European healthcare services for dementia
The EU-funded project RIGHTTIMEPLACECARE worked on developing best practice guidelines for such long-term care. Researchers from eight European countries with multidisciplinary expertise joined forces to perform a Europe-wide cross-country comparison study on dementia care. Clinical research data on formal home care and institutional long-term nursing care were collected through surveys with people with dementia and their informal caregivers, focus group interviews with people with dementia and formal and informal carers, expert panels and literature reviews. Aspects considered included living conditions, nursing care quality, transition to institutionalised care, European social welfare systems and caregiver support systems. Results revealed considerable variation in nursing skill levels, quality of life, quality of care and burden for informal carers across countries. England, the Netherlands and Sweden had clear-cut guidelines for dementia care while Estonia, Germany and Spain only addressed care for older people in general. A family-oriented person-centred care approach was found to be the gold standard in the participating European countries. Areas that needed addressing were proactive care planning, caregiver support and interventions as well as palliative care for people with dementia. Researchers also assessed the economic impact of transition from home care to long-term nursing care. Huge differences in costs, cost estimation and treatment of dementia severity were seen across countries. Enhancing and availing community care services could considerably improve care whilereducing costs. This would also permit some people with dementia to receive home care for a longer period. RIGHTTIMEPLACECARE activities have highlighted the areas that require improvement for optimal long-term and affordable care of people with dementia in Europe. These findings have led to the formulation of best practices guidelines that will be invaluable to stakeholders involved in policy and decision making. Project outcomes also paved the way for further research on care for people with dementia.
Keywords
Ageing, dementia, healthcare, guidelines, home care, nursing care, survey, interview, palliative care, community
