Print

Mail

wiki links

Pilot program helps families cope with pain of dementia

Although the loss of a relative to dementia can drag on for many years, families can still take an active role to improve the quality of a dementia sufferer's last days, a patients' families' group said.

A survey conducted with 55 family members of persons suffering from dementia who went through a program to learn more about dementia and how to deal with it found that 80 percent of patients said their family member's behavior had improved after the program.

The three-year pilot program, organized by the Kung Tai Medical Education Foundation and sponsored by the Department of Health, is in its second year.

"We have to help these families -- they are the silent victims of dementia," said Yeh Bin-chian (葉炳強) of National Taiwan University's department of neurology and one of the facilitators in the program.

"Families can minimize the pain and lighten the burden associated with caring for a loved one suffering from dementia by learning more about the disease," Yeh said.

Understanding can be difficult when loved ones suddenly start to behave in a bizarre fashion.

"When my mother-in-law first developed Parkinson's disease, we attributed the symptoms to natural forgetfulness," Wang Hui-mei (王惠美) said. "We did not realize she was seriously sick until she accused me of trying to seduce my father-in-law."

"Me, my husband and my father-in-law all yelled at her for making such a ridiculous claim. All of a sudden, the emotional turmoil brought out all her symptoms," she said.

The stress was overwhelming, she said.

"My husband ended up in NTU's mental ward for heavy depression and a suicide attempt," she said

Wang Yi-min (王憶敏), a psychologist who leads many meetings in the program, said that readjusting unreasonable expectations is necessary to avoid frustration and unnecessary emotional pain when dealing with people afflicted with dementia.
This story has been viewed 1875 times.