Health and Social Service Interventions
Year: 2017
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Worldwide the support of people with dementia (PwD) in their own living arrangements is becoming more important. In the last decade 4 different types (stakeholder, organization, hybrid, order-related) of local dementia care networks (DCN) evolved in Germany, offering multiprofessional care and support (by medical doctors, health care services, therapists, volunteers, …) for PwD. Empirical findings of long-term health outcomes of PwD supported by DCN are lacking yet. The one-year follow-up DemNet-D study was conducted to investigate long-term health related outcomes of PwD supported by 13 DCN all over Germany. Main outcomes were quality of life (proxy QoL-AD) and remaining in own domesticity. Further characteristics were challenging behavior (CMAI), functional abilities (IADL) and depression (GDS). 560 PwD (mean age 80 years, 58% female) were included in the study. Participants reported a moderate quality of life (QoL-AD: 29.1) at baseline. Quality of life remained almost unchanged at follow-up (QoL-AD: 28.1). 78 PwD moved into another living arrangement. Multi-level analysis showed no significant association for all primary outcomes with different types of DCN (p > 0.05). Improved QoL-AD scores depended on lower QoL-AD scores at baseline. In general we observed better QoL when PwD showed less challenging behavior and lived together with relatives. The stable quality of life over time and the low number of PwD moving into another living arrangement indicate, DCN are a sufficient way to provide adequate support to PwD.
Source: Innovation in Aging
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,977
OpenAlex ID: W2724286751