Dementia

Approximately one quarter of all hospitalized patients over age 75 years have a secondary diagnosis of dementia. A unique hospital-wide program to encourage appropriate communication techniques with patients who have dementia was provided to all departments of a hospital. Evaluation indicated improvement in some communication techniques. Additional education is needed to disperse the information to as many staff as possible and to sustain the change.

Instructions:

1. Read the article Pilot testing an educational intervention to improve communication with patients with dementia.
2. Answer the following questions:
   1. What kind of communication technique are the authors suggesting for dementia patients?
   2. What technique seems the most promising to you?
      • Explain why you picked that technique?
3. Your paper should be:
   • One (1) page or more.
   • Use factual information from the textbook and/or appropriate articles and websites.
   • Cite your sources – type references according to the APA Style Guide.