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Building Resilience in Persons with Early-Stage Dementia and Their Care Partners

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Resilience in Aging

Abstract

The benefits of an early diagnosis of dementia are well documented. According to a 2015 Alzheimer’s Association policy brief, early detection and diagnosis offers a number of benefits for affected individuals and their families (Alzheimer’s Association, 2015). Early detection and diagnosis allows people living with dementia to access available treatments when they are more likely to provide some benefit, build a care team, participate in support services, complete appropriate advanced directives, and enroll in clinical trials or engage in experimental types of treatment options. Further people who know they have the disease and their care partners can make additional financial and legal arrangements before they are deemed unable to do so. Early detection means that people may be diagnosed while still working or just as they are beginning to enjoy retirement and a period in life when their children have moved out of the home. Despite some of the advantages of an early diagnosis , knowledge of this diagnosis is still devastating to individuals and requires significant coping, resilience and support .

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Duke Family Support Program, Box 3600 DUMC, Durham, NC, 27710, USA

    Bobbi G. Matchar

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke Family Support Program, Box 3600 DUMC, Durham, NC, 27710, USA

    Lisa P. Gwyther

  3. University of Maryland School of Nursing, 655 West Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA

    Elizabeth Galik

  4. School of Nursing, University of Maryland, College Park, USA

    Barbara Resnick

Authors
  1. Bobbi G. Matchar
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  2. Lisa P. Gwyther
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  3. Elizabeth Galik
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  4. Barbara Resnick
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lisa P. Gwyther .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Barbara Resnick

  2. Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Lisa P. Gwyther

  3. Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA

    Karen A. Roberto

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Matchar, B.G., Gwyther, L.P., Galik, E., Resnick, B. (2018). Building Resilience in Persons with Early-Stage Dementia and Their Care Partners. In: Resnick, B., Gwyther, L., Roberto, K. (eds) Resilience in Aging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04555-5_14

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