Objective: To compare a complex nondrug intervention including actively approaching counseling and caregiver support groups with differing intensity against usual care with respect to time to institutionalization in patients with dementia.; Methods: Within this three-armed cluster-randomized controlled trial, 390 community-dwelling patients aged 65 years or older with physician-diagnosed mild to moderate dementia and their caregivers […]
Background: Current guidelines for dementia care recommend the combination of drug therapy with non-pharmaceutical measures like counselling and social support. However, the scientific evidence concerning non-pharmaceutical interventions for dementia patients and their informal caregivers remains inconclusive. Targets of modern comprehensive dementia care are to enable patients to live at home as long and as independent […]
Background: Counselling of family members is an established procedure in the support of dementia patients’ relatives. In absence of widespread specialised dementia care services in most countries, however, counselling services are often not taken up or only very late in the course of the disease.; Object: In order to promote acceptance of this service, a […]
Background: More than 90% of dementia patients are cared for by their general practitioners, who are decisively involved in the diagnosis, therapy and recommendation of support services.; Objective: To test whether special training of general practitioners alters the care of dementia patients through their systematic recommendation of caregiver counseling and support groups.; Method: 129 general […]