engleski

The Use of Complementary Therapy in the Care of Eldely People Suffering from Dementia

Dementia is a syndrome which most often affects elderly people. Its characteristics are the inability to memorise, to learn, and to communicate as well as some behavioural and psychological symptoms. Today are so called complementary therapies increasingly mentioned for people suffering from dementia, and the most prominent of them are animal assisted therapy, art therapy, music therapy, and multisensory therapy. The goal of this paper is to investigate in what amount are complementary therapies useful for people with dementia from scientific papers. Available scientific databases have been searched with the help of certain key words, and their conclusions about the positive and negative effects of individual types of therapy on people suffering from dementia have been abstracted. All of the mentioned complementary therapies have a positive effect on the physical and psychological functioning of the diseased, but there are also some restrictive factors such as comorbidities, and the insufficient staff education. A detailed assessment of the patient, good education of the staff that conducts the therapy, and individual approach are needed for carrying out such types of therapy. Tools that determine the efficiency of that kind of therapy are also needed.

dementia, music therapy, art therapy, animal therapy, multisensory therapy

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