Living Alone With Alzheimer's Disease: Effects on Health and Social Service Utilization Patterns

Webber, Pamela; Fox, Patrick J.; Burnette, Denise

doi:10.1093/geront/34.1.8

Cited by 65 publications

(80 citation statements)

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“…In addition, our data indicate that PWD living alone did not seem to have more health risks-they did not differ from those not living alone regarding depression, quality of life, falls, drug related problems, or malnutrition. Thus, our findings do not agree with the results of former studies that showed that PWD living alone are less cognitively and functionally impaired, and at the same time are at a higher risk for health problems [3,[5][6][7]. A possible explanation for these discrepancies could be differences in the study samples.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…The majority of these patients were widowed (70%), implying that a major reason for living alone was the death of the patients' spouse. These findings are in line with the results of previous studies [3,[5][6][7]. Surprisingly, regarding the clinical variables examined we did not find any statistically significant differences between PWD who lived alone and those who did not.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…However, multivariate analyses that were adjusted for confounding variables did not confirm these associations. Our findings are in line with previous studies that showed that PWD living alone utilize health care offers less frequently, but professional services more often than PWD who are not living alone [3,6,7]. A possible reason for the differences in the study outcomes regarding clinical variables could be that German PWD living alone may have better access to professional services than PWD in countries like the US.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…In addition, they have more unmet needs, less access to health care, higher risks of problems with medication, untreated medical conditions, falls and injuries, earlier nursing home transition, and inadequate self-care such as malnutrition, poor hygiene, or inadequate clothing or housing. These risks increase with the progression of the disease [3][4][5][6][7][8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Living Alone with Dementia: Prevalence, Correlates and the Utilization of Health and Nursing Care Services

Eichler

Hoffmann

Hertel

et al. 2016

JAD

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Abstract. Background:Little is known about the proportion and the characteristics of community-dwelling people with dementia (PWD) living alone in Germany. Objectives: To analyze the prevalence of PWD living alone (with and without the support of an informal caregiver) and socio-demographical and clinical characteristics as well as health and nursing care utilization associated with living alone. Methods: DelpHi-MV (Dementia: Life-and person-centered help in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) is a general practitioner-based, randomized controlled intervention trial. The present analyses are based on baseline data of 511 patients (≥70 years, community-dwelling) who had screened positive for dementia (DemTect <9). Results: N = 251 (51%) of the patients lived alone. PWD living alone were statistically significantly more often female, older, and more often widowed than those not living alone. About 9% of the patients (n = 24) were not supported by any informal caregiver. Regarding the clinical variables (cognitive and functional impairment, depression, falls, number of drugrelated problems, malnutrition, quality of life), there were no statistically significant group differences. Patients living alone utilized professional services such as home care, help with medication, home-delivered meals, or housekeeping assistance significantly more often. Multivariate analyses confirmed these findings. Conclusion: Our results reveal the high proportion of PWD living alone in Germany. PWD living alone did not seem to be at an increased health risk. Our findings indicate that living alone with dementia is possible. In order to ensure the sufficient provision of health and nursing care services for PWD living alone, providers should consider the present results for future planning.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Living Alone with Dementia: Prevalence, Correlates and the Utilization of Health and Nursing Care Services

Eichler

Hoffmann

Hertel

et al. 2016

JAD

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“…As these individual age, they are also likely to develop a dementing illness [18,28,29]. In contrast to a previously described population of AD patients who were living alone [30], we found no significant difference in mean subject age between those living alone and those living with a caregiver. Our population was quite a bit older (i.e.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 97%

Living Alone with Dementia

Ebly

Hogan

Rockwood

1999

Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord

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This report describes a population of individuals with dementia living alone in the community. Data were collected as part of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CSHA). We found that one third of the subjects in the CSHA sample with a dementia residing in the community lived alone. Whether their identified informal caregiver had thought about institutionalization was an important factor in actual short-term (2-year) institutionalization and appeared to be influenced by living arrangements. Caregivers of those living alone provided less hands-on assistance, experienced less burden, and were less likely to be depressed than those living with the demented person, but were more likely to have considered institutionalization. Presumably, this was driven by concerns about safety and support. How to support the growing numbers of individuals with dementia living alone in the community will be a significant challenge.

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Difficulty and help with activities of daily living among older adults living alone with cognitive impairment

Edwards

Brenowitz

Portacolone

et al. 2020

Alzheimer's & Dementia

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Introduction There is limited research on difficulties with activities of daily living (I/ADLs) among older adults living alone with cognitive impairment, including differences by race/ethnicity. Methods For U.S. Health and Retirement Study (2000–2014) participants aged 55+ living alone with cognitive impairment (4,666 individuals; 9,091 observations), we evaluated I/ADL difficulty and help. Results Among 4.3 million adults aged 55+ living alone with cognitive impairment, an estimated 46% reported an I/ADL difficulty; 72% reported not receiving help with an I/ADL. Women reported more difficulty than men. Compared to white women, black women were 22% more likely to report a difficulty without help, and Latina women were 36% more likely to report a difficulty with help. Among men, racial/ethnic differences in outcomes were not significant. Patterns of difficulty without help by race/ethnicity were similar among Medicaid beneficiaries. Discussion Findings call for targeted efforts to support older adults living alone with cognitive impairment.

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Living Alone With Alzheimer's Disease: Effects on Health and Social Service Utilization Patterns

Cited by 65 publications

References 0 publications

Living Alone with Dementia: Prevalence, Correlates and the Utilization of Health and Nursing Care Services

Living Alone with Dementia: Prevalence, Correlates and the Utilization of Health and Nursing Care Services

Living Alone with Dementia

Difficulty and help with activities of daily living among older adults living alone with cognitive impairment

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