Exploring the usefulness of indicators for referring people with dementia and their informal caregivers to activating interventions: a qualitative analysis of needs assessments.

Background: People with dementia (PWDs) and their informal caregivers frequently report difficulties in maintaining their usual activities. We had previously developed a set of indicators to estimate whether dyadic, activating interventions can meet these needs for activity. This study investigates how PWDs and informal caregivers talk about the indicators in interviews for needs assessments, and how professionals identify activity needs and preferences.

Working mechanisms of dyadic, psychosocial, activating interventions for people with dementia and informal caregivers: a qualitative study.

Background: People living with dementia (PWD) and their informal caregivers often report difficulties in maintaining their usual activities. Several dyadic, psychosocial, activating interventions were developed to create insight into how to cope with limitations in a practical way and to increase skills for maintaining personal activities. Effects of these interventions varied so far.

Indicators to estimate the appropriateness of activating interventions for people living with dementia and for their informal caregivers.

Objectives: Dyadic activating interventions support both people with dementia and their informal caregivers to maintain activities. For a person-centered approach referrers need insight in how specific interventions might meet individual needs, characteristics, and preferences of a dyad. This study aimed to develop a set of indicators for three psychosocial dyadic, activating interventions.

Predictors of activity involvement in dementia care homes: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Despite the finding that involvement in activities is one of the most important needs of residents with dementia living in care homes, care facilities struggle to fulfill this need. Over the years, various factors are suggested which may contribute to or disable activity provision in dementia care homes. These include limited financial resources, task oriented staff and disease-related characteristics of residents.

The Effects of a Multicomponent Dyadic Intervention With Physical Exercise on the Cognitive Functioning of People With Dementia: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

The objective was to evaluate the effects of a multicomponent dyadic intervention on the cognitive functioning of people with dementia living at home in a randomized controlled trial. People with dementia and their family caregivers (n = 111) were randomly assigned to 8 home-based sessions including physical exercise and support or a minimal intervention consisting of monthly written information bulletins and monthly phone calls. Memory, executive functioning (EF), and attention were assessed at baseline, and after 3 (postmeasurement) and 6 months (follow-up).

The challenges of shared decision making in dementia care networks.

Unlabelled: ABSTRACTBackground:Decision making is an important part of managing one's life with dementia. Shared decision making is the preferred way of involving people in decisions. Our study aimed to describe the challenges of shared decision making in dementia care networks.

How do activating interventions fit the personal needs, characteristics and preferences of people with dementia living in the community and their informal caregivers?

Psychosocial interventions aim to mitigate the serious consequences of dementia for the daily life of people with dementia and their informal caregivers. To deliver a person-centred approach, it is crucial to take needs, characteristics and preferences of people with dementia and their informal caregivers into account. However, these factors are generally not systematically checked in order to determine which intervention will be most appropriate.

The effects of a multicomponent dyadic intervention on the mood, behavior, and physical health of people with dementia: a randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: The effects of a multicomponent dyadic intervention on the mood, behavior, and physical health of people with dementia living in the community were evaluated in a randomized controlled trial. This multicomponent dyadic intervention is a translated and adapted version of an intervention that has been shown to be effective for people with dementia in the US.

Patients And Methods: People with dementia living in the community and their family caregivers (N=111 caregiver-care recipient dyads) were randomly assigned to the intervention and comparison group.

Does the organisational model of dementia case management make a difference in satisfaction with case management and caregiver burden? An evaluation study.

Background: In the Netherlands, various organisational models of dementia case management exist. In this study the following four models are distinguished, based on differences in the availability of the service and in the case management function: Model 1: the case management service is available from first dementia symptoms + is always a separate specialist function; Model 2: the case management service is only available after a formal dementia diagnosis + is always a separate specialist function; Model 3: the case management service is available from first dementia symptoms + is often a combined function; Model 4: the case management service is only available after a formal dementia diagnosis + is often a combined function. The objectives of this study are to give insight into whether satisfaction with dementia case management and the development of caregiver burden depend on the organisational model.

Factors facilitating dementia case management: Results of online focus groups.

To obtain insight into facilitating factors for case management in dementia care, we conducted a qualitative study with 13 online focus groups (OFGs). Participants were professionals involved in dementia case management ( N = 99). We used mind-maps and the method of constant comparison for analysis.

Does familiarity affect the enjoyment of touchscreen games for people with dementia?

Introduction: Previous research has indicated that people living with dementia are able to use touchscreen technology, which presents an opportunity to deliver meaningful and engaging activities for people to pass the time independently. The challenge is to identify suitable applications from the thousands that are currently available, and familiarity, where an app is a digital version of an existing real world game, may be one solution.

Objectives: To evaluate the concept of familiarity in gameplay with people living with dementia by comparing a known game with a novel game and measuring whether users are able to play these games independently and whether they enjoy doing so.

Dementia case management through the eyes of informal carers: A national evaluation study.

This paper focuses on the evaluation of dementia case management in the Netherlands, as well as factors associated with positive evaluations of informal caregivers. A survey was completed by 554 informal carers. The majority of the informal carers were older (69% was 55+), and female (73%), and often concerned the partner or adult children of the person with dementia.

Activity involvement and quality of life of people at different stages of dementia in long term care facilities.

Objectives: Involvement in activities is assumed to positively influence the quality of life of people with dementia, yet activity provision in long-term care remains limited. This study aims to provide more insight into the value of activity involvement for domains of the quality of life of long-term dementia care residents, taking resident characteristics and cognitive status into account.

Method: Data were derived from 144 long-term care facilities participating in the second measurement (2010/2011) of the living arrangements for dementia study.

The effects of a multi-component dyadic intervention on the psychological distress of family caregivers providing care to people with dementia: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Earlier research showed that multi-component dyadic interventions - including a combination of intervention strategies and addressing both the person with dementia and caregiver - have a beneficial impact on the mental and physical health of people with dementia and their family caregivers. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a multi-component dyadic intervention, which is a translated and adapted version of an intervention that has been shown to be effective in the US by Teri et al. (2003), was performed.

Process evaluation of a multicomponent dyadic intervention study with exercise and support for people with dementia and their family caregivers.

Background: A randomized controlled trial of a multicomponent dyadic intervention (a translated and adapted version of an intervention that has been shown to be effective for people with dementia in the USA) was performed. The exercise and support intervention was intended to reduce depressive symptoms of people with dementia and their caregivers. The purpose of this process evaluation is to create in-depth insight into the delivery of the intervention and the effect analysis, to prevent drawing inappropriate conclusions on the efficacy or effectiveness of the intervention, and to formulate recommendations for future studies on complex geriatric interventions.

Staff-resident interactions in long-term care for people with dementia: the role of meeting psychological needs in achieving residents' well-being.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to explore the extent to which staff-resident interactions address or undermine residents' psychological needs and how such interactions are associated with residents' well-being.

Method: Data on staff-resident interactions and residents' well-being were collected for 51 residents from nine long-term care settings using dementia care mapping (DCM). DCM yields a count and detailed description of staff-resident interactions that either address (personal enhancers - PEs) or undermine (personal detractions - PDs) residents' psychological needs, and every 5-minute scores for each resident's mood and engagement (ME-value).

Wellbeing-enhancing occupation and organizational and environmental contributors in long-term dementia care facilities: an explorative study.

Background: Occupation remains an unmet need in long-term dementia care. To increase residents' occupation, knowledge of types of occupation related to wellbeing, and organizational and environmental characteristics encouraging involvement in these types of occupation, is indispensable.

Methods: In this explorative study, Dementia Care Mapping was used to study involvement in different types of occupation and wellbeing among 57 residents of 10 dementia care facilities.

Dyadic interventions for community-dwelling people with dementia and their family caregivers: a systematic review.

Background: In this review, we study the effects of dyadic psychosocial interventions focused on community-dwelling people with dementia and their family caregivers, and the relationship of the effects with intervention components of programs.

Methods: A search from January 2005 to January 2012 led to 613 hits, which we reviewed against our inclusion criteria. We added studies from 1992 to 2005 reviewed by Smits et al.

Systematic tailoring for the implementation of guideline recommendations for anxiety and depressive disorders in general practice: perceived usefulness of tailored interventions.

Background: The uptake of guideline recommendations in general practice can potentially be improved by designing implementation interventions that are tailored to prospectively identify barriers. However, there is insufficient evidence regarding the most effective and efficient approaches to tailoring. Our study provides an insight into the usefulness of tailored interventions to prospectively identified barriers affecting the uptake of guideline recommendations for anxiety and depressive disorders experienced by general practitioners (GPs) in their local context.

Implementing a stepped-care approach in primary care: results of a qualitative study.

Background: Since 2004, 'stepped-care models' have been adopted in several international evidence-based clinical guidelines to guide clinicians in the organisation of depression care. To enhance the adoption of this new treatment approach, a Quality Improvement Collaborative (QIC) was initiated in the Netherlands.

Methods: Alongside the QIC, an intervention study using a controlled before-and-after design was performed.

The relationship between small-scale care and activity involvement of residents with dementia.

Background: Nursing home care for people with dementia is increasingly organized in small-scale care settings. This study focuses on the question of how small-scale care is related to the overall activity involvement of residents with dementia, and their involvement in different types of activities. As several studies have indicated, activity involvement is important for the quality of life of residents.

Home-based exercise and support programme for people with dementia and their caregivers: study protocol of a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Dementia affects the mood of people with dementia but also of their caregivers. In the coming years, the number of people with dementia will increase worldwide and most of them will continue to live in the community as long as possible. Home-based psychosocial interventions reducing the depressive symptoms of both people with dementia and their caregivers in their own home are highly needed.

The long-term effect of group living homes versus regular nursing homes for people with dementia on psychological distress of informal caregivers.

Objective: In this follow-up study, the long-term influence of group living homes (GLHs) on informal caregiver distress was compared with modern yet regular nursing homes (NHs).

Method: Informal caregivers of GLH (N = 37) and NH residents (N = 49) were studied at the time of admission, 6 months thereafter, and approximately 24 months after admission. Repeated measures of ANOVA were performed to study group-by-time effects on psychopathology, role overload, and feelings of competence.

Nursing home care for people with dementia and residents' quality of life, quality of care and staff well-being: design of the Living Arrangements for people with Dementia (LAD)-study.

Background: There is limited information available on how characteristics of the organization of nursing home care and especially group living home care and staff ratio contribute to care staff well being, quality of care and residents' quality of life. Furthermore, it is unknown what the consequences of the increasingly small scale organization of care are for the amount of care staff required in 2030 when there will be much more older people with dementia.

Methods/design: This manuscript describes the design of the 'Living Arrangements for people with Dementia study' (LAD-study).