Predictors of acceptance of offered care management intervention services in a quality improvement trial for dementia

Enabling older people with mental health needs to engage with community social care: A scoping review to inform a theory of change

Despite apparent need, many older people with cognitive impairment and/or mental health needs do not fully engage with social care. This can manifest in different ways, including passive or aggressive attempts to avoid or repel care workers. However, little is known about how to support such individuals in their own homes and deliver effective care. Against this background, we undertook a scoping review with a view to developing a preliminary theory of change suggesting how care might be modified to engage this client group. The most recent search was conducted on 21/04/21. Papers were included if they (i) focused on older people (65+) living at home with social care needs and (ii) described difficulties/problems with the provision/receipt of social care associated with individuals' mental health needs. Twenty-six citations were identified through electronic database searches and reference screening, and the results were charted according to key theory of change concepts (long-term outcomes, preconditions, interventions, rationale and assumptions). All the included papers were related to people with dementia. Four subgroups of papers were identified. The first highlights those external conditions that make it more likely an intervention will be successful; the second describes specific interventions to engage older people who by virtue of their mental health needs have not engaged with social care; the third explores what services can be done to increase service uptake by older people with mental health needs and their caregivers more generally; and the fourth details theoretical approaches to explaining the behaviour of people with dementia. Each provides information that could be used to inform care delivery and the development of interventions to improve engagement with health and social care for these individuals. The study concludes that different framing of engagement difficulties, such as that offered through positioning theory, may assist in future service design.

Case management for people with dementia living at home and their informal caregivers: A scoping review

Case management is a complex intervention aimed at addressing a variety of health needs of people in their social environment. Case management for people with dementia is often poorly defined and insufficiently described. The crucial process steps are often not well understood. We aim to map and compare the key components, processes and contextual factors of case management programmes for dementia and to explore aspects of the interventions' generalisability. Our search covered the databases PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane and GeroLit, as well as policy papers from international organisations. We included qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods studies in the English or German language that was published between 1999 and 2020. The programmes were analysed according to programme characteristics, case management intervention and the structural and processing conditions. We identified 67 studies dealing with 25 programmes. Approximately half of the programmes were investigated in randomised controlled trials, two programmes used a mixed-methods design and the remaining were the subject of pre-post cohort studies. Participants in the studies were predominantly dyads of people with dementia and their informal caregivers. About half of the programmes reported a theoretical framework. All the programmes were derived from case management approaches or referred to such approaches. Despite huge differences in implementation, all the programmes covered the case management steps. In 14 out of 25 programmes, case management was carried out without additional intervention, the other programmes provided mainly education and training for informal caregivers. Costs of the case management interventions were stated in more than half of the programmes.The effectiveness and generalisability of dementia-specific case management interventions could be enhanced if the framework introduced in the review was used in the future by policy, practice and research.

Correlates of Caregiver Participation in a Brief, Community-Based Dementia Care Management Program

Purpose of the Study

The evidence base for dementia care management interventions for informal caregivers (CGs) is strong, yet enrollment and sustained engagement in academic and community-based research trials is low. This study sought to examine rates and correlates of participation in a community-based, telephone-delivered dementia care management program designed to address logistic and practical barriers to participation in CG trials and services.

Design and Methods

Participants included 290 CGs of older, community-dwelling, low-income care recipients (CRs) who met criteria for enrollment in a collaborative dementia care management program that provides assessment, psychosocial support and education, and connection to community resources via telephone. Cross-sectional analyses examined the association between CG-related (e.g., financial status, relationship to CR, caregiving burden) and CR-related (e.g., functional limitations, symptom severity) factors and CG enrollment and engagement.

Results

The majority of CGs were non-Hispanic White, female, financially stable, and adult children of the CRs. Over half of CGs lived with the CR and provided 20 or more hours of care per week. Roughly half of CGs refused care management services. Adjusted logistic regression models revealed that perceived caregiving burden and financial status were related to initial enrollment and engagement in services once enrolled, respectively.

Implications

A significant proportion of CGs refuse free, convenient, evidence-based dementia care management services, underscoring the need for further examination of correlates of program acceptance. Nonetheless, community-based programs that address barriers may improve enrollment and engagement rates among CGs, including those who are especially vulnerable to negative CG and CR outcomes.

Evaluation of a Telephone-Delivered, Community-Based Collaborative Care Management Program for Caregivers of Older Adults with Dementia

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate whether a community-based, telephone-delivered, brief patient/caregiver-centered collaborative dementia care management intervention is associated with improved caregiver and care recipient (CR) outcomes.

DESIGN

Longitudinal program evaluation of a clinical intervention; assessments at baseline and 3- and 6-month follow-up.

SETTING

General community.

PARTICIPANTS

Caregivers (N = 440) of older, community-dwelling, low-income CRs prescribed a psychotropic medication by a primary care provider who met criteria for dementia and were enrolled in the SUpporting Seniors Receiving Treatment And INtervention (SUSTAIN) program for older adults.

INTERVENTION

Dementia care management versus clinical evaluation only.

MEASUREMENTS

Perceived caregiving burden and caregiver general health (primary outcomes); CR neuropsychiatric symptoms and caregiver distress in response to CRs' challenging dementia-related behaviors (secondary outcomes).

RESULTS

Caregivers were, on average, 64.0 (SD: 11.8) years old and 62.6% provided care for the CR for 20 or more hours per week. The majority of the sample was female (73.2%), non-Hispanic White (90.2%), and spousal caregivers (72.5%). Adjusted longitudinal models of baseline and 3- and 6-month data suggest that compared with caregivers receiving clinical evaluation only, caregivers receiving care management reported greater reductions in burden over time. Subgroup analyses also showed statistically significant reductions in caregiver-reported frequency of CR dementia-related behaviors and caregiver distress in response to those symptoms at 3-month follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

A community-based, telephone-delivered care management program for caregivers of individuals with dementia is associated with favorable caregiver and CR-related outcomes. Findings support replication and further research in the impact of tailored, collaborative dementia care management programs that address barriers to access and engagement.