Diagnostics and interventions for dementia

摘要

For caregivers and health care providers of persons with dementia, determining when the persons should be placed in long-term care is difficult. Klug et al (Deciding When to put Grandma in the Nursing Home: Measuring Inclinations to Place Persons With dementia) address this problem using data from caregivers working with the Dementia Care Services Project in North Dakota, and they show that asking the care-giver about their inclination to place can be equated to asking them for a specific time to place. They felt that inclination is easier information for the caregiver to provide, and it places fewer burdens on the caregiver and patient. One key to improving the quality of life in individuals with dementia and their caregivers is to be sure that the caregivers understand the meanings of the words and actions of the individual with dementia. Teruo et al (Investigation of Eating Actions of People With Dementia From the Viewpoint of Self-Awareness) conducted a study that addressed this complex issue. Hallucinations are complex, but to better understand them we need to be sure that they are not over- or underdiagnosed. In Analysis of Caregiver Perceptions of "Hallucinations in People With Dementia in Institutional Settings" Cohen-Mansfield and Golander investigate the meaning and etiology of hallucinations in individuals with dementia in nursing home residents.