Meeting the Informational, Educational, and Psychosocial Support Needs of Persons Living With Dementia and Their Family Caregivers

Abstract

Background and objectives: Meeting the unique and changing needs of individuals living with Alzheimer's disease and their family caregivers can be very challenging given the dynamic and often unpredictable nature of the disease. Effective programs are available to help families manage the challenges they will face.

Research design and methods: This article first describes the educational, information, and support needs of individuals living dementia and their family caregivers across all stages of Alzheimer's. Next, we describe the variety of services and program models targeted to the needs of individuals living with Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia and their families.

Results: These programs can help ensure that person- and family-centered care is maintained from time of first symptoms through end-of-life.

Discussion and implications: We end with our recommendations for maintaining person- and family-centered care through the provision of targeted information, education, and support to individuals and their families.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Person-centered care; Psychosocial; Social support.