Research shows importance of setting personal goals for dementia care

There is no cure for people with Alzheimer ’s disease or other dementia, and medical interventions for people with these conditions are limited. Some researchers have sought new ways to help these people maintain the best quality of life as possible even as their conditions progressively worsen.To do this, a group of UCLA-led researchers shifted focus to investigate how personalized goal setting could be used to help people with dementia obtain what is important to them. A newstudy published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Geriatrics Society shows that this approach can improve the lives of these patients.UCLADr. David Reuben“One of the most devastating aspects of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia is how few medical treatments are available,” said Dr. David Reuben, chief of geriatrics and Archstone Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and the study’s senior author. “Focusi ng on personal goals, and planning care to achieve these, shifts the emphasis on what is important to patients and caregivers.”The study not only revealed the promise of personalized goal attainment in dementia care, but also the importance of goal setting for caregivers, who are affected both emotionally and physically by their loved one ’s illness, said Dr. Lee Jennings, an assistant professor of geriatric medicine at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.“What we do during the office visit represents only a small percentage of ...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news