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American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias logoLink to American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias
. 2007 Jun-Jul;22(3):184–189. doi: 10.1177/1533317507301589

Changes in Habits Related to Self-care in Dementia: The Nursing Home Versus Adult Day Care

Jiska Cohen-Mansfield 1, Barbara Jensen 2
PMCID: PMC10846283  PMID: 17606527

Abstract

Little is known about the changes that occur for older persons with dementia in the practice of self-care routines. This study assesses the concordance of past and current self-care practices of day care and nursing home persons using spouse reports, the degree of spouse awareness of these changes, and spouse perception of how important self-care practices had been to their partner. Participants were spouses of 12 older persons with dementia in day care and spouses of 20 nursing home residents. Self-care routines were assessed using the Self-maintenance Habits and Preferences in Elderly (SHAPE) questionnaire. Day care attendees showed few changes in self-care routines compared to nursing home residents. Spouses of nursing home residents underestimate the changes in self-care that occur with nursing home admission. The importance of being aware of self-care changes lies in the value of maintaining continuity with the customary preferences and routines of the older person.

Keywords: dementia, self-care, nursing home, adult day care, proxy reports

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Contributor Information

Jiska Cohen-Mansfield, Department of Health Promotion, Sackler Faculty of Medicine and Herczeg Institute on Aging at Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, cohenmansfield@hebrew-home.org, George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC, Research Institute on Aging, A Charles E. Smith Life Community, Rockville, Maryland.

Barbara Jensen, Research Institute on Aging, A Charles E. Smith Life Community, Rockville, Maryland.

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