Håkan Littbrand
Umeå universitet
Sweden
A person-centred multidimensional interdisciplinary rehabilitation program for community dwelling older people with dementia and their informal primary caregivers: a randomised controlled trial
Forte, the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare
416,757
01/01/2015
4
Dementia is very common and causes great suffering as the disease significantly affects all aspects of life for the affected person and the primary caregiver. As the number of people with dementia will increase dramatically in the future, WHO advocates that dementia should be a public health priority. The negative consequences of dementia are many and complex. A person-centred multidimensional interdisciplinary rehabilitation program for community dwelling older people with dementia and education and counselling to primary caregivers could be an effective method to reduce the suffering and costs for the society. However, the scientific knowledge is limited with respect to such approach among people with dementia. The primary aim of this study is therefore to evaluate whether a person-centred multidimensional interdisciplinary rehabilitation program for community dwelling older people with dementia, including education and counselling to informal primary caregivers, delays the move to residential care facilities. 196 participants with dementia, 60 years and older, living in independent housing in the municipality of Umeå and surrounding municipalities, are included in the study together with the informal primary caregiver. The person with dementia and the primary caregiver are randomised to a control group (usual care) or a person-centred multidimensional interdisciplinary rehabilitation program consisting of a rehabilitation period of 16 weeks and follow-up on two occasions. The team includes physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers, dieticians, neuropsychologists, dental hygienists and pharmacists. The study is expected to start in year 2015. The study will be conducted in cooperation with researchers from the units of Geriatric Medicine, Physiotherapy, and Occupational Therapy at the Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Umeå University, and the Department of Nursing, Umeå University. (Önskad kommitté: FH)