Introduction

The project will identify studies on the effects and usefulness of various interventions and present them in a comparative report highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the respective studies and the studied interventions. Based on the findings, the project will aim to elaborate consensual guidelines on non-pharmacological interventions.

Duration

The project started in January 2006 and will end in December 2008.

Partners

Work package leader:

• Myrra VERNNOOIJ-DASSEN, University Medical Centre St. Radboud

Main partner:

• University Medical Centre St. Radboud

Associated partners:

• University of Hull
• University of Wales
• Hôpital Broca
• Fundación Intras
• Alzheimer Europe

Objectives

While pharmacological treatments undergo strict double-blind placebo-controlled studies, the same is very often not the case for the various psycho-social interventions used with people with dementia and their carers.

It would therefore be interesting to identify studies on the effects and usefulness of various interventions and to present them in a comparative report highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the respective studies and interventions and to elaborate consensus guidelines on the basis of this report.

Methodology

The work will follow the general methodology with a thorough literature search on existing studies on the usefulness and efficacy of psycho-social interventions in dementia. The various studies will be presented in a comparative report providing an overview of their commonalities and differences and highlighting the benefits of these non-pharmacological interventions.

On the basis of these findings, draft consensus guidelines for psycho-social interventions will be elaborated by the working group and circulated for consultation to the membership at large of the network. The received feed back will be integrated into the final consensus document, which will be approved by the Steering Committee and then circulated for endorsement to European organisations.

Milestones

• February 2006: Finalisation of research methodology
• October 2006: Finalisation of literature search
• June 2007: Comparative report and database on findings
• June 2008: Consensus document
• December 2008: Endorsement and presentation

Results

The work package will result in the publication of a comparative report on the various psycho-social interventions in dementia, as well as the development of consensus guidelines in this field.