- Email: [email protected]
Alzheimer's disease: Cause(s), diagnosis, treatment and care
BOOK MARIANNE
LAPORTE
MATZO,
PHD,
REVIEWS RNCS,
Alzheimer's Disease: Cause(s), Diagnosis, Treatment and Care Zaven Khachaturian and Teresa Radebaugh, editors, Boca Raton, Florida, ]996, CRC Press, 331 pages, $69.95 (hardcover). Handbook of Dementia Care Jean M. Stehman, Geraldine L Strachan, .loy A. Glenner, George G. Glenner, and Judith K. Neubauer, Baltimore, 1996, Johns Hopkins University Press, 240 pages, $19.95 (soficover). Individualized Dementia Care: Creative and Compassionate Approaches Joanne Rader and Elizabeth M. Tornquist, editors, New York, 1995, Springer, 283 pages, $37.95 (hard-
cover). Early-Stage Alzheimer's Care Diane Weddington, New York, 1994, Springer, 127 pages, $29.95 (hardcover). Alzheimer's disease (AD) has become more widespread with the increased longevity of older adults, affecting 20% of those older than 75 years of age and 40% older than 85 years of age. Because AD is a progressive and irreversible disease with an indeterminate length, patients with AD and their formal and informal caregivers are faced with a multitude of problems at various stages of the illness. Within the past 20 years knowledge about A D - - i t s pathologic features, course, treatment, and c a r e - - h a s burgeoned, yielding a more specific understanding of these issues. Geriatric nurses, regardless of their practice setting, are often responsible for care planning for individuals, supporting professional and lay caregivers and designing programs to meet the needs of both. Maintaining current information about the many aspects of the disease can be a challenge. This review examines four recent books on AD that address some of these issues.
Alzheimer's Disease: Cause(s), Diagnosis, Treatment and Care is introduced as a synthesis of critical topics in AD, and it is just that. This edited book gives a historical perspective on AD and discusses the epidemiology, diagnosis, biologic markers, causes, treatment, and the care and management of the disease. Most of the 28 chapters in this book are written by experts in the content area. Chapter authors give basic information to familiarize readers with the fundamental concepts and methods of doing the work of a particular subspecialty or discipline involved with AD while reviewing research and synthesizing the current knowledge for each topic. There is surprisingly little overlap of information between the chapters. Although the sections on pathology may be less interesting reading for some nurses, the section on the care and management of AD provides a thoroughness yet
GERIATRIC NURSING Volume 18, Number 6
Book
REVIEW
SECa'~ON
EDITOR
sensitivity not often found in edited reviews. Kathleen Buckwalter's chapter on the stress of family caregivers and the chapters on psychosocial interventions, inappropriate behavior, depression and agitation, primary care, and the social context of caregiving are particularly interesting to nurses. This book is not targeted strictly to nurses but to members of all disciplines who are working on various facets of the AD puzzle. Early Stage Alzheimer's Care focuses on early intervention programs for the individual who has AD. The goals of this text, as stated on page 23, are not particularly innovative or groundbreaking. One can infer that the author is interested in group process with the aim of increasing exercise and self-esteem in the individual with AD. The chapters cover the administrative and organizational concerns of dealing with staff, families, participants, and the overall structure of early intervention programs. Appendix A is curious, because a state-by-state description of existing programs is presented. The sad news is that only 14 states offer any help to the victims of this dreaded disease; California is the most innovative with six programs. The book will have a limited interest unless the United States pays more attention to the growing numbers of individuals with AD and to the value of early diagnosis and treatment for the disease. The Handbook of Dementia Care is a guide for creating therapeutic programs of care for patients with dementia in 10rig-term care environments such as assisted living, residential and nursing facilities, and daycare and home care settings. The Handbook is a training manual that was developed by the School of Dementia Care affiliated with the George G. Glenner Alzheimer's Family Centers and the University of California's Office of Continuing Medical Education. The book is composed of six modules: what is dementia, positive interaction techniques, creating supportive environments, choosing and adapting therapeutic activities, leading successful group activities, and family dynamics. The modules are introduced with an outline and supplemented with handouts that detail specific points made in the module outline. The Handbook is a practical tool for nurses and others who are involved in the day-to-day care of patients with middle- and late-stage AD. The content of the modules is specific and clear; although often elementary, it offers many suggestions for interacting with patients with AD and opportunities to enhance patients' social and functional abilities. The module and handouts on positive interaction techniques might be particularly beneficial for helping nonprofessional staff and family members to understand catastrophic reactions by patients with AD and to evaluate and manage problem behaviors. Some of the handouts also use prompts to encourage reflection and objectivity on the part of the caregiver. The format of the Handbook is designed for teaching, and a training video and instructor's handbook are also available. Program di-
Book Reviews
287
rectors at long-term care facilities, home care nurses, and nursing faculty will find the information useful, especially because many of the handouts could be easily adapted for protocols of care. The writing style is such that nonprofessionals including caregivers would find the handouts and text helpful. This reasonably priced book is a valuable resource for those working with patients with AD.
Individualized Dementia Care: Creative and Compassionate Approaches is an ambitiously organized book and is based on a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. There are four parts to this book including a total of 16 chapters and 7 appendixes. Part III is the most interesting, entitled "Customizing a Solution." Within these nine chapters the authors move from individual resident to macroorganizational solutions. The chapters by Rader on eliminating restraints and Maggie Donius on fall prevention and management are the most fully developed. Each is thick and substantive, covering 20 or more pages. This depth of coverage speaks well for the research efforts in these two areas of practice, both of which have high payoffs in client outcomes. The appendixes in part IV are excellent. The reader is given hundreds of resources from which to learn more about specific problems and their solutions. The book lives up to its stated title and is a must purchase for all practition-
PROGRAM
International Conference on Biomedical Aspects of Aging Research, December 1013, 1997--Venice, Italy. Contact: Centro
Italiano Congressi S.r.l., telephone 011-39-68412673 (Italy) or American Federation for Aging Research, telephone (212)752-2327 (United States). Second Interdisciplinary Conference for Bioethics: Current Controversies in Ethics, Law and Nursing, April 8, 1 9 9 8 -
New York, New York. Contact: Sandra North, Office of Public Affairs, New York University, 25 W. Fourth St., New York, NY 10012-1199; telephone (212)998-5612.
ers of gerontology and for those interested in improving the lives of long-term care residents. Each of these four books has something unique to offer to the right audience, but Individualized Dementia Care: Creative and Compassionate Approaches will have the widest appeal to an audience of geriatric nurses. It provides a comprehensive and in-depth discussion of the range of issues that might be considered when arranging long-term care situations for patients with AD. Two of the other books are also worthwhile for more targeted audiences. The Handbook of Dementia Care offers practical advice for the daily care of patients with AD, and
Alzheimer' s Disease: Cause(s), Diagnosis, Treatment and Care covers the spectrum of knowledge and issues about AD. The latter book is an essential reference for students of AD, whether they be practitioners, faculty, or researchers.
Carol M. Musil, PhD, RN Assistant Professor of Nursing Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, Ohio Graham J. McDougall, PhD, RN Assistant Professor of Nursing Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, Ohio
CALENDAR
California Association of Homes and Services for the Aging 37th Annual Meeting and Exhibition: Technology Meets Tradition, April 28-29, 1 9 9 8 -
Seventh National Alzheimer's Disease Education Conference: Creating Opportunities, Making Connections, July 25-29, 1998--Indianapolis, Indiana. Contact:
Monterey, California. Contact: CAHSA, 7311 Greenhaven D r . , S u i t e 175, Sacramento, CA 95831.
The Alzheimer's Association, 919 N. Michigan Ave., Suite i000, Chicago, IL 60611-1676.
Twenty-Third National Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Symposium, July 9-12,
1998--Denver, Colorado. Contact: Nurse Practitioner SymposiumOffice, University of Colorado, School of Nursing, 4200 E. 9th Ave., Box C287, Denver, CO 80262; telephone (303)315-7436; fax (303)315-3785; Email: nps @uchsc.edu.
B O O K REVIEWERS WANTED Geriatric Nursing needs people to read and review one to three books on a topic area and write a review. I n appreciation of your efforts, the books you review are yours to keep. If you are interested in serving as a book reviewer, please contact Marianne L. Matzo, PhD, RN, CS, B o o k Review Editor, P.O. Box 342, Goffstown, NH, 03045-0342; e-mail [email protected] Please provide your name, address, and phone number and indicate your area of interest or expertise.
288
BookReviews
November/December1997 GERIATRICNURSING
LAPORTE
MATZO,
PHD,
REVIEWS RNCS,
Alzheimer's Disease: Cause(s), Diagnosis, Treatment and Care Zaven Khachaturian and Teresa Radebaugh, editors, Boca Raton, Florida, ]996, CRC Press, 331 pages, $69.95 (hardcover). Handbook of Dementia Care Jean M. Stehman, Geraldine L Strachan, .loy A. Glenner, George G. Glenner, and Judith K. Neubauer, Baltimore, 1996, Johns Hopkins University Press, 240 pages, $19.95 (soficover). Individualized Dementia Care: Creative and Compassionate Approaches Joanne Rader and Elizabeth M. Tornquist, editors, New York, 1995, Springer, 283 pages, $37.95 (hard-
cover). Early-Stage Alzheimer's Care Diane Weddington, New York, 1994, Springer, 127 pages, $29.95 (hardcover). Alzheimer's disease (AD) has become more widespread with the increased longevity of older adults, affecting 20% of those older than 75 years of age and 40% older than 85 years of age. Because AD is a progressive and irreversible disease with an indeterminate length, patients with AD and their formal and informal caregivers are faced with a multitude of problems at various stages of the illness. Within the past 20 years knowledge about A D - - i t s pathologic features, course, treatment, and c a r e - - h a s burgeoned, yielding a more specific understanding of these issues. Geriatric nurses, regardless of their practice setting, are often responsible for care planning for individuals, supporting professional and lay caregivers and designing programs to meet the needs of both. Maintaining current information about the many aspects of the disease can be a challenge. This review examines four recent books on AD that address some of these issues.
Alzheimer's Disease: Cause(s), Diagnosis, Treatment and Care is introduced as a synthesis of critical topics in AD, and it is just that. This edited book gives a historical perspective on AD and discusses the epidemiology, diagnosis, biologic markers, causes, treatment, and the care and management of the disease. Most of the 28 chapters in this book are written by experts in the content area. Chapter authors give basic information to familiarize readers with the fundamental concepts and methods of doing the work of a particular subspecialty or discipline involved with AD while reviewing research and synthesizing the current knowledge for each topic. There is surprisingly little overlap of information between the chapters. Although the sections on pathology may be less interesting reading for some nurses, the section on the care and management of AD provides a thoroughness yet
GERIATRIC NURSING Volume 18, Number 6
Book
REVIEW
SECa'~ON
EDITOR
sensitivity not often found in edited reviews. Kathleen Buckwalter's chapter on the stress of family caregivers and the chapters on psychosocial interventions, inappropriate behavior, depression and agitation, primary care, and the social context of caregiving are particularly interesting to nurses. This book is not targeted strictly to nurses but to members of all disciplines who are working on various facets of the AD puzzle. Early Stage Alzheimer's Care focuses on early intervention programs for the individual who has AD. The goals of this text, as stated on page 23, are not particularly innovative or groundbreaking. One can infer that the author is interested in group process with the aim of increasing exercise and self-esteem in the individual with AD. The chapters cover the administrative and organizational concerns of dealing with staff, families, participants, and the overall structure of early intervention programs. Appendix A is curious, because a state-by-state description of existing programs is presented. The sad news is that only 14 states offer any help to the victims of this dreaded disease; California is the most innovative with six programs. The book will have a limited interest unless the United States pays more attention to the growing numbers of individuals with AD and to the value of early diagnosis and treatment for the disease. The Handbook of Dementia Care is a guide for creating therapeutic programs of care for patients with dementia in 10rig-term care environments such as assisted living, residential and nursing facilities, and daycare and home care settings. The Handbook is a training manual that was developed by the School of Dementia Care affiliated with the George G. Glenner Alzheimer's Family Centers and the University of California's Office of Continuing Medical Education. The book is composed of six modules: what is dementia, positive interaction techniques, creating supportive environments, choosing and adapting therapeutic activities, leading successful group activities, and family dynamics. The modules are introduced with an outline and supplemented with handouts that detail specific points made in the module outline. The Handbook is a practical tool for nurses and others who are involved in the day-to-day care of patients with middle- and late-stage AD. The content of the modules is specific and clear; although often elementary, it offers many suggestions for interacting with patients with AD and opportunities to enhance patients' social and functional abilities. The module and handouts on positive interaction techniques might be particularly beneficial for helping nonprofessional staff and family members to understand catastrophic reactions by patients with AD and to evaluate and manage problem behaviors. Some of the handouts also use prompts to encourage reflection and objectivity on the part of the caregiver. The format of the Handbook is designed for teaching, and a training video and instructor's handbook are also available. Program di-
Book Reviews
287
rectors at long-term care facilities, home care nurses, and nursing faculty will find the information useful, especially because many of the handouts could be easily adapted for protocols of care. The writing style is such that nonprofessionals including caregivers would find the handouts and text helpful. This reasonably priced book is a valuable resource for those working with patients with AD.
Individualized Dementia Care: Creative and Compassionate Approaches is an ambitiously organized book and is based on a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. There are four parts to this book including a total of 16 chapters and 7 appendixes. Part III is the most interesting, entitled "Customizing a Solution." Within these nine chapters the authors move from individual resident to macroorganizational solutions. The chapters by Rader on eliminating restraints and Maggie Donius on fall prevention and management are the most fully developed. Each is thick and substantive, covering 20 or more pages. This depth of coverage speaks well for the research efforts in these two areas of practice, both of which have high payoffs in client outcomes. The appendixes in part IV are excellent. The reader is given hundreds of resources from which to learn more about specific problems and their solutions. The book lives up to its stated title and is a must purchase for all practition-
PROGRAM
International Conference on Biomedical Aspects of Aging Research, December 1013, 1997--Venice, Italy. Contact: Centro
Italiano Congressi S.r.l., telephone 011-39-68412673 (Italy) or American Federation for Aging Research, telephone (212)752-2327 (United States). Second Interdisciplinary Conference for Bioethics: Current Controversies in Ethics, Law and Nursing, April 8, 1 9 9 8 -
New York, New York. Contact: Sandra North, Office of Public Affairs, New York University, 25 W. Fourth St., New York, NY 10012-1199; telephone (212)998-5612.
ers of gerontology and for those interested in improving the lives of long-term care residents. Each of these four books has something unique to offer to the right audience, but Individualized Dementia Care: Creative and Compassionate Approaches will have the widest appeal to an audience of geriatric nurses. It provides a comprehensive and in-depth discussion of the range of issues that might be considered when arranging long-term care situations for patients with AD. Two of the other books are also worthwhile for more targeted audiences. The Handbook of Dementia Care offers practical advice for the daily care of patients with AD, and
Alzheimer' s Disease: Cause(s), Diagnosis, Treatment and Care covers the spectrum of knowledge and issues about AD. The latter book is an essential reference for students of AD, whether they be practitioners, faculty, or researchers.
Carol M. Musil, PhD, RN Assistant Professor of Nursing Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, Ohio Graham J. McDougall, PhD, RN Assistant Professor of Nursing Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, Ohio
CALENDAR
California Association of Homes and Services for the Aging 37th Annual Meeting and Exhibition: Technology Meets Tradition, April 28-29, 1 9 9 8 -
Seventh National Alzheimer's Disease Education Conference: Creating Opportunities, Making Connections, July 25-29, 1998--Indianapolis, Indiana. Contact:
Monterey, California. Contact: CAHSA, 7311 Greenhaven D r . , S u i t e 175, Sacramento, CA 95831.
The Alzheimer's Association, 919 N. Michigan Ave., Suite i000, Chicago, IL 60611-1676.
Twenty-Third National Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Symposium, July 9-12,
1998--Denver, Colorado. Contact: Nurse Practitioner SymposiumOffice, University of Colorado, School of Nursing, 4200 E. 9th Ave., Box C287, Denver, CO 80262; telephone (303)315-7436; fax (303)315-3785; Email: nps @uchsc.edu.
B O O K REVIEWERS WANTED Geriatric Nursing needs people to read and review one to three books on a topic area and write a review. I n appreciation of your efforts, the books you review are yours to keep. If you are interested in serving as a book reviewer, please contact Marianne L. Matzo, PhD, RN, CS, B o o k Review Editor, P.O. Box 342, Goffstown, NH, 03045-0342; e-mail [email protected] Please provide your name, address, and phone number and indicate your area of interest or expertise.
288
BookReviews
November/December1997 GERIATRICNURSING