Working with families of hospitalized older adults with dementia: caregivers are useful resources and should be part of the care team.
Families provide a considerable amount of informal care and support for older adults living with dementia. And when an older adult with dementia is hospitalized, family caregivers should be seen as important sources of information and included as valuable members of the health care team. This article describes a best-practice approach to working with families and includes recommendations for using the Information for the Hospital Team About a Patient with Memory Problems form. For a free online video demonstrating the use of this form, go to http://links.lww.com/A301.
Bradway
Christine
C
Gerontological nursing, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in Philadelphia, PA, USA. cwb@nursing.upenn.edu
Hirschman
Karen B
KB
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000451:nursing; D017028:Caregivers; D003704:Dementia / Q000451:nursing*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016294:Models, Nursing; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D010351:Patient Discharge; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires