Delaying the Nursing Home for Alzheimer's Patients

Ivanhoe Newswire
Tuesday, November 14, 2006; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Counseling could be the key in helping caregivers of Alzheimer's patients. A new study reveals those who received individual and family counseling plus ongoing support were able to keep a loved one with Alzheimer's home with them longer.

Alzheimer's affects nearly 4.5 million people in the United States. It, along with other forms of dementia, is a major reason why people are placed in a nursing home. A long-term study led by researchers from New York University School of Medicine reveals a psychosocial support program can help delay the time when people with dementia are put into a nursing home by 1.5 years.

The study began in 1987 and included 406 people caring for a spouse with dementia. Half of the caregivers were given two individual and four family counseling sessions the first month of the enrollment. Then they were also encouraged to participate in weekly support groups. They could also contact counselors at any time by telephone. The other half of the caregivers were assigned usual care, which meant they received resource information and did not participate in counseling.

Researchers report dementia patients whose spouses were in the counseling group were placed in nursing homes 557 days, or 1.5 years, later than the patients who received usual care.

"Comprehensive medical treatment, particularly for the elderly, has got to include more than just using a prescription pad," reports Mary S. Mittelman, Dr.P.H., the lead study author and a psychiatric research professor at NYU. "Counseling and support for family members, with no time limits, can benefit the family and the person with dementia and has been shown in a major way in our latest report."

Dr. Mittelman reports this finding has financial implications as well. Previous research showed a one-month delay into a nursing home would save the United States more than 1 billion dollars each year. A year and a half delay could mean huge financial savings.

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SOURCE: Neurology, 2006;67:1592-1599