Survey of Current Status and Cognition of Activities of Daily Living in Dementia Patients: the 2018 “Il-sang-ye-chan” Campaign

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Disability associated with activities of daily living (ADL) is thebasis of dementia diagnosis and is an important factor in the care of dementia patients. Thestatus of awareness and burden of ADL disability in dementia patients was investigated sixyears ago and used as an important reference for “Il-sang-ye-chan” campaign. They were reinvestigatedin six years and compared with previous results. Methods: The survey included caregivers of 100 dementia patients listed at the four regionaldementia centers. Structured open and closed questions about ADL were asked. Assessmentsincluded age, sex, education level, economic status, severity of dementia, caregiving pattern,current statues and cognition of ADL, and caregiver needs. Results: The cognition of ADL was still very low (43%). Increased stress among caregiverswas the biggest burden, and they frequently suffered from outing disability (56%), recentmemory loss (48%), and loss of bowel/bladder control (40%). The economic burden hasbeen greatly reduced compared with the burden six years ago and the needs of caregivers werestill highly about educational guide lines or programs. Conclusions: Continued interest and further investigation into ADL disability of dementiapatients are needed. Korean Dementia Association will further expand the “Il-sang-ye-chan”program: via a multi-domain cognitive intervention program under the Care for ADL indementia and Relieve symptoms in Dementia Project.