A recent article by Debbie Andalo in The Guardian, titled “Historic Changes,” explains how one home care director in the United Kingdom is making dementia treatment personal for her residents.
Jennifer Wenborn, chair of the College of Occupational Therapists’ older care section, and North East London Mental Health Trust’s OT coordinator, has plenty of experience in providing occupational therapy for elderly patients with dementia. Recently she has begun to implement her years of research in an interesting new way.
Wenborn is training the staff of 22 care homes in England (responsible for 166 patients) to tailor their care programs to their patients in a unique and personal way. She will teach the care staff to take the patient’s life history, draw from that what is important to them, and integrate it into their care programs.
In the Guardian article, Wenborn stated, “I am trying to instill the idea that activities are much broader and should be integrated into the day-to-day working of the care staff.” For example, home care staff will make sure that patients receive their favorite newspaper, have the opportunity to use their favorite scent of aromatherapy oils, and are able to listen to radio stations of their choosing, rather than the home care staff.
These changes may seem small, but they will serve to improve the quality of dementia sufferers’ lives and can help decrease anxiety, depression, and difficult behavior displays. After just a few weeks, caregivers implementing Wenborn’s techniques are already beginning to see changes in their dementia patients, including increased socialization and communication.
To read more about how researchers in the U.K. are handling Alzheimer’s and dementia, go to alzheimers.org.uk.
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