CHARACTERISTICS OF ACTIVITIES FOR PERSONS WITH DEMENTIA AT THE MILD MODERATE AND SEVERE STAGES

摘要

Most individuals with dementia develop significant behavioral problems, which present enormous challenges for caregivers. Given that there is no imminent cure in sight and pharmacotherapy is ineffective, it is critical to identify interventions that minimize behavioral disturbances, improve quality of life, and lessen caregiver burden. As activity-based interventions have shown great promise, we examined relationships of dementia disease stage (mild, moderate, severe) with types and characteristics of meaningful activities (cueing needs, help with initiation, recommended engagement time) provided in a home-based behavioral intervention trial. We found that type of activity, recommended cueing, and engagement time were significantly related to dementia stage. Findings provide guidance as to how to use and set up activities across the dementia trajectory and show that persons with even advanced dementia benefit from a wide range of meaningful activities with appropriate set-up. This study represents an important step towards developing guidelines for activities in dementia care.