Background: About 11 million Americans are caregivers for the 6.7 million Americans currently living with dementia. They provide over 18 billion hours of unpaid care per year, yet most have no formal dementia education or support.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCaregiver involvement may facilitate patient participation in occupational therapy (OT) video telehealth. However, little is known about the extent to which caregivers participate and what they do. This scoping review aims to, 1) describe the caregiver role supporting patient participation in OT video telehealth, and, 2) identify barriers and facilitators to caregiver involvement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Cognitive psychology posits that thinking about the future relies on memory such that those with memory impairment may have trouble imaging their future technology and other needs.
Methods: We conducted a content analysis of qualitative data from interviews with six patients with MCI or early dementia regarding potential adaptations to a mobile telepresence robot. Using a matrix analysis approach, we explored perceptions of (1) what technology could help with day-to-day functioning in the present and future and (2) what technology may help people with memory problems or dementia stay home alone safely.
Background: Telemedicine has recently become a part of mainstream clinical practice. Many curricula have been developed to teach general and specialty-specific video telemedicine skills; however, a lack of defined best practices for translating comprehensive interprofessional geriatric care to the virtual setting presents a unique challenge to educators and clinicians. This manuscript introduces and describes the development of competencies for video telemedicine with older adults for all health professionals who treat them.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Persons with dementia are generally older and often have multiple other chronic conditions, necessitating several healthcare visits each year. Most live in the community supported by unpaid family caregivers who often assist with healthcare management. Little is known about caregiver and person with dementia experience engaging with the healthcare system, which may be more complicated in the context of cognitive changes such as memory loss.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: COVID-19 negatively affected older adults' well-being and quality of life, particularly individuals with dementia. My Life, My Story (MLMS) was developed at Veterans Health Administration as an opportunity for Veterans to interact and share life stories using guided interviews. This paper describes a program evaluation of MLMS delivered to Veterans with cognitive concerns and their caregivers using telehealth technology during COVID-19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Quality dementia care, which recognizes caregivers as vital care partners, is a scarce resource. Innovative solutions like video telehealth may increase the reach of extant clinicians; however, little is known about perceived barriers and facilitators to in-home video telehealth for dementia management from the perspectives of caregivers.
Methods: Twenty-four caregivers of community-dwelling Veterans with dementia participated in semi-structured interviews.