Overview

Offering follow-up assistance to individuals living with dementia and their families is crucial after disclosing a diagnosis. In addition to new pharmacotherapy options, a range of evidence-based psychosocial interventions can maintain or even improve quality of life for people with dementia and their families. Neuropsychiatric symptoms are a common cause of negative health outcomes in people with dementia (e.g., greater impairment in activities of daily living, accelerated mortality) (Karttunen et al., 2011; Murman et al., 2002) and increase family caregiver burden (Kales et al., 2015). Many interventions are available to help address the neuropsychiatric symptoms that these patients may experience. 

For example, music combined with an interactive activity (e.g., clapping, singing, dancing) can help manage agitation in people with Alzheimer’s disease (Millán-Calenti et al., 2016). Connecting people with appropriate services and supports is important to facilitate access to these interventions.

Resources

GSA’s Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia Learning Center has resources for nonpharmacologic management of behavioral symptoms of dementia, detecting and addressing agitation, and the management of dementia-related psychosis.

Additionally, individuals living with dementia are more likely to have other chronic conditions and have twice as many hospital stays per year than those without dementia (Alzheimer’s Association, 2020).

A person living with dementia has many other health needs that should be addressed...

A person living with dementia has many other health needs that should be addressed through referrals to professionals who have experience treating patients with dementia for their condition (e.g., hearing loss, arthritis, diabetes).

Failure to attend to these needs...

Failure to attend to these needs will increase the apparent severity of a person’s dementia.

A new care model providing comprehensive dementia care...

A new care model providing comprehensive dementia care options may be an option for an individual with dementia and their family. The Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model is a voluntary nationwide model test that aims to support people with dementia and their unpaid caregivers. The model began on July 1, 2024, and will run for eight years. The GUIDE Model focuses on comprehensive, coordinated dementia care and aims to improve quality of life for people with dementia, reduce strain on their unpaid caregivers, and enable people with dementia to remain in their homes and communities. An interactive map on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation website allows interest parties to locate GUIDE sites. During a Momentum Discussion Podcast episode, Journey to GUIDE: One Practice's Road to Implementation, leaders from Emory Integrated Memory Care discuss the GUIDE Model and their experiences implementing the model. They also share insights on how other organizations can receive support from any of six evidence-based models through the National Dementia Care Collaborative.

Refer | Approaches to Implement

Overview | The Referral Process | Conduct Regular Follow-up | Culturally Competent Conversations
Communicating about Clinical Trials | Refer References