title: Description of retained abilities in older persons with dementia.
abstract: There have been suggestions in the literature that the care of people with dementia must be focused on abilities as opposed to disabilities. However, this approach has not been carefully defined in terms of what constitutes remaining abilities. This article provides a description of the abilities in people with dementia, which is based on a descriptive analysis of data derived from a larger study regarding the psychometric evaluation of an abilities assessment instrument. The sample comprised 112 male veterans with dementia who were living in a long-term care facility. Their mean age was 75 years. Data were collected in the areas of self-care, social, interactional, and interpretive abilities. Abilities were retained in all four areas. Furthermore, abilities were differently affected and varied considerably across subjects, which is consistent with evidence pertaining to cognitive changes in dementia. Our results provide support for an individualized, abilities-focused approach to the care of people with dementia.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dawson
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003071:Cognition; D003704:Dementia / Q000451:nursing* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012648:Self Care; D012866:Skilled Nursing Facilities; D012919:Social Behavior; D014728:Veterans