an increased interest in studying radiation induced dementia risks in connection with the long-term manned space travel proposed by The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)...