How to provide existential and spiritual support to people with mild to moderate dementia and their loved ones. A pilot study.

Background: People with mild to moderate dementia and their loved ones may experience strong existential and spiritual challenges due to the disease. People with dementia could therefore benefit greatly from ongoing conversational support. Within the literature and in supportive practice, there are very few tools that help professionals provide this type of support.

Better spiritual support for people living with early stage dementia: Developing the diamond conversation model.

Background: People with early-stage dementia could benefit greatly from on-going spiritual support. However, health care professionals working in dementia care often do not have a clear idea of what such support might entail. There is a lack of tools that can help professionals provide such support.

Spiritual conversation model for patients and loved ones in palliative care: a validation study.

Objectives: In palliative care, validated tools for professionals that facilitate day-to-day spiritual conversations with patients and loved ones are scarce. The objective of this study was to validate the Diamond spiritual conversation model across different palliative care settings as well as professional and educational levels.

Methods: An online survey was filled in by 387 professionals providing palliative care for patients in hospice, home care, hospital and nursing home settings.

How can existential or spiritual strengths be fostered in palliative care? An interpretative synthesis of recent literature.

Background: Patients receiving palliative care may benefit greatly when their existential or spiritual strengths are fostered. To date however, there has not been a comprehensive literature review of patient and care professional approaches that are available.

Aims: To describe and synthesise existential or spiritual strength-based approaches within the context of palliative care.

Matching gerontechnologies to independent-living seniors' individual needs: development of the GTM tool.

Background: Most seniors wish to live independently for as long as possible. Gerontechnologies such as personal alarms or remote control systems, have the potential to help them age in place. For seniors, assessing what is the most appropriate technology for their aging in place needs can be difficult.

Rational decision-making about treatment and care in dementia: a contradiction in terms?

Objective: To gain caregivers' insights into the decision-making process in dementia patients with regard to treatment and care.

Methods: Four focus group interviews (n=29).

Results: The decision-making process consists of three elementary components: (1) identifying an individual's needs; (2) exploring options; and (3) making a choice.