Therapeutic Companionship: The Occupational Therapist's Role in a Home Based Program for Clients with Alzheimer's Disease

Abstract

French

The beneficial effects of activation and remotivation on persons who suffer from Alzheimer's Disease have been well documented; but the preponderance of such work is limited to day programs and long-term care facilities. Work aimed at the home situation relates mostly to day-to-day management of these patients with little reference to activation. The Alzheimer Home Assistance Program and the Ottawa-Carleton Regional Health Unit Home Care Program have collaborated in an effort to deliver therapeutic activity programs to the homes of persons with dementing conditions. This paper describes an initiative that combines the skills of occupational therapists and those of visiting homemakers to provide therapeutic programming and companionship for homebound victims of Alzheimer's disease.

Keywords

Alzheimer's disease Home health occupational therapy Home care services

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