Abstract
Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia in older adults. Although memory problems are the most characteristic symptom of this disorder, many individuals also experience progressive problems with communication. This systematic review investigates the effectiveness of methods to improve the verbal communication of individuals with Alzheimer's disease with their caregivers. The following databases were reviewed: PsychINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, REHABDATA, and COMDIS. The inclusion criteria were: (i) experimentally based studies, (ii) quantitative results, (iii) intervention aimed at improving verbal communication of the affected individual with a caregiver, and (iv) at least 50% of the sample having a confirmed diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. A total of 13 studies met all of the inclusion criteria. One technique emerged as potentially effective: the use of memory aids combined with specific caregiver training programs. The strength of this evidence was restricted by methodological limitations of the studies. Both adoption of and further research on these interventions are recommended.
Highlights
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia in older adults
Thirteen studies reported in 14 papers met all of the inclusion criteria
In six of the included studies, the care recipients had an unspecified diagnosis of dementia [30]
Summary
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia in older adults. Currently 4.5 million Americans have AD and this number is expected to rise to 13.2 million by the year 2050 [1]. Estimates within Canada suggest that over half a million individuals over 65 years of age have AD or a related disease [2, 3]. The objective of this paper was to systematically review the effectiveness of methods to improve communication between individuals with AD and their formal and informal caregivers. The decline of communication abilities in AD is gradual and is characterized primarily by problems with object naming [7,8,9], coherence [10], and discourse production [11] including the use of fewer information units [12], fewer target propositions [5], and an increased proportion of pronoun use [13]. Language comprehension worsens gradually, phonological and syntactic skills remain preserved until the advanced stages of the disease [14, 15]
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