TRANSITIONS IN THE DEMENTIA CARE CONTINUUM: OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSON-CENTERED APPROACHES

Abstract

A ‘Transitions can be understood as ‘a change from one state or status to another’. Therefore transitions encompass transitions in levels of care and in locations of care, which integrates a psychosocial and a health care service perspective. In this symposium we will present a variety of research, which exemplify these two perspectives. Two presentations address transitions regarding levels of care: The focus of the 1st speaker is on transition being a carer, within the caregiving journey presenting data from 370 family south Asian and white British caregivers; the focus of the 2nd speaker is on transitions over the course of families living with fronto-temporal dementia and how families adapt and cope with transitions in this conditions. Two presentations address transitions regarding location of care: the 3rd speaker will present person-centered approaches from a RCT testing transitional care interventions for persons with dementia, especially those living in highly-disadvantaged US areas. The 4th speaker will present results regarding transitions from nursing homes to hospitals for residents with Ambulatory Care Sensitive (ACS) conditions, with a specific focus on early detection of ACS. The focus of the 5th speaker is on the role of cross-setting communication for people with dementia in facilitating high quality, person-centered transitions, presenting results from a retrospective cohort study (N = 343). Transitions in the Dementia Care Continuum include attention to individuals’ needs and psychosocial contexts. Research about opportunities and challenges for personcentered approaches need to focus explicitly on these transitions.