title: Community day care with carer support versus usual nursing home-based day care: effects on needs, behavior, mood, and quality of life of people with dementia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Several studies have shown that the combined community-based Meeting Centres Support Programme (MCSP) for people with mild to moderate dementia and their carers were more effective in reducing behavior and mood problems of people with dementia than traditional nursing home-based (NH) day care. We therefore investigated in this study whether community-based (CO) psychogeriatric day care for people with mild to severe dementia combined with carer support (in accordance with the MCSP), is more effective than regular NH day care.
  
  
  METHODS
  A pre-test-post-test control group design was used to compare the effect of CO and NH day care on care needs, behavior and mood problems, and quality of life of people with dementia. 138 dyads of people with mild to severe dementia and family carers participated in the study: 70 from (new and longer existing) CO day cares (experimental group), and 68 from NH day cares (control group). ANCOVAs were performed at post-tests, including baseline data as covariates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After six months, no overall differences on outcome measures were found between CO and NH day cares. However, participants of recently started CO day cares showed fewer neuropsychiatric symptoms, whereas carers in the longer existing CO day cares reported fewer care needs compared to the control group (large effects). Persons with dementia cohabiting with their carer benefitted most from CO day care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that combined CO day care has promising added value compared to NH day care, especially for participants with dementia cohabiting with their carer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry,EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research,VU University Medical Center,Amsterdam,the Netherlands.
authors.forename: A Marijke
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: van Haeften-van Dijk
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry,Department of General Practice and Elderly care medicine,EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research,VU University Medical Center,Amsterdam,the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Franka J M
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Meiland
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry,EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research,VU University Medical Center,Amsterdam,the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Bart J J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Hattink
authors.affiliation: Expertise Centre of Healthcare Innovation,Institute of Healthcare,Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences and Expertise Centre of Frail Elderly,Stichting Wetenschap Balans,Rotterdam,the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ton J E M
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Bakker
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry,EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research,VU University Medical Center,Amsterdam,the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Rose-Marie
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Dröes
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003631:Day Care, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012944:Social Support
keywords: carer support; community care; day care; dementia