The Common Sense Guide To Dementia For Clinicians And Caregivers

The Common Sense Guide to Dementia for Clinicians and Caregivers provides an easy-to-read, practical, and thoughtful approach to dementia care. Written by two specialists who have cared for thousands of patients with dementia and their families, this ground-breaking title unifies the perspectives of neurology and psychiatry to meet a variety of caregiver needs. It spotlights many real-world concerns not typically covered in standard textbooks, while simultaneously presenting a more detailed medical perspective than typical caregiver manuals. This handy title offers expert guidance for the clinical management of dementia and compassionate support of patients and families. Designed to enhance the physician-caregiver interaction and liberally illustrated with case examples, The Common Sense Guide espouses general principles of dementia care that apply across the stages and spectrum of this illness, including non-Alzheimer's types of dementia, in addition to Alzheimer's disease. Clinicians, family members, and other caregivers will find this volume useful from the moment that symptoms of dementia emerge. The authors place an emphasis on caring for the caregiver as well as the patient. Essential topics include how to find the right clinician, make the most of a doctor's visit, and avert a crisis - or manage one that can't be avoided. Sometimes difficult considerations, such as driving, financial management, legal matters, long-term placement, and end-of-life care, are faced head-on. Tried, true, and time-saving tips are explained in terms of what works - and what doesn't - with regard to clinical evaluation, medications, behavioral measures, and alternate therapies. Medical, nursing, and allied health care professionals will undoubtedly turn to this unique overview as a vital resource and mainstay of clinical dementia care, as well as a valuable recommendation for family caregivers.

This expanded, updated third edition summarizes the pragmatic diagnostic accuracy studies of neurological signs and cognitive and non-cognitive screening instruments undertaken in the author’s clinic in the context of day-to-day practice involving patients with cognitive disorders including dementia. A new chapter devoted to comparing and combining instruments is included, and illustrative case studies have been included where relevant. Dementia in Clinical Practice: A Neurological Perspective, Third Edition is a practical resource for medical professionals involved in the assessment and management of patients with dementia and cognitive disorders. It may be of particular interest to neurologists, psychiatrists, geriatricians, primary care practitioners and those working with patients with cognitive impairment in the fields of neuropsychology, psychology, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and nursing.

This book provides practical, up-to-the-minute information and tools for clinicians working with older adults. A roster of expert authors offers the most practical clinical and research insights across the most relevant, frequently encountered diagnostic and treatment problems. Each chapter is organized in a logical, easy-to-follow structure tha

Dementia is one of the greatest challenges facing seniors and their caregivers around the globe. Developed by experts in both research and practice, this guide for mental health clinicians explores the experience of caregiving in dementia, discussing the latest research developments and sharing clinical pearls of wisdom that can easily be translated to daily practice. The contributors explore the history of caregiving and then examine the current demographics of caregivers for persons with dementia. They discuss who provides care, the settings in which it is delivered, and the rewards and burdens of caregiving. They place special emphasis on understanding the psychological needs of both the person with dementia and the caregiver, as well as interpersonal bonds, spiritual dimensions, and reactions to grief and loss. Using a multidisciplinary approach to treatment for caregivers, this book addresses the role of pharmacotherapy, individual and family interventions, and social supports. Finally, the authors reflect on societal issues such as health care policies, ethnic elders, and ethics. This volume offers health professionals insights into the daily lives of caregivers, along with tools to provide their patients with the support they need.

Improving care for the patients who are in the last phase of their lives has been a field that most health care providers have struggled with during last few years. Having worked with hundreds of providers throughout the country, these experienced authors know what providers need when it comes to implementing a quality improvement project. This guide will provide user-friendly, step-by-step instructions on how to implement a quality improvement project in the full range of care settings. The instructions will be brought to life with specific examples from actual successful projects and key information on the best practices in the industry. Readers will also be pointed to resources available online and elsewhere, with information on how to access them. The guide will be written in an informal, maximally helpful style, with checklists, tables, and boxed information. Answering 80% of the questions in less than half the space, The Common Sense Guide is the perfect portable companion to Dr. Lynn's desk reference, Improving Care for the End of Life. The book will be of great interest to all health care professionals involved in the care of those with serious chronic illness -- doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains, clinic administrators, quality improvement experts, and so forth.

Dementia is increasingly and widely recognised as a serious health and social challenge, in the developed world as well as in the developing world. The need therefore to design and implement dementia care services of high quality is becoming more and more vital, particularly given the likelihood of ever increasing demand in a world, which likely sees resources at best remaining at current levels. Designing and Delivering Dementia Services describes current developments in the design and configuration of dementia services. It offers an informative and detailed overview of what constitutes high quality care, considering the circumstances patients and carers may find themselves in. For dementia to get the priority it deserves, a number of factors are important and the book charts the invaluable contributions of various Alzheimer's Associations and Societies: this provides a focus on dementia strategies and plans at national levels: the book reports on the state of affairs regarding such strategies and provides a unique insight into the process of how one of these was developed and implemented. Recognising the need to prove that service developments lead to a higher quality of care, increased productivity and increased efficiency, the book links the resulting picture to service-based research methodologies, with an emphasis on the strengths and limitations of that research. Contributions from 17 countries on 4 continents give an overview of the state of affairs across the world, paying attention to successful - and less successful - initiatives to improve dementia care. The book furthermore provides pragmatic approaches to ensure planning becomes reality, highlights the need for structured workforce development, education and training and describes the opportunities afforded by assistive technology. This book is of prime informative and practical value given that pressures on dementia services are projected to mount across the world against a backdrop of limited resources and expertise. Designing and Delivering Dementia Services Defines the problems involved in meeting an increasing demand for dementia care services in a poorer world Maps initiatives and developments in the design and configuration of these services in a variety of international settings Analyses these developments against the background of political and health economic circumstances Provides a road map of where health services should go in response to this growing challenge. The first book to define, analyse and map initiatives for dementia care services in a time of increasing demand and decreasing resources, this book is essential reading for commissioners, senior clinicians and service planners in health and social care. It will also be of interest to academic researchers involved in qualitative services research as well as quantitative health economic research, health and social care managers and those involved in workforce planning and development.

This updated and expanded Fourth Edition is an alphabetical listing of commonly presenting neurological signs designed to guide the physician toward the correct clinical diagnosis. The dictionary is focused, problem-based and concise. The structured entries in this practical, clinical resource provide summaries of a wide range of neurological signs. Each entry includes: a definition of the sign; a brief account of the clinical technique required to elicit the sign; a description of the other signs which may accompany the index sign; an explanation of pathophysiological and/or pharmacological background; differential diagnosis; brief treatment details; and where known, the neuroanatomical basis of the sign. A Dictionary of Neurological Signs, Fourth Edition, is an indispensable reference for all students, trainees, and clinicians who care for patients with neurological disorders, and could also be used in preparation for exams, since each entry is a snapshot of a specific disorder or disease.