BETTER LIVING WITH DEMENTIA. IMPLICATIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES, COMMUNITIES, AND SOCIETIES

Part 1: About the Person
1. How the Brain is Affected
2. Lived Experiences of Individuals with Dementia
3. Breaking the Cycle of Despair
4. Making Life Better for Individuals Living with Dementia

Part II: About Caregivers
5. Family Member as Care Partner
6. How We Can Support Families
7. Formal caregivers: Role of the Inter-professional Team

Part III: About Home and Community Environments
8. The Physical Home Environment – A Neglected Therapeutic Context
9. Living in the community

Part IV: About Social Systems and Policy
10. Settings and Services of Care
11. Global Efforts and National Plans
12. Transforming Dementia care

Part V: Taking Action
13. Developing and Implementing an Action Plan
14. Putting It All Together

• Offers evidence-based strategies for making life better for dementia patients at home, in the community, and in health care and service settings
• Provides an overview of the disease pathology, current diagnostic criteria, and the stages and trajectory of the illness
• Includes intervention strategies to support formal caregivers
• Looks at the role of environmental design and technology in dementia care

Authors
• Laura N. Gitlin, Distinguished University Professor and Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University. Distinguished Professor in the Department of Community Public Health (School of Nursing) and the Department of Psychiatry and Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology (School of Medicine) at Johns Hopskins University. Chair of the Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care and Services. Founding director of the Center for Innovative Care in Aging, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. Member of the Medical Scientific Advisory Board of the US National Alzheimer’s Association.
• Nancy A. Hodgson, Associate Professor, Department of Acute and Chronic Care, Johns Hopkins University