Dementia care

BACKGROUND: Hospital patients with behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are vulnerable to a range of adverse outcomes. Hospital-based Special Care Units (SCUs) are secure dementia-enabling environments providing specialised gerontological care. Due to a scarcity of research, their value remains unconfirmed. OBJECTIVE: To compare hospital based SCU management of BPSD with standard care. DESIGN: Single-case multiple baseline design...

OBJECTIVES: Hearing aids have important health benefits for older adults with Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD); however, hearing aid adoption in this group is low. This study aimed to determine where to target hearing aid interventions for American long-term care recipients with ADRD by examining the association of ADRD and residence type with respondent-reported unmet hearing aid need. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study used data from the United States National Core Indicators-Aging and Disabilities survey (2015-2019) for long-term care recipients aged ≥65 years...

INTRODUCTION: In the first randomised controlled trial of a dementia training and support intervention in UK homecare agencies, we aimed to assess: acceptability of our co-designed, manualised training, delivered by non-clinical facilitators; outcome completion feasibility; and costs for a future trial. METHODS: This cluster-randomised (2:1) single-blind, feasibility trial involved English homecare agencies. Intervention arm agency staff were offered group videocall sessions: 6 over 3 months, then monthly for 3 months (NIDUS-professional)...

INTRODUCTION: Subjective cognitive decline means a decline in the subjective perception of self-cognitive function, which is likely to evolve into mild cognitive impairment and dementia. The number of elderly with subjective cognitive decline has increased, bringing huge burdens and challenges to caregivers and society. With the increase in research on art therapies, some of them have gradually been proven to be effective for cognitive function. Therefore, this study aims to summarise the evidence and identify the best art therapy for elderly with subjective cognitive decline...

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the association between aspirin use and diabetes-associated dementia in older patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), assessing aspirin's potential protective effects, intensity of use, and dose-dependency against dementia. DESIGN: A cohort study evaluating the dose-dependent protective impact of aspirin against dementia in a population-based sample. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Older patients with T2DM (≥60 years), comparing aspirin users with nonusers...

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the associations of recreational screen time with risks of brain-related disorders (dementia, stroke, or Parkinson's disease) and neuroimaging features. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 407,792 participants from the UK Biobank who were free of dementia, stroke, or Parkinson's disease at enrollment (2006-2010). METHODS: TV viewing and time spent using the computer were self-reported at baseline...

BACKGROUND: In older patients, medication exposure [i.e. polypharmacy, potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs), medications with anticholinergic and/or sedative properties] is a modifiable risk factor associated with cognitive iatrogenic risk and dementia. AIM: To assess the potential clinical impact of the implementation of an individualised clinical pharmacy programme at the initiation of the Memory care pathway in older patients with a cognitive complaint...

BACKGROUND: Although the family plays a pivotal role in older adults' care, there is limited research on how evolving demographic trends affect older adults' support networks and how the trends vary by race. To fill this gap, we examine the influence of shifting family demographics on future care needs for older adults with dementia, emphasizing the unequal health and potential caregiving burdens by race in the U.S. METHODS: Using demographic models of kinship, we estimate the availability of potential caregivers, and dementia prevalence among one's kin by race, kin type, and the age of a focal person from 2000 to 2060...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Older adults and people with dementia were anticipated to be particularly unable to use health and care services during the lockdown period following the COVID-19 pandemic. To better prepare for future pandemics, we aimed to investigate whether the use of health and care services changed during the pandemic and whether those at older ages and/or dementia experienced a higher degree of change than that observed by their counterparts. METHODS: Data from the Norwegian Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT4 70 + , 2017-2019) were linked to two national health registries that have individual-level data on the use of primary and specialist health and care services...

OBJECTIVE: To synthesize recommendations on assessing and managing behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSDs) in existing clinical guidelines on dementia care to learn from and adapt recommendations to a Canadian context and language for describing BPSDs. DESIGN: Systematic review. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Moderate to high-quality clinical practice guidelines on dementia care that made 1 or more recommendations on BPSD assessment or management...

Effective staff-patient communication is critical in acute care settings, particularly for patients with dementia. Limited work has examined the impact of quality of staff-patient care interactions on patient engagement. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the quality of staff-patient care interactions were associated with active patient engagement during the interaction after controlling for relevant covariates. The study was a secondary data analysis using baseline data from the Function Focused Care for Acute Care intervention study, with a total sample of 286 patients...

BACKGROUND: With the rapid aging of the global population, the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia is anticipated to surge worldwide. MCI serves as an intermediary stage between normal aging and dementia, necessitating more sensitive and effective screening tools for early identification and intervention. The BrainFx SCREEN is a novel digital tool designed to assess cognitive impairment. This study evaluated its efficacy as a screening tool for MCI in primary care settings, particularly in the context of an aging population and the growing integration of digital health solutions...

BACKGROUND: The emotional impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on people with dementia has been quantified. However, little is known about the impact of change in home-care use owing to the pandemic. OBJECTIVE: To determine the longitudinal association between dementia, change in home-care use, and depressive symptoms during the pandemic. METHODS: We included data of 43,782 home-dwelling older adults from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), Study of health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), and National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS)...

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) have negative quality of life (QoL) and economic impacts on patients and their caregivers and may increase along the disease continuum from MCI to mild, moderate, and severe AD. OBJECTIVE: To assess how patient and caregiver QoL, indirect and intangible costs are associated with MCI and AD severity. METHODS: An on-line survey of physician-identified patient-caregiver dyads living in the United States was conducted from June-October 2022 and included questions to both patients and their caregivers...

BACKGROUND: There is a need to develop and coordinate dementia care plans that use assistive technology for vulnerable groups such as immigrant populations. However, immigrant populations are seldom included in various stages of the development and implementation of assistive technology, which does not optimize technology acceptance. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to gain an in-depth understanding of the acceptance of a digital personal assistant, called Anne4Care, by older adult immigrants living with dementia in their own homes...

OBJECTIVE: Early detection of cognitive impairment in the elderly is crucial for diagnosis and appropriate care. Brief, cost-effective cognitive screening instruments are needed to help identify individuals who require further evaluation. This study presents preliminary data on a new screening technology using automated voice recording analysis software in a Spanish population. METHOD: Data were collected from 174 Spanish-speaking individuals clinically diagnosed as cognitively normal (CN, n  = 87) or impaired (mild cognitive impairment [MCI], n  = 63; all-cause dementia, n  = 24)...

BACKGROUND: Healthcare providers may experience moral distress when they are unable to take the ethically or morally appropriate action due to real or perceived constraints in delivering care, and this psychological stressor can negatively impact their mental health, leading to burnout and compassion fatigue. This study describes healthcare providers experiences of moral distress working in long-term care settings during the COVID-19 pandemic and measures self-reported levels of moral distress pre- and post-implementation of the Dementia Isolation Toolkit (DIT), a person-centred care intervention designed for use by healthcare providers to alleviate moral distress...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Due to the global prevalence of dementia the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease recommended that healthcare professionals prepare to address the complex needs of people with dementia. To address this gap, nursing programs adopted experiential learning methods. While such methodologies are increasingly used, limited evidence exists to inform best teaching practices. PURPOSE: This study evaluated the combined effect of an e-learning module with a virtual simulation on nursing students' knowledge and attitudes of dementia...