Alzheimer's Association Releases Updated Memory Care Recommendations

The Alzheimer’s Association has released 2018 Dementia Care Practice Recommendations which outline best practices for quality care for people with dementia.

Learn more about the recommendations and why they are important when caring for families and individuals coping with a dementia diagnosis.

Alzheimer’s Association’s New Memory Care Guidelines

The 2018 Dementia Care Practice Recommendations were created so that quality care could be better defined across all care settings and throughout the progression of the disease. Intended for professional caregivers who work with people who have dementia in both community and residential care settings, the guidelines are designed to help standardize memory care.

This latest version of care recommendations updates “Guidelines for Dignity, Key Elements of Dementia Care, and the Dementia Care Practice Recommendations.” Each version builds upon previous versions as more insight is gleaned into the pathology of dementia and as researchers understand more about how dementia affects individuals and family members. The new guidelines were developed by 27 dementia care experts and are based on best practices, expert opinion and the latest dementia research.

Lead author and director of quality care and psychosocial research at the Alzheimer’s Association, Sam Fazio, Ph.D., explains why:

“Detection, diagnosis and medical management are critical, vital areas of care. While clinicians must continue to take a lead role in these areas, there are important contributions dementia care providers can make to improve outcomes in these areas.”

A Focus on Person-Centered Care

The 56 recommendations are focused on person-centered care. This type of care focuses on the individual’s personal desires, goals, needs and wants so that they are the center of their care. This can sometimes mean that the person’s desires are put above priorities identified by medical professionals.

The recommendations address a variety of care areas, including:

1. Care planning and assessment
2. Creating a supportive and therapeutic environment
3. Detection and diagnosis
4. Managing medical care
5. Ongoing education, information and support
6. Staffing
7. Support for activities of daily living as well as behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia
8. Transitioning and coordinating services

Have you reviewed the new guidelines for care? How have they helped you in your caregiving role? We’d like to hear your stories in the comments below.

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