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Quality of Life in Dementia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2014

Gary Naglie
Gary Naglie*
Affiliation:
The Division of General Internal Medicine, University Health Network
*
Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, 1008-550 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2A2, Canada.
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Abstract

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There is a growing consensus that quality of life (QOL) is an important outcome for assessing the effectiveness of interventions for dementia, but there is no agreement about how to best measure it. Various approaches to QOL assessment have been employed to measure the QOL of persons with dementia, including patient self-report, caregiver proxy report and observational assessment by trained observers. Furthermore, several dementia-specific measures of QOL have been developed, and several generic measures of QOL have been used to assess QOL in dementia. However, to date, QOL has rarely been included as an outcome measure in clinical trials of pharmacotherapy for dementia. This manuscript reviews the current state of knowledge about QOL assessment in dementia.

Résumé:

RÉSUMÉ:

La qualité de vie (QDV) est de plus en plus reconnue comme étant importante dans l'évaluation de l'efficacité des interventions dans la démence. Cependant il n'existe pas de consensus sur la meilleure façon de la mesurer. Différentes approches ont été utilisées pour l'évaluer chez des patients déments, dont l'auto-évaluation, l'évaluation indirecte par le soignant et l'évaluation par des observateurs entraînés. De plus, plusieurs instruments de mesure de la QDV spécifiques de la démence ont été développés et plusieurs mesures génériques de la QDV ont été utilisées pour évaluer la QDV dans la démence. Cependant, la QDV a rarement été incluse comme critère d'évaluation dans les essais cliniques en pharmacothérapie de la démence jusqu'à maintenant. Ce manuscrit revoit les connaissances actuelles sur l'évaluation de la QDV dans la démence.

Information

Type
Original Articles
Information
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences , Volume 34 , Issue S1 , March 2007 , pp. S57 - S61
Copyright
Copyright © The Canadian Journal of Neurological 2007

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