1st Edition
by de Waal, Hugo (Editor), Constantine Lyketsos (Editor), David Ames (Editor), John O'Brien (Editor)
Dementia is increasingly and widely recognised as a serious health and social challenge, in the developed world as well as in the developing world. The need therefore to design and implement dementia care services of high quality is becoming more and more vital, particularly given the likelihood of ever increasing demand in a world, which likely sees resources at best remaining at current levels.
Designing and Delivering Dementia Services describes current
developments in the design and configuration of dementia services. It
offers an informative and detailed overview of what constitutes high
quality care, considering the circumstances patients and carers may find
themselves in.
For dementia to get the priority it deserves, a
number of factors are important and the book charts the invaluable
contributions of various Alzheimer's Associations and Societies: this
provides a focus on dementia strategies and plans at national levels:
the book reports on the state of affairs regarding such strategies and
provides a unique insight into the process of how one of these was
developed and implemented.
Recognising the need to prove that
service developments lead to a higher quality of care, increased
productivity and increased efficiency, the book links the resulting
picture to service-based research methodologies, with an emphasis on the
strengths and limitations of that research.
Contributions from
17 countries on 4 continents give an overview of the state of affairs
across the world, paying attention to successful - and less successful -
initiatives to improve dementia care. The book furthermore provides
pragmatic approaches to ensure planning becomes reality, highlights the
need for structured workforce development, education and training and
describes the opportunities afforded by assistive technology.
This
book is of prime informative and practical value given that pressures
on dementia services are projected to mount across the world against a
backdrop of limited resources and expertise.
Designing and Delivering Dementia Services
- Defines the problems involved in meeting an increasing demand for dementia care services in a poorer world
- Maps initiatives and developments in the design and configuration of these services in a variety of international settings
- Analyses these developments against the background of political and health economic circumstances
- Provides a road map of where health services should go in response to this growing challenge.
The
first book to define, analyse and map initiatives for dementia care
services in a time of increasing demand and decreasing resources, this
book is essential reading for commissioners, senior clinicians and
service planners in health and social care. It will also be of interest
to academic researchers involved in qualitative services research as
well as quantitative health economic research, health and social care
managers and those involved in workforce planning and development.