Factors Associated with Supportive Care Service Use Among California Alzheimer's Disease Patients and Their Caregivers.

Background: Existing literature on factors associated with supportive care service (SCS) use is limited. A better understanding of these factors could help tailor SCS to the needs of frequent users, as well as facilitate targeted outreach to populations that underutilize available services.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of SCS use and to identify factors associated with, and barriers to, service use.

Gender differences in sexual behaviors of AD patients and their relationship to spousal caregiver well-being.

Objectives: Little is known about gender differences in sexuality among community-dwelling heterosexual couples in which one partner has Alzheimer's disease (AD). Few studies have examined gender differences in specific sexual behaviors or their associations with caregiver well-being. This study evaluated the impact of gender differences on intimacy and sexual satisfaction in marital relationships in which one partner has AD.

The impact of dementia and mild memory impairment (MMI) on intimacy and sexuality in spousal relationships.

Background: Sexuality and intimacy in couples in which one partner is affected by dementia has been widely researched. Few studies have explored these issues in couples where one partner is affected by mild memory impairment (MMI) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The objectives of this study were to (1) identify and contrast issues of intimacy and sexuality that spousal caregivers of persons with MMI and dementia may experience, and (2) identify future lines of research in this population.

Diagnosing depression in Alzheimer disease with the national institute of mental health provisional criteria.

Objective: To compare the rates of depression in Alzheimer Disease (AD) determined using National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) provisional criteria for depression in AD (NIMH-dAD) to those determined using other established depression assessment tools.

Design: Descriptive longitudinal cohort study.

Setting: The Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers of California.

Underreporting of behavioral problems in older hospitalized patients.

This descriptive study examined reports of behavioral problems among older patients hospitalized in acute care medical settings. Greater numbers of behavioral problems were reported by nursing staff on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire than were documented in medical charts over the same time period. Such underreporting may have clinical and administrative implications.