- Email: [email protected]
TANDEM: Communication Trainings for caregivers of dementia patients
P242
Poster Presentations P1
questionnaires for professionals (physicians and health care staff) and care giving family members. x In a second step the internet platform is programmed on the basis of this analysis and the existing evidence-based guidelines for dementia. Central features for health care professionals are the evidence-based guidelines for the diagnostics, treatment and care of dementia. For patients and their carers a supportive decision aid system is provided. x Programming and pilot study of the system. x Implementation of the system and evaluation of its efficacy, utilization and user satisfaction. Results: The first project phase with the analysis of information needs is completed. 80 physicians, 165 cares and 105 care giving family members participated in the analysis. Most of the participants have internet access (physicians 95%, carers 90.6%, care giving family members 71.6%). The internet is used for information retrieval on dementia frequently by care giving family members 68.9% and carers 55.9%. Physicians (32.9%) use it less frequently for this purpose. Some needs were rated as important in all groups such as information on symptoms, course of the disease, pharmacological treatment, coping with challenging behaviour and stress relieve for carers. Examples for group specific information needs are communication with patients and financial support possibilities. Conclusions: The internet is an important source for information on dementia for care giving family members and health care staff. Physicians use the internet less frequently for this purpose as some of them judge the content of websites on dementia as scientifically inadequate. There are information needs that are similar for all target groups as well as group specific information needs. For the web site development the group specific needs have to be considered. P1-224
FOUR YEARS STUDY TO DELAY ALZHEIMER’S PROGRESS USING COGNITIVE STIMULATION MULTIMEDIA SYSTEMS IN MEXICO
Victor Fdo Villa Esteves, Leticia alatorre, Guadalajara Alzheimer Foundation Ac, Guadalajara, Mexico. Contact e-mail: alzheimergdl@ hotmail.com Background: The unmeasured increase of patients with Alzheimer disease in Mexico has brought the attention of several sectors within the country, particularly to those who are being affected with such difficulties. This is why many specialized organizations have been taking actions to try to teach how to live with this disease and or how to try to help those who we loved. Several strategies are being implemented; both government and society are joining forces to fight again this uncured disorder but just a few are being used to help those who already have it. A day care center in Guadalajara is committed to help them and for over four years they have been using technology as a backup. With help of an interactive multimedia system, they have been conducting several cognitive stimulation therapies searching the way to delay the progress of this disease as much as they can. The overall results in this period of time are showing a significant differences between a group of people who persist with the treatment and those who dont. Methods: Thirty patients were divided in two groups according to their initial state. The first group was patients with mild Alzheimer disease and the second group was patients’ showing moderate progress. Results: Three times per week in one hour sessions they took cognitive stimulation therapy assisted by computer. 80% of them left the day care center for several reasons. but the remaining 20% stay in the program. At the end of the period those patients in both groups who sitill received regular stimulation remaining with minimum disease progress, but those who left therapies showed more increase on their cognitive damage. Conclusions: Computer aid therapies to stimulate patients with Alzheimer dementia should be part of Day Care Centers daily’s activities due to the fact that it showed how it could benefit them delaying the progress of this disease no matter if they used a computer before or not.
P1-225
TANDEM: COMMUNICATION TRAININGS FOR CAREGIVERS OF DEMENTIA PATIENTS
Katharina Krause1, Julia Haberstroh1, Katharina Neumeyer2, Judith Franzmann1, Bernhard Schmitz2, Johannes Pantel1, 1Klinikum der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universita¨t Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main,
Germany; 2Technische Universita¨t Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany. Contact e-mail: [email protected] Background: With progression of the disease, dementia patients suffer upcoming problems to communicate in a common way. This leads to a progressive isolation of the suffering person. Above all, dementia patients´ wellbeing is influenced by communication and social activities. To enhance the well-being of dementia patients it is therefore essential to maintain their attachment to the social environment. Furthermore, family caregivers and nursing home staff declare non-cognitive symptoms of dementia as their main burden in caring for dementia patients. This holds particularly true rated to the supervised persons’ decreasing ability to communicate. Thus, intervention programs that focus communication with dementia patients are indispensable for the well-being of both dementia patients and their caregivers. Methods: Since 2004 training programs for caregivers of dementia patients are developed and evaluated in the project TANDEM. The trainings combine expertise of gerontopsychiatry, caregiving and educational psychology. Professional and family caregivers acquire and deepen social competencies inevitable to improve communication in dementia care. The effectiveness of TANDEM trainings was tested in four intervention studies with an overall of 350 participants using control-group design and process measurement. Results: The results of the studies provide evidence that TANDEM trainings reduce the burden of family caregivers and nursing home professionals while they increase the well-being and the ability to communicate of dementia patients. Furthermore the results of multivariate time series analysis show that the effects for ‘‘well-being’’ and ‘‘caregiver burden’’ can be attributed to the increased ‘‘social competence’’ of the caregivers. Conclusions: The interventions of TANDEM are indirect methods of supporting dementia patients by means of increasing competence of their caregivers. The results of research in this program show very clearly the relevance of including the caregivers in intervention programs and the importance of communication for the well-being of dementia patients and their caregivers. P1-226
RECRUITING FOR ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE RESEARCH: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RECRUITMENT TECHNIQUES AND CHALLENGES AMONG NIH-FUNDED ADRCS
Tamara S. Markgraf1,2, Whitney Wharton1,2, Caitlyn Cleary1, Katie Lorenze1, Madeline Zeisse1, Mitchell Daun1, Carey E. Gleason1,2, Kara Erwin1,2, Cynthia M. Carlsson1,2, Sterling C. Johnson1,2, Mark A. Sager1, Sanjay Asthana1,2, 1UW Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI, USA; 2William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, GRECC, Madison, WI, USA. Contact e-mail: [email protected] Background: According to the Alzheimer’s Association, second only to funding, recruiting subjects is the single greatest barrier to developing better treatment and prevention strategies for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). To examine factors influencing participation in AD research, investigators interviewed personnel from 20 Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (ADRCs). Methods: Researchers conducted a standardized phone interview with personnel from twenty NIH-funded ADRCs. Centers were queried about their recruitment strategies and outcomes. Transcripts were independently reviewed by investigators, and data were coded for analyses. Results: Surveyed ADRCs were funded between 4 to 28 years (M¼12); Number of investigators at each center varied from 2 to 23 (M¼11), and number of support staff ranged from 5 to 100 (M¼19). Sixty percent of centers have staff dedicated to subject recruitment and retention. All ADRCs utilize community outreach and educational seminars to promote participation. Seventeen centers visit health-fairs and fifteen recruit from patient clinics. Fifty percent of centers reported the most successful recruitment strategy was recruitment from clinics. Other successful strategies include word of mouth (N¼4), referrals from physicians (N¼3), community outreach (N¼2), and memory screenings (N¼1). Recruitment hurdles reported included minority recruitment (40%) and inclusion/exclusion criteria (30%). Additional recruitment barriers were space, staffing level, lack of interest, and loss to follow-up. Half of ADRCs utilize a recruitment registry with participation ranging from 200 to 1500þ. Interestingly, only six sites report the registry as a beneficial recruitment tool. Despite identified hurdles, 65% of ADRCs report
Poster Presentations P1
questionnaires for professionals (physicians and health care staff) and care giving family members. x In a second step the internet platform is programmed on the basis of this analysis and the existing evidence-based guidelines for dementia. Central features for health care professionals are the evidence-based guidelines for the diagnostics, treatment and care of dementia. For patients and their carers a supportive decision aid system is provided. x Programming and pilot study of the system. x Implementation of the system and evaluation of its efficacy, utilization and user satisfaction. Results: The first project phase with the analysis of information needs is completed. 80 physicians, 165 cares and 105 care giving family members participated in the analysis. Most of the participants have internet access (physicians 95%, carers 90.6%, care giving family members 71.6%). The internet is used for information retrieval on dementia frequently by care giving family members 68.9% and carers 55.9%. Physicians (32.9%) use it less frequently for this purpose. Some needs were rated as important in all groups such as information on symptoms, course of the disease, pharmacological treatment, coping with challenging behaviour and stress relieve for carers. Examples for group specific information needs are communication with patients and financial support possibilities. Conclusions: The internet is an important source for information on dementia for care giving family members and health care staff. Physicians use the internet less frequently for this purpose as some of them judge the content of websites on dementia as scientifically inadequate. There are information needs that are similar for all target groups as well as group specific information needs. For the web site development the group specific needs have to be considered. P1-224
FOUR YEARS STUDY TO DELAY ALZHEIMER’S PROGRESS USING COGNITIVE STIMULATION MULTIMEDIA SYSTEMS IN MEXICO
Victor Fdo Villa Esteves, Leticia alatorre, Guadalajara Alzheimer Foundation Ac, Guadalajara, Mexico. Contact e-mail: alzheimergdl@ hotmail.com Background: The unmeasured increase of patients with Alzheimer disease in Mexico has brought the attention of several sectors within the country, particularly to those who are being affected with such difficulties. This is why many specialized organizations have been taking actions to try to teach how to live with this disease and or how to try to help those who we loved. Several strategies are being implemented; both government and society are joining forces to fight again this uncured disorder but just a few are being used to help those who already have it. A day care center in Guadalajara is committed to help them and for over four years they have been using technology as a backup. With help of an interactive multimedia system, they have been conducting several cognitive stimulation therapies searching the way to delay the progress of this disease as much as they can. The overall results in this period of time are showing a significant differences between a group of people who persist with the treatment and those who dont. Methods: Thirty patients were divided in two groups according to their initial state. The first group was patients with mild Alzheimer disease and the second group was patients’ showing moderate progress. Results: Three times per week in one hour sessions they took cognitive stimulation therapy assisted by computer. 80% of them left the day care center for several reasons. but the remaining 20% stay in the program. At the end of the period those patients in both groups who sitill received regular stimulation remaining with minimum disease progress, but those who left therapies showed more increase on their cognitive damage. Conclusions: Computer aid therapies to stimulate patients with Alzheimer dementia should be part of Day Care Centers daily’s activities due to the fact that it showed how it could benefit them delaying the progress of this disease no matter if they used a computer before or not.
P1-225
TANDEM: COMMUNICATION TRAININGS FOR CAREGIVERS OF DEMENTIA PATIENTS
Katharina Krause1, Julia Haberstroh1, Katharina Neumeyer2, Judith Franzmann1, Bernhard Schmitz2, Johannes Pantel1, 1Klinikum der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universita¨t Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main,
Germany; 2Technische Universita¨t Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany. Contact e-mail: [email protected] Background: With progression of the disease, dementia patients suffer upcoming problems to communicate in a common way. This leads to a progressive isolation of the suffering person. Above all, dementia patients´ wellbeing is influenced by communication and social activities. To enhance the well-being of dementia patients it is therefore essential to maintain their attachment to the social environment. Furthermore, family caregivers and nursing home staff declare non-cognitive symptoms of dementia as their main burden in caring for dementia patients. This holds particularly true rated to the supervised persons’ decreasing ability to communicate. Thus, intervention programs that focus communication with dementia patients are indispensable for the well-being of both dementia patients and their caregivers. Methods: Since 2004 training programs for caregivers of dementia patients are developed and evaluated in the project TANDEM. The trainings combine expertise of gerontopsychiatry, caregiving and educational psychology. Professional and family caregivers acquire and deepen social competencies inevitable to improve communication in dementia care. The effectiveness of TANDEM trainings was tested in four intervention studies with an overall of 350 participants using control-group design and process measurement. Results: The results of the studies provide evidence that TANDEM trainings reduce the burden of family caregivers and nursing home professionals while they increase the well-being and the ability to communicate of dementia patients. Furthermore the results of multivariate time series analysis show that the effects for ‘‘well-being’’ and ‘‘caregiver burden’’ can be attributed to the increased ‘‘social competence’’ of the caregivers. Conclusions: The interventions of TANDEM are indirect methods of supporting dementia patients by means of increasing competence of their caregivers. The results of research in this program show very clearly the relevance of including the caregivers in intervention programs and the importance of communication for the well-being of dementia patients and their caregivers. P1-226
RECRUITING FOR ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE RESEARCH: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RECRUITMENT TECHNIQUES AND CHALLENGES AMONG NIH-FUNDED ADRCS
Tamara S. Markgraf1,2, Whitney Wharton1,2, Caitlyn Cleary1, Katie Lorenze1, Madeline Zeisse1, Mitchell Daun1, Carey E. Gleason1,2, Kara Erwin1,2, Cynthia M. Carlsson1,2, Sterling C. Johnson1,2, Mark A. Sager1, Sanjay Asthana1,2, 1UW Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI, USA; 2William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, GRECC, Madison, WI, USA. Contact e-mail: [email protected] Background: According to the Alzheimer’s Association, second only to funding, recruiting subjects is the single greatest barrier to developing better treatment and prevention strategies for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). To examine factors influencing participation in AD research, investigators interviewed personnel from 20 Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (ADRCs). Methods: Researchers conducted a standardized phone interview with personnel from twenty NIH-funded ADRCs. Centers were queried about their recruitment strategies and outcomes. Transcripts were independently reviewed by investigators, and data were coded for analyses. Results: Surveyed ADRCs were funded between 4 to 28 years (M¼12); Number of investigators at each center varied from 2 to 23 (M¼11), and number of support staff ranged from 5 to 100 (M¼19). Sixty percent of centers have staff dedicated to subject recruitment and retention. All ADRCs utilize community outreach and educational seminars to promote participation. Seventeen centers visit health-fairs and fifteen recruit from patient clinics. Fifty percent of centers reported the most successful recruitment strategy was recruitment from clinics. Other successful strategies include word of mouth (N¼4), referrals from physicians (N¼3), community outreach (N¼2), and memory screenings (N¼1). Recruitment hurdles reported included minority recruitment (40%) and inclusion/exclusion criteria (30%). Additional recruitment barriers were space, staffing level, lack of interest, and loss to follow-up. Half of ADRCs utilize a recruitment registry with participation ranging from 200 to 1500þ. Interestingly, only six sites report the registry as a beneficial recruitment tool. Despite identified hurdles, 65% of ADRCs report