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Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Communication Problems | caregivers of elderly patients

Communication Problems Between Dementia Patients and their Caregivers Can Cause Physical Strain « Home Instead Senior Care of Michigan
by: Bert Copple, Home Instead Senior Care of Michigan

A recent study took a look at how caregivers of dementia patients feel when caring for and transferring their patients. The study, which was done at Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, investigates how nurses’ aides at three dementia care facilities in western Sweden feel about person transfers in the workplace and what they do to reduce the physical strain. Although the resident’s weight was hardly a factor in physical strain, Cristina Wångblad, one of the researchers behind the study recently published in the scientific journal Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, found communication problems and misunderstandings to be much more leading causes.

‘The symptoms of dementia are very individual and can vary from one day to the next, and sometimes even from one moment to the next. This makes person transfers in dementia care very demanding for the personnel’, says physiotherapist Cristina Wångblad.

It’s noted that individual-specific knowledge about patients can be useful as well. Caregivers can give, for example, specific vocal queues and pitches, and gestures that are specific to and recognized well by each patient.
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Home Instead Senior Care of Michigan provides In-Home Non-Medical Care and Companionship for Seniors Living in Michigan