Written by leading international experts, this book discusses the latest advances in the field of dementia in nursing homes. The topics and findings covered are based on their survey and on a scientific literature review. Dementia is spreading worldwide, placing a growing burden on healthcare systems and caregivers, as well as those affected. With increasing and complex care needs, nursing home admission is often necessary. Globally, over half of nursing home residents suffer from dementia. The book provides essential information on the most important issues in dementia in nursing homes today, including meaningful activities, patient-/person-centered care, psychosocial interventions, challenging behavior, inclusion and support of family members, pain, staff training and education, communication, polypharmacy, quality of life, end-of-life care and advanced care planning, depression, delirium, multidisciplinary approaches, physical restraints and care dependency. Each topic is covered by an international expert in dementia. As such, the book will appeal to professional nurses, nursing scientists, nursing students, other healthcare professionals, and to a broad readership, and will provide a valuable resource for those working in nursing homes, as well as researchers in the field.

This handbook features in-depth reviews of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), quality of life and financial measures for over 120 diseases and conditions. Its editors have organized this critical information for maximum access and ease of use, with abstracts, definitions of key terms, summary points, and dozens of figures and tables that can enhance the text or stand alone.

This work presents the first serious attempt to impose rigor on the definition and measurement of quality of life among the elderly. The book uses a conference to develop background but goes well beyond the meeting in terms of depth of reviews of the literature and of integration among the chapters. This book is intended for use by researchers in the many disciplines which focus on the mental and physical well-being of the elderly, including those in medicine, nursing, psychiatry, psychology, rehabilitation, sociology and social work, among others. In addition, this book provides important background information for professionals and policy makers interested in ensuring quality of life in the later years.

The first book to provide a comprehensive look at what it's like to have dementia and the subjective experience of living with progressive memory loss. Few families are untouched by Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia. Moving accounts of what it is like to care for someone with this disease have already been published, as well as how-to books that offer caregivers advice and information on coping. But this book is the first to provide a comprehensive report of what it is like to have dementia oneself—the subjective experience of living with progressive memory loss. Each chapter discusses a different aspect of having dementia, from the initial assessment and diagnosis through placement in a nursing home. The discussions are grounded in qualitative research and case studies, which convey the variable and personal nature of the experience. They seek to help clinicians, researchers, students, and caregivers (both professionals and family members) understand the experience of dementia, and thereby to promote better caregiving through a person-centered approach. Contributors: Kathleen Kahn-Denis, Judson Retirement Community; Casey Durkin, a psychotherapist in Cleveland, Ohio; Jane Gilliard, Dementia Voice, UK; Phyllis Braudy Harris, John Carroll University; John Keady, University of Wales, UK; John Killick, University of Stirling, UK; Rebecca G. Logsdon, University of Washington; Charlie Murphy, University of Stirling, UK; Alison Phinney, University of British Columbia, Canada; Steven R. Sabat, Georgetown University; Dorothy Seman, Alzheimer's Family Care Center, Chicago; Lisa Snyder, University of California, San Diego; Jane Stansell, Alzheimer's Family Care Center, Chicago; Gloria Sterin, Shaker Heights, Ohio; Jon C. Stuckey, Messiah College; Robyn Yale, Consultant to the Alzheimer's Association, San Francisco; Rosalie Young, Wayne State University School of Medicine.

The third edition of this successful textbook has been completely updated throughout and includes new chapters on electrophysiological tests, biological markers, global staging measures, and management of neuropsychiatric symptoms. There has been steady progress in our understanding of the natural history, prognostic factors and treatments for Alzh

The rubric "Quality of Life" first came to the explicit attention of the medical profession a little over thirty years ago. Despite the undoubted fact that each one of us has his or her own Quality of Life, be it good or bad, there is still no general agreement about its definition, or the manner in which it should be evaluated. Although much has been written about quality of life, this work has been largely concerned with population-based studies, especially in health policy & health economics. The importance of individual quality of life has been neglected, in part because of a failure to define quality of life itself with sufficient care, in part perhaps because of a belief that it is impossible to develop a meaningful method of measuring individual variables. It is a fundamental belief of the editors of this book that the primary focus of quality of life is & must continue to be the individual, who alone can define it & assess its changing personal significances. The individual perspective is of vital importance not only to patients but to their doctors too, & is more & more frequently proposed as the most meaningful measure of outcome in clinical research, especially in non-remitting or chronic conditions. Workers who wish to consider wider aspects of influences on the illnesses suffered by individuals & the health care that they receive will find much to stimulate them in the methods of documentation proposed in this book. Those mainly concerned with population samples rather than individuals may also find the sensitive methods of investigation proposed here not only to be applicable to their own areas of interest, but also rewarding in perhaps unexpected ways.

An invaluable resource guide for anyone working with persons suffering from Alzheimer's disease, this is the first book to present a step-by-step program to help families cope with the day-to-day problems arising from this disease. Using detailed case examples, the authors offer unique and effective strategies to help the family—and the patient—have enjoyable and more productive lives. "Well written and eminently practical guide for families struggling with the burdens of Alzheimer's disease." —Peter V. Rabins, M.D., John Hopkins University School of Medicine, author of Thirty-Six Hour Day "An outstanding book dealing knowledgeably and sensitively with a painful disease affecting millions of American familes." —Robert N. Butler, M.D., Brookdale Professor of Geriatrics and Adult Development, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York

As the largest generation in U.S. history - the population born in the two decades immediately following World War II - enters the age of risk for cognitive impairment, growing numbers of people will experience dementia (including Alzheimer's disease and related dementias). By one estimate, nearly 14 million people in the United States will be living with dementia by 2060. Like other hardships, the experience of living with dementia can bring unexpected moments of intimacy, growth, and compassion, but these diseases also affect people's capacity to work and carry out other activities and alter their relationships with loved ones, friends, and coworkers. Those who live with and care for individuals experiencing these diseases face challenges that include physical and emotional stress, difficult changes and losses in their relationships with life partners, loss of income, and interrupted connections to other activities and friends. From a societal perspective, these diseases place substantial demands on communities and on the institutions and government entities that support people living with dementia and their families, including the health care system, the providers of direct care, and others. Nevertheless, research in the social and behavioral sciences points to possibilities for preventing or slowing the development of dementia and for substantially reducing its social and economic impacts. At the request of the National Institute on Aging of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America assesses the contributions of research in the social and behavioral sciences and identifies a research agenda for the coming decade. This report offers a blueprint for the next decade of behavioral and social science research to reduce the negative impact of dementia for America's diverse population. Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America calls for research that addresses the causes and solutions for disparities in both developing dementia and receiving adequate treatment and support. It calls for research that sets goals meaningful not just for scientists but for people living with dementia and those who support them as well. By 2030, an estimated 8.5 million Americans will have Alzheimer's disease and many more will have other forms of dementia. Through identifying priorities social and behavioral science research and recommending ways in which they can be pursued in a coordinated fashion, Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America will help produce research that improves the lives of all those affected by dementia.

A definitive and compelling book on one of today's most prevalent illnesses. In 2020, an estimated 5.8 million Americans had Alzheimer’s, and more than half a million died because of the disease and its devastating complications. 16 million caregivers are responsible for paying as much as half of the $226 billion annual costs of their care. As more people live beyond their seventies and eighties, the number of patients will rise to an estimated 13.8 million by 2050. Part case studies, part meditation on the past, present and future of the disease, The Problem of Alzheimer's traces Alzheimer’s from its beginnings to its recognition as a crisis. While it is an unambiguous account of decades of missed opportunities and our health care systems’ failures to take action, it tells the story of the biomedical breakthroughs that may allow Alzheimer’s to finally be prevented and treated by medicine and also presents an argument for how we can live with dementia: the ways patients can reclaim their autonomy and redefine their sense of self, how families can support their loved ones, and the innovative reforms we can make as a society that would give caregivers and patients better quality of life. Rich in science, history, and characters, The Problem of Alzheimer's takes us inside laboratories, patients' homes, caregivers’ support groups, progressive care communities, and Jason Karlawish's own practice at the Penn Memory Center.