| |
Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
 | |
|
| Lay and professional expectations of cholinesterase inhibitor treatment in the early stage of Alzheimer's disease | | Author(s) | Elizabeth Andersen, James Silvius, Susan Slaughter |
| Journal title | Dementia: the international journal of social research and practice, vol 7, no 4, November 2008 |
| Pages | pp 545-558 |
| Source | http://www.dem.sagepub.com |
| Keywords | Dementia ; Early ; Drugs ; Attitude ; Social surveys ; Canada. |
| Annotation | Key stakeholders' expectations regarding cholinesterase inhibitor treatment prescribed to people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) were identified, compared and contrasted. This Canadian study also examined those expectations in the light of recent findings regarding the efficacy and effectiveness of this class of drug. Participants were four older women diagnosed with early stage AD, their lay caregivers, their professional healthcare providers, and pharmacists and policy makers. Semi-structured interviews were performed in a conversational style designed to elicit accounts of expectations of cholinesterase inhibitors in relation to diagnosis and treatment for AD. The interviews were carried out in the participants' own homes, their places of work or by telephone. A 5-member, multidisciplinary team taped, transcribed and coded the interviews using qualitative software in order to identify overarching themes. The study found that although policy makers and physicians harboured more sceptical or negative expectations, most of the stakeholders expected that people diagnosed with AD would reap beneficial effects through using expectations of cholinesterase inhibitors. The study concludes that there is still controversy about the use of cholinesterase inhibitors, particularly in terms of their cost-effectiveness. A clear and ethical argument exists in support of attempts to both modify unrealistic patient expectations where they exist, and to enhance prescribers' knowledge base. Greater concordance between physicians', patients' and caregivers treatment goals and appropriate prescription of these agents in line with available research will require more complete patient and caregiver information on the one hand, and potentially a shift in emphasis to more individualised, clinically focused outcomes, on the other. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-090126208 A |
| Classmark | EA: 4J: LLD: DP: 3F: 7S |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
|
| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
| |
|