Dementia: New model of home care proves effective in practice

Specially qualified nurses with extended roles – known as Dementia Care Managers – can measurably improve the care of people with dementia living at home. This is the finding of a study conducted by DZNE in collaboration with partners from the medical and healthcare sectors. More than 400 people with mild to moderate dementia participated in this research. Care provided by Dementia Care Managers reduced unmet needs more effectively than standard care and improved the quality of life of the affected individuals. Based on these findings, the Innovation Committee of the “Federal Joint Committee” (G-BA) recommends transferring Dementia Care Management into routine care. The G-BA is the highest decision-making body of the joint self-government of physicians, dentists, hospitals and health insurance funds in Germany.

“Due to the positive experiences from previous pilot projects, Dementia Care Management is already recommended by the S3 medical guideline for dementia in Germany. It is also part of the National Dementia Strategy,” explains Prof. Wolfgang Hoffmann, health care researcher at DZNE’s Rostock/Greifswald site and managing director of the Institute for Community Medicine at Greifswald University Medicine. “The positive vote coming from the G-BA now gives this approach further momentum. We are very committed to implementing dementia care management in practice. The impact goes beyond the care of people with dementia: Dementia Care Management strengthens the responsibility of the nursing profession and effectively relieves the burden on general practitioners.”

The current study, called “InDePendent,” was funded by the G-BA through the Innovation Fund. Project partners included Greifswald University Medicine and Rostock University Medicine, the health insurance providers Techniker Krankenkasse and AOK Nordost as well as participating dementia and physician networks (HaffNet Management GmbH in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Demenz-Netzwerk Uckermark e.V., Gesundheitsnetz Frankfurt am Main eG (GNEF), MEDIS—Ärztenetz medizinischer Versorgung Südbrandenburg). The findings have been published in the international journal “Alzheimer’s & Dementia”.

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About Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen, DZNE (German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases): DZNE is one of the world’s leading research centers for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and ALS, which are associated with dementia, movement disorders and other serious health impairments. These diseases place an enormous burden on patients and their families, but also on society and the economy of healthcare. DZNE contributes significantly to the development and translation into practice of novel strategies for prevention, diagnosis, care and treatment. DZNE comprises ten sites across Germany and collaborates with universities, university hospitals, research centers and other institutions in Germany and throughout the world. DZNE is state-funded and a member of the Helmholtz Association and of the German Centers for Health Research. www.dzne.de/en