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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Dementia care consultation for family caregivers
— collaborative model linking an Alzheimer's association chapter with primary care physicians | | Author(s) | Richard H Fortinsky, Martin Kulldorff, Alison Kleppinger |
| Journal title | Aging & Mental Health, vol 13, no 2, March 2009 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis, March 2009 |
| Pages | pp 162-170 |
| Source | http://www.tandfonline.com |
| Keywords | Dementia ; Family care ; Consultation ; General practice ; Voluntary agencies ; Clinical surveys ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | The efficacy of an individualised dementia care consultation intervention for family caregivers of patients with diagnosed dementia living in the community is reported, also evidence on the intervention process to inform the feasibility and sustainability of the model featuring collaboration between primary care physicians and a voluntary sector organisation. 84 family caregivers participated. In the intervention group, dementia care consultants at a US Alzheimer's association chapter provided individualised counselling and support over a 12-month period and sent copies of care plans developed with family caregivers to referring primary care physicians. Family caregivers in the control group received educational and community resource information but no care consultation. After adjusting for baseline characteristics, patients whose family caregivers were in the intervention group were less likely than their control group counterparts to to be admitted to a nursing home. No other outcomes were significant between treatment groups. However, intervention group caregivers reporting greater satisfaction with the intervention showed improved self-efficacy for managing dementia compared to their less satisfied counterparts. Medical record reviews found that care plans were found in most patient records, but that only 27% of the intervention group caregivers reported discussing these care plans with physicians. Three different individuals occupied the dementia care consultation position during the study period, and this turnover led to family caregiver dissatisfaction. The intervention showed favourable effects on nursing home admissions and on caregiver outcomes for those who were more satisfied with the intervention. However, there are important barriers to sustaining this collaboration between primary care physicians and a voluntary organisation such as an Alzheimer's association chapter. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-090616207 A |
| Classmark | EA: P6:SJ: LK6: L5: PK: 3G: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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