Matt Janicki, PhD and Kathy Service, RN, MS, FNP-BC, CDDN
Community housing for adults with intellectual disability (ID) and dementia (AD) is becoming more prevalent. The Wichita Project, a longitudinal study of several group homes (GHs) for adults with ID and dementia examined several resident and administrative factors – which would have implications for the development and maintenance of community dementia care services. Two groups of adults with ID, 15 with dementia and 15 matched controls (COs), were followed over 10 years. At the start of the study, the with-dementia residents lived in 5-bed-each dementia group homes and the control participants resided in general group homes or apartments. Over time, about 2/3s of the adults with dementia died and two matched controls also died. Useful information gleaned included health and function factors differentiating adults with dementia from adults without dementia. Deaths occurred at age-norms, but comparative co-morbidities showed adults with dementia had significantly more classic cognitive and physical health issues associated with dementia and physical debilitation. Providing small home care for adults with dementia also led to a need for variations in staffing patterns and periods of intensity of care depending on severity of dementia. These findings can help with planning long-term use of such group homes and other community supports so that adults with ID can receive dementia capable care in a community-based specialized setting. Covered will be what agencies and families might to identify care needs and design dementia-capable services.
Learning Objectives:
Healthy Brain Webinar Series is presented by the HealthMatters Program (https://www.healthmattersprogram.org), Department of Disability and Human Development, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago in partnership with National Task Group on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices (NTG) and is Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, The Healthy Brain Initiative Award #1 NU58DP006782-01-00 supported the development of this website. Contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not represent the official views of CDC.
