Early in Alzheimer's disease and related dementia, people experience changes in thinking, memory, and reasoning in a way that affects life and daily activities. Over time, people with these diseases will need more help with simple everyday tasks, including bathing, grooming, and dressing. We provide Home Care in Manhattan Beach CA and collect information about the sociodemographic characteristics of patients and their caregivers (age, sex, educational level, spoken language, relationship with the person receiving care, (not) living with the person receiving care).Li and Porock (201) reported that eight of the nine person-centered dementia care studies were based on Kitwood concepts. People living with dementia have diverse health and social care needs and expectations, some of which are not fully met by health providers, including primary care physicians.
Li and Porock (201) provided a comprehensive review article in which they synthesized current evidence on the effects of multiple-person-centered care models on resident outcomes. Levy-Storms (201) conducted a literature review and found several commonalities between models and practices, including: a) fostering a sense of identity and personality through relationship-based care and services, (b) offering individualized activities and meaningful participation, and (c) offering guidance to those who care for them. Brownie and Nancarrow (201) discovered that the Eden Alternative was the only intervention identified in this review that articulated a framework (which incorporates all the features) for a person-centered approach to caring for older residents and improving staff working conditions. The development included a review of existing assessment tools and their alignment with person-centered principles and management systems of quality standards for care for people with dementia in Australia, organizational and personnel development, health and personal care, residents' lifestyles, the physical environment and safe systems.
The Kitwood principles help caregivers critically evaluate how communication programs and strategies can be adopted and implemented to support multidimensional people with dementia. Epp (200) highlighted several studies that revealed the positive results of implementing person-centered care practices, such as improving quality of life, reducing agitation, improving sleep patterns and maintaining self-esteem. It should support interests and preferences, allow for choice and success, and recognize that, even when dementia is more severe, a person can experience joy, comfort and meaning in life. Key indicators for adopting the perspective of a person with dementia include effective communication, empathy, monitoring the physical environment, evaluating physical health, discovering the reasons for their behavior, and promoting interests.
While most of them are not specifically designed for people with dementia, the fact that they focus on getting to know the person, interpersonal relationships, and individual autonomy makes them relevant for evaluating person-centered dementia care. Brooker highlighted that four key components are integral to a person-centered approach to care for people with dementia and can result in a change in practice and culture. However, the effect of person-centered dementia care on the quality of life of residents with dementia cannot be determined due to inconsistent findings (Li and Porock, 201). Due to the deterioration of cognition, people with dementia need other people to “keep their story” and to respond to it as “you”, in the uniqueness of their being (Kitwood, 199).
Sabat and Collins (199) suggested that multiple people presented in public and in relationships may be lost, in part as a result of how others treat and view the person with Alzheimer's.
