Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Alzheimer’S Association Dementia Care Coordination Program: A Process Evaluation, Executive Summary, Nina Silverstein, Frank Porell, Pamela Nadash

Nina Silverstein

The Massachusetts/New Hampshire (MA/NH) Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association has long sought ways to systematically increase the number of families who utilize its services and support. According to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2015 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, there are 142,000 individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and the Alzheimer’s Association estimates that less than 30% of those individuals and their caregivers take advantage of its programs (Alzheimer’s Association, 2015). The MA/NH Chapter recognized that one major barrier to accessing services is a model that relies on families taking the initiative to seek out assistance.

In …

An Intergenerational Choir Formed To Lessen Alzheimer’S Disease Stigma In College Students And Decrease The Social Isolation Of People With Alzheimer’S Disease And Their Family Members A Pilot Study, Phyllis Harris, Cynthia Caporella

Phyllis Braudy Harris

The intergenerational choir was formed for the purpose of combating the stigma of Alzheimer's disease in college students, and in that process also lessening the social isolation of people with AD and their family members. The choir was composed of 13 college students and 13 people with AD and a family member. Data from the college students were gathered through semi-structured open-ended questions on attitudes and knowledge about AD, collected at three points in time over 8 weeks of rehearsals. Data were collected from the people with AD and their family members through a focus group and observations over 8 …

Wisdom, Resilience And Successful Aging: Changing Public Discourses On Living With Dementia, Phyllis Braudy Harris, John Keady

Phyllis Braudy Harris

No abstract provided.

The Journal's 10 Year Anniversary - Looking Back And Moving Forward, Phyllis Braudy Harris, John Keady

Phyllis Braudy Harris

No abstract provided.

Another Wrinkle In The Debate About Successful Aging: The Undervalued Concept Of Resilience And The Lived Experience Of Dementia, Phyllis Harris

Phyllis Braudy Harris

The concept of "successful aging" is a contested discourse in gerontology. Two conflicting paradigms dominate the discussion: a health promotion activity model, and a model critical of the concept of successful aging. However, this study takes a different perspective and proposes that perhaps we have been striving for the wrong goal. The true quest as we age should not be for successful aging, but our goal should be for resilience, an undervalued and not fully examined concept in aging. Developing resilience is possible for many older adults regardless of social and cultural backgrounds or physical and cognitive impairments, unlike successful …

Family Matters, Phyllis Braudy Harris, John Keady

Phyllis Braudy Harris

No abstract provided.

Dementia And Dementia Care: The Contributions Of A Psychosocial Perspective, Phyllis Braudy Harris

Phyllis Braudy Harris

The social sciences have and continue to play a unique role in the study of dementia and dementia care. For central to the social sciences, particularly the discipline of sociology is a history of critical inquiry that challenges long held societal assumptions, a concern for issues of social justice, social exclusion and the treatment of marginalized populations. All significant areas to consider when caring for a person with dementia. This chapter will trace the development of the study of dementia and dementia care starting with its biomedical roots, examine the contributions of the social sciences in furthering the conceptual development …

Selfhood In Younger Onset Dementia: Transitions And Testimonies., Phyllis Braudy Harris, John Keady

Phyllis Braudy Harris

Younger people with dementia and their carers are an overlooked population for research, policy and practice attention. In this study, data were collected from both the United States and the UK in order to explore the meaning and construction of selfhood and identity. The US data collection included in-depth interviews with 23 people diagnosed with younger-onset dementia, while the UK data collection comprised 15 face-to-face interviews with younger carers of younger people with dementia; all carers were/had been caring for a younger person with dementia diagnosed through the DSM-IV-R criteria. A grounded theory analysis of the data resulted in the …

Decision-Making Processes Of Primary Informal Caregivers Regarding Care Recipients' Moves To Memory Care, Vicki Stanley

Vicki J. Stanley

Most persons with a dementia are cared for in the home by family members who experience a broad and considerable amount of stress and whose caregiving careers may include planning for or initiating moves to memory care units (MCUs). This study examines the decision-making processes of primary informal caregivers regarding their care recipients' moves to MCUs. Grounded theory methods were used to collect and analyze data in two long-term care (LTC) facilities varying in characteristics including capacity, state licensure, fees, and resident profiles. Specific aims are two-fold: 1) advance an understanding of how primary informal caregivers of persons with a …

Maintaining Friendships In Early Stage Dementia: Factors To Consider, Phyllis Harris

Phyllis Braudy Harris

Friendships and the importance of social connectiveness play a critical role in aging well, regardless of gender, race, social class, or impairment. Yet, dementia takes its toll on social relationships, and many friends withdraw and ‘disappear’, because they can no longer bear to see the changes that are taking place in their diagnosed friend. The dementia care literature documents this abandonment; however, this study examines the opposite occurrence. In order to understand more clearly the role of long-term friendships and how such friendships remain and continue, despite the diagnosis of dementia, this qualitative study examines in depth eight people in …

Community Mobility And Dementia: A Review Of The Literature, Nina M. Silverstein, Megan Vanderbur

Nina Silverstein

By the year 2030, 70 million Americans will be 65 or older. Approximately 80 percent of this population will likely be driving themselves. And without appropriate and timely interventions, many are likely to be driving with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Current estimates suggest that 2 percent of the population 65 to 74, 19 percent of the population 75 to 84, and 47 percent of the population 85 and older are likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder. By the year 2050, the number of Americans with Alzheimer’s disease could range from 11.3 million to 16 million. This significant …

Relationships Between Appraisals Of Caregiver Communication Strategies And Burden Among Spouses And Adult-Children, Marie Savundranayagam, J. Orange

Marie Y Savundranayagam

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of caregivers’ appraisals of the effectiveness of their own communication strategies on caregiver burden when caring for family members with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: Family caregivers (N = 84) of participants with AD completed questionnaires appraising communication strategies, problem behaviors, and levels of three types of burden.

Results: Hierarchical linear regression models revealed that effective strategies and kinship status were significantly linked with stress burden, whereas effective strategies and problem behaviors were significantly related to relationship burden. Cognitive status of participants with AD significantly predicted objective burden. Caregivers who …

Testing Self-Efficacy As A Pathway That Supports Self Care Among Family Caregivers In A Psychoeducational Intervention, Marie Savundranayagam, M. Brintnall-Peterson

Marie Y Savundranayagam

This study investigated the extent to which a psychoeducational intervention supports family-centered care by influencing health risk and self-care behaviors of caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease (N = 325). Moreover, this study investigated the extent to which changes in self-efficacy explained changes in health risk and self-care behaviors. Data were analyzed using repeated measures and multivariate analysis of variance and multiple regression. Qualitative written accounts of the impact of the intervention augmented the quantitative findings. The study's findings revealed that family caregivers experienced reductions in health risk behaviors and improvements in exercise, stress management, and relaxation activities as a …

Intimacy, Sexuality, And Early-Stage Dementia: The Changing Marital Relationship, Phyllis Harris

Phyllis Braudy Harris

When one's marital partner receives a diagnosis of dementia, it has major ramifications for a couple. Such a diagnosis affects every aspect of marital life, including the most intimate areas. This qualitative study (1) focuses on the perspectives of married couples, caregivers, and their spouses in the early-stage dementia as they discuss their intimate relationships, both positive and negative aspects, (2) identifies how they cope with these changes to their marital relationship, and (3) develops evidenced-based recommendations for other couples in the early stages of dementia and for their healthcare providers.

People With Early Stage Alzheimer's Disease As Mentors: Developing A Truly Collaborative Research Process, Phyllis Harris

Phyllis Braudy Harris

Mentoring can take many shapes and forms. However, rarely in the research arena is the participant of a study ever considered as being a mentor, a person capable of providing advice and guidance, and certainly not a participant who has a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Because of the progressive debilitating nature of the condition and the resulting stigmatization and marginalization of the person, someone with AD is not often thought of in the role of a mentor. Yet, this article focuses on such a mentoring relationship, which developed by happenstance, in the process of doing research on and with …

The Sense Of Self In Alzheimer's Disease: The Perspective Of The Person, Phyllis Harris

Phyllis Braudy Harris

No abstract provided.

The Person With Alzheimer's Disease : Pathways To Understanding The Experience, Phyllis Harris

Phyllis Braudy Harris

No abstract provided.