Improving communication for persons with dementia
Abstract
Older adults with hearing loss and dementia may be particularly at risk for further cognitive and functional decline due to the combined effects of hearing loss and dementia on communication and social engagement. Further, the presence of hearing loss can exacerbate and magnify dementia symptoms, making the disease stage appear more severe than the person’s true cognitive function. Importantly, behaviors commonly assessed for guiding dementia care–including, depression, agitation, anxiety, apathy, and irritability–may be lessened by improved communication. The purpose of this project is to provide simple hearing intervention services in a group care environment to overcome some of the communication barriers as well as access to treatment issues faced by older adults with dementia and their families. By integrating services into an interdisciplinary, comprehensive health program, this project aims improve communication for at risk adults attending a Day Health Center for social engagement opportunities. Developing and implementing an affordable and accessible intervention that improves the listening environment, staff awareness, and use of amplification devices among individuals with dementia in group care settings provides a low-risk, low-cost, non-pharmacological treatment that may improve social engagement and reduce dementia-related behavioral symptoms.
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Author Licensing Addendum
This Licensing Addendum ("Addendum") is entered into between the undersigned Author(s) and Canadian Acoustics journal published by the Canadian Acoustical Association (hereinafter referred to as the "Publisher"). The Author(s) and the Publisher agree as follows:
-
Retained Rights: The Author(s) retain(s) the following rights:
- The right to reproduce, distribute, and publicly display the Work on the Author's personal website or the website of the Author's institution.
- The right to use the Work in the Author's teaching activities and presentations.
- The right to include the Work in a compilation for the Author's personal use, not for sale.
-
Grant of License: The Author(s) grant(s) to the Publisher a worldwide exclusive license to publish, reproduce, distribute, and display the Work in Canadian Acoustics and any other formats and media deemed appropriate by the Publisher.
-
Attribution: The Publisher agrees to include proper attribution to the Author(s) in all publications and reproductions of the Work.
-
No Conflict: This Addendum is intended to be in harmony with, and not in conflict with, the terms and conditions of the original agreement entered into between the Author(s) and the Publisher.
-
Copyright Clause: Copyright on articles is held by the Author(s). The corresponding Author has the right to grant on behalf of all Authors and does grant on behalf of all Authors, a worldwide exclusive license to the Publisher and its licensees in perpetuity, in all forms, formats, and media (whether known now or created in the future), including but not limited to the rights to publish, reproduce, distribute, display, store, translate, create adaptations, reprints, include within collections, and create summaries, extracts, and/or abstracts of the Contribution.