Abstract
Dementia is a terminal illness with pain and suffering, making the palliative approach an appropriate choice for care. We examined the prevention of hospitalizations, treatment of symptoms, caregiver burden, and satisfaction with care in a pilot project providing palliative care at home for 20 advanced dementia patients. The service was provided for 6 months or until the person died by a multidisciplinary team who were available 24/7. Family members were interviewed once every three months using validated measures and charts were reviewed. After a total of 112 months of care, we found that 33 hospitalizations were prevented. Improvements were seen in symptom management (average scores 33.8 to 38.3 after 6 months) and satisfaction with care (27.5 to 35.3) and caregiver burden declined (12 to 4). We conclude that a home palliative service for 20 advanced dementia patients resulted in improved care.