The locator system for wandering individuals

Configurations and operation strategies are described for a wanderer locator system based on wireless radio frequency communication designed to monitor elderly patients who may wander beyond safe perimeters in the home or in an institutional setting. The modular components of this wandering notification system are (1) portable transmitter/receivers to be worn or carried by the patient and the caretaker, (2) detectors to be mounted in doorways or other perimeters of a safe area, (3) programmable central processing units to control, communicate with, and/or trace the portable and remote devices, and (4) a cathode ray tube that can display information on patient location or system status. Photographs of all system components and illustrations of operations concepts are included

Utilising semantic technologies for decision support in dementia care

The main objective of this work is to discuss our experience in utilising semantic technologies for building decision support in Dementia care systems that are based on the non-intrusive on the non-intrusive monitoring of the patient’s behaviour. Our approach adopts context-aware modelling of the patient’s condition to facilitate the analysis of the patient’s behaviour within the inhabited environment (movement and room occupancy patterns, use of equipment, etc.) with reference to the semantic knowledge about the patient’s condition (history of present of illness, dependable behaviour patterns, etc.). The reported work especially focuses on the critical role of the semantic reasoning engine in inferring medical advice, and by means of practical experimentation and critical analysis suggests important findings related to the methodology of deploying the appropriate semantic rules systems, and the dynamics of the efficient utilisation of complex event processing technology in order to the meet the requirements of decision support for remote healthcare systems

Kakaako Community for Seniors with Alzheimer's

The aim of this thesis is to design a community based nursing facility for individuals afflicted with Alzheimer's disease within the bustling new neighborhood of Kakaako. Kakaako (a Honolulu neighborhood) is undergoing a redevelopment phase and it is of utmost importance to predict its demographic needs in the early stages of the urban redevelopment process. The population growth in this neighborhood is already evident by many completed residential high-rises amid the light industrial milieu. Research has shown that the existing residential neighborhoods in Kakaako have roughly 3% of their population afflicted with, and another 12% (immediate family caregivers) affected by Alzheimer's disease. However, none of the existing or proposed developments in Kakaako offer Alzheimer's nursing care services. Creating nursing facilities for this population within walking distances of their family members is of crucial importance for the quality of lives for both patients and their loved ones for reasons elaborated in this thesis. Furthermore, latest research has shown that long-term care providers, in order to truly enhance the patients' lives, need to adopt the modern ""culture change"" ideas when designing and operating nursing facilities. This thesis adopts the Green House model, one of the growing ""culture change"" practices in the US. While this model recognizes the structural/architectural reorganization of space as a major component, it emphasizes the people-centered approach in providing care to the elderly, especially those afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. This thesis takes all these considerations into account. The methodology in the thesis combines demographic, cultural, structural and architectural aspects into the design. It i) starts with the analysis of Kakaako demographics, ii) uses the demographic findings to locate a proper lot for the facility, iii) justifies its size, functionality, marketability and replicability by crosscorrelating existing facilities, government and state regulations, local population needs, and modern literature findings, and iv) proposes the design. The culmination of the thesis is the design of a 7-story 55-bed modern family-friendly Alzheimer's nursing home in Kakaako

Portraits of people with dementia : three case studies of creating portraits

Peer reviewedPreprin

A song to remember : The effects of music therapy on individuals with Alzheimer\u27s disease

The purpose of this creative thesis is to communicate the effects MT and music being used therapeutically can have on three residents in the midstage of dementia caused by AD. Residents from Thalman Square Memory Care Unit at Western Home Communities in Cedar Falls, Iowa and Parker Place Retirement Community in Parkersburg, Iowa participated in the exploration of this project. Three participants’ personal responses to music were recorded and made into a video documentary. This unique video contribution encapsulated each resident’s raw emotion and experience to impart the benefits of music interventions for caregivers and the general public’s understanding

CAREGIVERS OF PARENTS WITH AlZHEIMER’S DISEASE: QUALITY OF LIFE FOR CAREGIVERS: PERSPECTIVES & FAMILY DYNAMICS

This study furthers Alzheimer’s family literature regarding the impact of caregiver attachment, readiness to provide care, and caregiver quality of life. A sample of 33 participants caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s disease in the state of Kentucky was recruited to complete a questionnaire for the study. The questionnaire consisted of an online survey about participants’ experiences and attachments growing up with their parents, their experiences becoming caregivers to their parents with Alzheimer’s disease, and participants’ current perspectives of their own quality of life. Positive perspectives in regards to quality of life among caregivers seem to be a predictor of both stronger readiness to care and stronger attachments. These finding inform therapists about the importance of recognizing a caregiver’s presenting problems of burden and their significance to attachment and readiness to provide such care. This recognition may impact therapy to strengthen a caregiver’s positive adaption, thus it may also decrease burden

Seeing the wood for the trees. Carer related research and knowledge: A scoping review

This NIHR-SSCR funded scoping review provides a comprehensive mapping of what is known about carers and caring, and aims to help inform policy, practice and research in relation to carers. The review was undertaken by searching 10 electronic bibliographic databases, supplemented by additional web searches to identify academic research, grey literature and wider knowledge. The analysis adopts a selective thematic approach covering: carer variables - the characteristics of different types of carer and different caring situations; types of care - the nature of needs of the cared for person and the features of the care situation; the impact of caring – resilience and coping, employment and health; and carer support and needs assessment. The final section highlights key messages identified from the review. It found that caring involves all sections and age groups of the population, with people are likely to experience one or more periods of caregiving over their lifetime. The uniqueness of each caring relationship is also highlighted. In relation to types of carers, knowledge about ‘hard to reach’ groups, such as BAME and LGBT carers, remains sparse. Older carers are also relatively invisible in policy and research terms. It found that much of the knowledge about carers identified in the review relates to their characteristics, their lived experience and the nature of their caregiving, with relatively less being known about the effectiveness of interventions to support them. The report concludes by offering suggestions for policy and practice. An appendix provides a bibliography of the 3,434 items identified in review, classified into 17 types of reference

Caregiver burden in the Latino family

The study focused on the attitudes and beliefs regarding perceived and actual burden experienced by Latino caregivers and their use of formal support services. It also looked at the needs of Latino caregivers and explored their beliefs about why they had taken on the caregiver role, the responsibilities the role entailed, and coping skills used by these caregivers. Participants were obtained from two Alzheimer\u27s caregiver support groups in the East Los Angeles area, and an adult day health care center in the high desert area of San Bernardino county. The author used both qualitative interviews and quantitative questionnaires. The findings suggest that high beliefs about responsibility to the family and low levels of service use may contribute to the stress and strain that these caregivers feel. Latino caregivers have been providing a significant amount of care without the help of sufficient formal services. Recommendations for social work practice, policy and further research are provided. Statistics for the study were generated by using SPSS Graduate Pack 13 for Windows

A Silent Epidemic with No Voice: Alzheimer\u27s Education in an African American Midwest Community

Alzheimer’s disease is a growing crisis in this country, particularly in the African American community. Despite this awareness by the health care community and educational programs offered about the disease, a deficit in research assessing the impact of these programs exists. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to analyze the key criterion relative to the educational programs about Alzheimer’s offered by local organizations and the impact they have on a Midwest African American community. According to research regarding Alzheimer’s disease, African Americans continue to go undiagnosed and untreated. The literature review in this study explores the synergy of three theoretical constructs: Critical Race Theory, Community Theory and the Theory of Culture. The three theories were used to determine what influences if any, the theories may have on the key criterion relative to the educational programs provided by the local organizations in this study. This intrinsic case study involved fieldwork, individual interviews, a focus group session and survey/questionnaire. The case boundary is a Midwest African American community and participants included two local organizations offering educational programs about Alzheimer’s; two local service agencies and ten (10) African American caregivers from the community. The findings suggest that both organizations are consistent in their efforts to offer educational programs to the community. However, two barriers that include the African American culture and lack of visibility in the African American community adversely influence the effectiveness of the educational programs about Alzheimer’s disease. Consequently, further research is recommended to determine strategies that will address the adverse influences and identify approaches to promote the visibility of both organizations in the African American community