A General Guideline on Caregiving for Dementia Patients

Kang, Sue J

Abstract

Cognitive decline in dementia patients causes impairment in daily activities as well as occupational or social activities, which results in frustration and anxiety for the patients themselves. Furthermore, from the caregivers' perspective, patients' cognitive decline and abnormal behaviors cause physical, emotional, financial, and social burdens. Most caregivers who visit a medical center need to be counseled in order to reduce these caregiver burdens and to provide better care for the patients. No fixed rules exist for taking care of dementia patients. Rather, coping strategies most ofter should be individualized according to the severity and type of dementia as well as the socioeconomic situation of the patients and caregivers. Therefore, I herein describe a general guideline on caregiving for dementia patients, which was based on the literature review and personal experiences from counseling in a dementia clinic. This guideline may be of help to medical staff in providing counsel to caregivers as well as in preparing their own brochures for caregivers.