title: Assessing patients in the early stages of irreversible dementia. The relevance of patient perspectives.
abstract: 1 Individuals with Alzheimer's dementia are able to describe their personal responses to the disease, including how the disease has affected their perceptions of self. 2 Individual-centered variables, other than those related to the disease, are associated with quality of life outcomes in individuals with Alzheimer's dementia, including the individuals' personality, age, and education level. 3 The importance of maintenance of social activities and past pleasant activities is shown by the relationships among these variables and quality of life outcomes in individuals with dementia. 4 The quality of the relationship between caregivers and individuals with dementia, including the role-stress experiences by the caregivers, is moderately to strongly associated with the individuals' level of depression, psychological well-being, and productive behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Indiana University School of Nursing, Indianapolis 46202, USA.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Burgener
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dickerson-Putman
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D010551:Personality; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011788:Quality of Life; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology