Search results for ‘Subject term:"alzheimers disease"’ Sort:
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A technology-aided program for helping persons with Alzheimer's disease perform daily activities
- Authors:
- LANCIONI Giulio E., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Enabling Technologies, 11(3), 2017, pp.85-91.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: Persons with mild and moderate Alzheimer’s disease experience increasing activity engagement failures, with consequent cognitive, social, and physical drawbacks. The purpose of this paper is to assess a technology-aided program to help these persons to independently start and carry out daily activities at the appropriate times. Design/methodology/approach: The program was implemented with eight participants according to an adapted non-concurrent multiple baseline design across participants. The program provided each participant with: timely reminders about the activities to carry out, verbal instructions about the activity steps, and brief encouragements and praise. Findings: All participants showed improvement during the program, that is, they managed to independently start the activities at the scheduled times and perform those activities with satisfactory levels of accuracy (i.e. with mean percentages of correct steps nearing or exceeding 90). Originality/value: A technology-aided program, such as that used in this study, may help persons with mild and moderate Alzheimer disease engage in daily activities, with possible benefits for their cognitive functioning, social image, and physical condition. (Publisher abstract)
A qualitative study on becoming cared for in Alzheimer's disease: the effects to women's sense of identity
- Authors:
- BORLEY Gayle, HARDY Shelia
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 21(10), 2017, pp.1017-1022.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Objective: To explore the lived experience of becoming cared for and the impact this has on the identity and sense of self of women with Alzheimer's disease. Method: Eight women with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease were interviewed in Northamptonshire, England, on two separate occasions about their experiences relating to needing assistance with instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) tasks. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was the approach used to underpin this research. Results: Changes in the women's identity affected by the increased need for assistance with IADL tasks were expressed in terms of: who I am; unhappy being me; fighting to remain me; I'm not the same, but it doesn't worry me; and acceptance and contentment. Conclusion: This study offers an alternative perspective to the view that all women with Alzheimer's disease experience becoming cared for as a negative event in their lives. Some factors universally perceived as being a result of Alzheimer's disease may be a normal part of the life course. (Publisher abstract)
How do people in the early stage of Alzheimer’s disease see their future?
- Authors:
- JORGEN Per, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Dementia: the International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 16(2), 2017, pp.145-157.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Older people fear Alzheimer’s disease. Central to the fear of the disease is the dread of the loss of identity or self. The aim of this study is to investigate the thoughts people in an early stage of Alzheimer’s disease have about their future selves, and the consequences these thoughts have for their temporary lives. The concepts of future and self are understood in terms of the concepts ‘possible selves’ and ‘selfhood’. The participants in the study are two men in their early 60 s. The data consist of four individual interviews and 11 facilitated family conversations including two of their next of kin. The data were collected over a two-year period. The data were interpreted using a hermeneutic analysis inspired by Gadamer. The main findings were the efforts made by the participants to live in the present and their worries about a future as ‘living dead’. (Publisher abstract)
Determinants of quality of life in young onset dementia: results from a European multicenter assessment
- Authors:
- MILLENAAR Joany, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 21(1), 2017, pp.24-30.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Background: The purpose of this study was to identify determinants of quality of life (QOL) in young onset dementia, and to assess differences in QoL domains between people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Methods: In total 135 persons with AD and 58 persons with FTD were included from two prospective cohort studies. QOL was assessed with the proxy reported quality of life in Alzheimer's disease questionnaire (QoL-AD). Possible determinants were explored using multiple linear regression and included sociodemographic variables, diagnosis, dementia severity, disease awareness, neuropsychiatric symptoms, met and unmet needs and hours of personal and instrumental care. Differences between QOL domains in people with AD and FTD were calculated using Mann-Whitney U tests. Results: Lower QOL was associated with more depressive symptoms, lower disease awareness, and a higher amount of needs, both met and unmet. People with AD scored lower on the memory and higher on the friends' subscale. No differences were found for the other items. Conclusion: This study demonstrates a unique set of determinants of QOL in AD and FTD. Interventions directed towards these specific factors may improve QOL. (Edited publisher abstract)
Lifestyle factors and Alzheimer's disease in people with Down syndrome
- Authors:
- KENSHOLE Athena V., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 30(Supplement S1), 2017, pp.58-66.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Background: Lifestyle has previously been associated with the onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the typically developing population, but research investigating this association in Down syndrome (DS) is limited. Method: Adults with DS and AD (n = 27) were compared to adults with DS without AD (n = 30) on physical activity, diet, weight, where participants currently lived, where participants had lived for the majority of their lives, educational attainment, occupational attainment and cognitive activity. Results: There was a significant difference between samples on where participants currently lived, with the majority of the clinical sample living in institutionalised settings and the majority of the control sample living in independent/supported living settings. This may reflect a tendency to move people once they start to deteriorate which, if correct, is contrary to clinical recommendations that people with AD should be supported to “die in place.” Conclusions: Further research into the way in which lifestyle factors, particularly living environment, could contribute to the increased risk of AD in adults with DS is required. This may support interventions aimed at preventing or delaying the onset of the disease. (Edited publisher abstract)
Dementia cafes: recommendations from interviews with informal carers
- Authors:
- AKHTAR Farrukh, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Working with Older People, 21(4), 2017, pp.236-242.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: Dementia cafes (also known as Alzheimer’s or memory cafes) have been running in the UK since 2000. The purpose of this paper is to report on the recommendations from recent research that interviewed family carers on their experiences of using the cafes. Design/methodology/approach: The research was carried out in cafes in and around London, and focussed on informal, unpaid carers’ experiences of using them. In total, 11 carers from five different dementia cafes were interviewed, using semi-structured questionnaires. The results were thematically analysed. Findings: The findings showed that carers had an overwhelming appreciation of the cafes and what they offered, but several of the findings led to the recommendations about the recruitment and training of cafe co-ordinators; how cafes present themselves and their services and how they can offer dedicated support to informal carers. Originality/value: These recommendations will be of use to cafe organisers and commissioners, especially considering the dearth of information currently available in this area. (Publisher abstract)
Trajectories of health-related quality of life during the natural history of dementia: a six-wave longitudinal study
- Authors:
- YU Hongmei, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 32(9), 2017, pp.940-948.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objective: The objective of this study was to explore profiles of quality of life (QoL) trajectories during the natural history of dementia and individual variations contributing to QoL trajectories. Methods: The authors conducted a longitudinal community-based study of 520 elderly people with mild cognitive impairment and 100 healthy people aged 60 years or over. They conducted six waves of assessment between October 2010 and May 2013 in Taiyuan, mainland China. Cognitively normal, mild cognitive impairment, global impairment, and Alzheimer's disease (AD) were defined as state 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. They assessed health-related QoL (HRQoL) via the Quality of Life–Alzheimer's Disease (QoL–AD) Chinese version. The latent growth curve model (LGCM) was used to investigate change in HRQoL over time. Results: Latent growth curve model analysis revealed a mean initial QoL level of 29.865 with substantial variation and a significant mean slope for the whole sample. Multigroup LGCM showed substantial variations across individuals in initial QoL levels for each cognitive state transition group. For the slope factor, they found significant changes and variations for the transition from state 2 to 3 and from state 3 to 4. The authors estimated mean QoL levels over six assessments based on intercept, slope, and factor loadings for the whole sample and the three cognitive state transition groups. Conclusions: A decline in subjective QoL is not inevitable during the natural history of dementia in community settings, and there is a degree of individual variation in QoL. Future studies should investigate the factors associated with individual variations in QoL trajectories in AD. (Edited publisher abstract)
Digital communication support and Alzheimer’s disease
- Authors:
- EKSTROM Anna, FERM Ulrika, SAMUELSSON Christina
- Journal article citation:
- Dementia: the International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 16(6), 2017, pp.711-731.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Communication is one of the areas where people with dementia and their caregivers experience most challenges. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of possibilities and pitfalls of using personalised communication applications installed on tablet computers to support communication for people with dementia and their conversational partners. The study is based on video recordings of a woman, 52 years old, with Alzheimer’s disease interacting with her husband in their home. The couple was recorded interacting with and without a tablet computer including a personalised communication application. The results from the present study reveal both significant possibilities and potential difficulties in introducing a digital communication device to people with dementia and their conversational partners. For the woman in the present study, the amount of interactive actions and the number of communicative actions seem to increase with the use of the communication application. The results also indicate that problems associated with dementia are foregrounded in interaction where the tablet computer is used. (Edited publisher abstract)
Reducing safety risk among underserved caregivers with an Alzheimer's home safety program
- Authors:
- LEVY-STORMS Lene, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 21(9), 2017, pp.902-909.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Objectives: Older adults living with Alzheimer's disease (AD) experience more of the types of accidents and injuries prevalent among older adults. Relatively few studies specifically on safety risks have included older adults of color and tested interventions. This pilot study tested the feasibility and evaluability of educating Hispanic and African American caregivers of patients living with AD about reducing safety risks in their homes. Methods: This outpatient memory clinic-based intervention study included a pre-/post-test survey design with two nonequivalent groups and predominately serves Hispanic and African Americans. Of 60 eligible caregivers, 67% participated in a tailored, safety training class with an optional follow-up call. Results: The results indicate a reduction in some safety risks compared to baseline and/or a no intervention group, respectively, including leaving patients at home alone part-time, getting lost, going outdoors alone less often, and giving themselves medicine. At post-test, 47 clinically significant instances occurred, in which caregivers who participated in the intervention self-reported patients living with AD to be ‘completely safe’ in one or more of the safety risk items compared to 8 instances among those who did not. Conclusions: This pilot pre/post design with non-equivalent groups study needs refinement in a future randomized control trial. Despite limitations, this pilot study demonstrates the first feasible and evaluable intervention with both statistically and clinically significant results that suggest potential for reducing safety risks among at-risk minority patients living with AD in future research. (Edited publisher abstract)
The épreuve of ageing with Alzheimer's disease
- Authors:
- CARADEC Vincent, CHAMAHIAN Aline
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 37(5), 2017, pp.935-960.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
The concept of épreuve, literally translated as ‘challenge’, was developed by the French sociologist Danilo Martuccelli, who was inspired by Sartre's existential philosophy, phenomenological sociology and its concern for analysing modern experiences, and Charles Wright Mills’ conviction that it is necessary to relate personal problems to the social structures that generate or amplify them. The concept has been used in the sociology of ageing in France to characterise the épreuve of ageing and four domains of épreuve have been identified: activities, identity, autonomy and relationship to the world. This paper applies this template to a corpus of 27 interviews with people at mild to moderate stages of Alzheimer's disease, in order to characterise the épreuve of ageing with the disease. The épreuve of ageing during the earlier stages of the disease is similar to the experience of people who age without a cognitive disorder. However, as the disease progresses the analysis reveals that it tends to exacerbate issues: identity seems especially threatened, simultaneously raising the question of self-presentation and self-definition; although most interviewees strive to retain autonomy, a few delegate it to a close confidante with whom they build a relationship of strong dependence; and weakened communication accentuates the feeling that the world is foreign and strange. (Publisher abstract)