Alzheimer’s Support

 Family caregivers for someone with Alzheimer’s disease have a long and often exhilarating and heartbreaking journey ahead of them. The ‘visit me now’ moments alternate with challenging behavior, fast-growing needs for care, and seemingly insatiable patience for responding to the same question or demand 150 times per day. For many family members, a primary task is therefore to build a good support network for providing Alzheimer’s care over the years of the progressive disease. Collaborative home care is an approach that can facilitate this process, by integrating formal and informal resources and offering family caregivers help to create a good quality of life both for the person with Alzheimer’s and for themselves. This article will describe several ideas that might help to create and sustain a support network for Alzheimer’s families providing the best possible care. Understanding the Need for a Supportive Network  Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t just affect the diagnosed person, it impacts their entire family. Caring for the person, balancing medical treatment and daily living needs (eg, dressing, eating, taking medications), and tackling the emotions surrounding the disease is a complicated task, and having a support network can help: Building a Supportive Network Creating an effective supportive network involves several key steps: Involve Family Members Engage Professional Caregivers Utilize Community Resources Foster Communication and Coordination Overcoming Challenges in Collaborative Care  While building a support network can have many benefits, it can also come with struggles. The following is a list of common problems related to building a support network and suggested ways to deal with them. Family Conflicts Caregiver Burnout Coordination Issues Financial and Logistical Concerns Benefits of a Supportive Network A well-established supportive network provides numerous benefits for Alzheimer’s families:  If we truly wish to avoid the scenarios described above – to provide effective, dignified care to our loved ones – a point person must develop a network of support, including (when possible) the loved one’s family, paid care workers, their community, and the person living with the disease. Communication needs to be encouraged and accomplished between and among all involved parties if we wish to successfully care for those living with Alzheimer’s disease.  To begin with, deal with some of the more typical issues and make sure to take advantage of the benefits offered by support groups. Recognizing that caregiving is in constant flux—and that there will be both good days and bad—is one of the best ways families can keep it sustainable. Ultimately, caregiving for Alzheimer’s disease is about being loving and attentive through all the ups and downs. With perseverance and compassion, most families can keep the patient at ‘home’, providing good care, and working to keep the family intact as much as possible.

 Caring for someone who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease is tough. But the journey is even tougher for people with the disease. Scientific research and pharmaceutical drugs currently offer the most effective means of managing dementia symptoms and slowing disease progression. However, if other effective strategies emerge, healthcare providers should integrate them into treatment plans to enhance patient outcomes. Now, these strategies would belong to a wider area of medicine, holistic approaches to care, and complementary approaches to medicine. They incorporate physical and emotional techniques that take a broader approach, focusing on the mind, body, and spirit, rather than solely targeting specific system failures like traditional medical interventions. However, some holistic approaches may also address specific health concerns. Understanding Holistic Care  The principal is that people are inherently complex: holistic care is whole-person care, concerned with a steady equilibrium rather than the acute relief of a disease’s symptoms. In the case of Alzheimer’s, this means attending to physical, emotional, social, and cognitive needs through any number of nonmedical strategies. Added to medical treatments, this approach can create an environment that is supportive of a good life for people with dementia. Key Holistic Approaches to Alzheimer’s Care Mind-Body Techniques Engaging in Cognitive Stimulation Social Interaction and Emotional Support Creating a Comfortable Environment Nutritional Support Physical Activity Complementary Therapies Implementing Holistic Approaches at Home Develop a Routine Adapt to Individual Needs Involve Caregivers and Family Seek Professional Guidance Benefits of Holistic Approaches Enhanced Quality of Life Better Symptom Management Strengthened Relationships  The principles of holistic care can improve the quality of life for people who receive home care. Through the promotion of mind-body techniques, cognitive stimulation, emotional support, and environmental interventions, carers can provide hands-on care that complements the treatment provided by doctors. Tailoring the approach to each person, adapting to individual needs, training caregivers and family members, and using complementary resources in the community are important elements of these approaches.  With a commitment to holistic care, the caregivers can create a care landscape that allows the sufferer to experience a better life that more appropriately responds to the etiologically complex, multidimensional and holistic needs of the individual with Alzheimer’s, and that is of an equal or better quality than that achieved through a focus on medication alone.