These are four stories that private duty agency owners shouldn't miss.
About 6.5 million adults, aged 65 and older, live with Alzheimer's. The disease is the most common type of dementia, and caregiving can be a struggle. While researchers are still studying the disease and methods to prevent it, there has been some success in the effectiveness of certain techniques to decrease the risk of dementia or better support those who do have it.
Below are four articles that focus on different methods that private duty agency owners and their caregivers can use when caring for clients with dementia.
Teamwork: The Key to the Most-Effective Dementia Home Care
ComForCare and At Your Side Home Care developed an innovative training program for caregivers who have clients with dementia. The program specifically addresses a design flaw that ComForCare and At Your Side believe limited traditional dementia care training.
How Private Duty Caregivers Can Help Lessen Clients' Dementia Risk
A study by the University of Southern California and University of Arizona found that when adults aged 60 and older avoid passive sedentary behavior, like watching television for long periods of time, they decrease their risk of developing dementia. Cognitive training can help caregivers lower their clients’ risk.
"It isn't the time spent sitting, per se, but the type of sedentary activity performed during leisure time that impacts dementia risk," David Raichlen, author of the study and professor of biological sciences and anthropology at the USC Dornslife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, said.
3 Ways to Help Dementia Clients Maintain Their Dignity
Paula Perez was named Visiting Angels' Caregiver of the Year this summer, having been recognized for her compassion in caring for clients with dementia. Previously, alongside other family members, she'd been a caregiver for her mother who had dementia.
Perez offers three suggestions for caring for clients with dementia.
What Post-Acute Leaders Need to Know About Female Alzheimer's Patients and an Emerging Solution
Researchers from Case Western Reserve University identified the reason women seem to be more susceptible to Alzheimer's disease. They found that female brain tissue reflects a higher expression of an enzyme that causes it to accumulate greater quantities of the tau protein, compared to male brain tissue.
The tau protein can build into toxic protein clumps in brain nerve cells, which leads to conditions called tauopathies, and Alzheimer's disease is the most well-known of these.
"We reasoned that if this could be identified, then it could provide a basis for the development of new medicine that could restore the proper balance of tau levels in the brain," David Kang, co-senior author of the study, said in a statement.
Jasmyne Ray is the revenue cycle editor at HealthLeaders.