Despite the increasing awareness of delirium as a cause of altered mental status, many of these patients will not be diagnosed as such. This book has evolved out of more than four decades of the author's gerontological nursing experiences caring for people with dementia in a wide range of clinical settings, including acute care, long-term care, and home and community settings. The basic premise is that although the short-term nature of the care setting focuses on nursing interventions for immediate medical problems, nurses have numerous opportunities to incorporate dementia-specific interventions in care plans. The second edition includes two new chapters on the Emotional Needs of People with Dementia and Self-Neglect and Elder Abuse. The book has eighteen chapters organized into six parts. Part I discuss types of dementia and other commonly occurring conditions that have similar manifestations; the chapters focus on nursing responsibilities for assessment and management of patients whose mental status is altered by underlying conditions such as dementia or delirium. Part II describes how nurses can apply a person-centered approach to address dementia-related issues. Part III discusses nursing care issues at various stages of dementia, and Part IV provides information about addressing emotional and behavioral issues. Part V describes considerations related to specific care settings and provides information about nursing strategies for daily care, safety, and pain. Chapters in Part VI are a guide to broader aspects of care for people with dementia, including self-neglect and elder abuse and ethical and legal issues. The last chapter discusses nursing strategies to address the needs of caregivers of people with dementia. A major emphasis throughout the text is on relatively simple interventions that nurses can incorporate in their discharge plans to teach families and care partners about sources of information and support to address the needs of people with dementia.
