Provision of a family-care seminar for 64 demented individuals using Takeuchi's theory:A family-led dementia-alleviation program

In recent years, programs aimed at relieving dementia symptoms have been implemented nationwide. In these programs, dementia patients are cared for by their family members using Takeuchi's theory. The authors have provided education for these caregivers. In the present study, we held a 6-month family-care seminar for 64 dementia patients and their family caregivers at 3 sites. Of the 141 dementia symptoms exhibited by these patients before the seminar, 92 (65.2%) were resolved and 15 (10.6%) almost completely disappeared after the seminar (total: 75.8%). According to a questionnaire survey involving their family caregivers, 57.8% of them felt that patients showed very or slightly favorable changes in their dementia symptoms; this percentage was lower than that of actually resolved symptoms (75.8%). Thus, the disappearance of dementia symptoms did not lead to family caregivers’ positive evaluation of symptom changes. Our findings suggest that dementia symptoms can be resolved or relieved depending on care, and that there is a need to adopt continued approaches in a manner so that the anxiety of family caregivers will be reduced, and they will recognize changes in their patients’ symptoms. Takeuchi’s theory, family care, dementia kodaira@iuhw.ac.jp (Megumi KODAIRA) Asian J Human Services, 2015, 9:1-16. © 2015 Asian Society of Human Services Received