Alzheimer's Association towards Guidelines for Dementia Care Practice: Recommendations with emphasis on high‐quality, person‐centered care in long‐term and community‐based care settings

Since its inception, the Alzheimer’s Association has been a leader in outlining principles and practices of quality care for individuals living with dementia. Early on, the Guidelines for Dignity described goals for quality care, followed by Key Elements of Dementia Care and the Dementia Care Practice Recommendations, as more evidence became available. In its new iteration, detailed in 10 area-specific articles published in the February supplement of The Gerontologist, the Alzheimer’s Association 2018 Dementia Care Practice Recommendations outline 56 recommendations grounded in the fundamentals of person-centered [1]. In addition to providing greater details about each recommendation, the articles provide evidence and expert opinion supporting each recommendation. They were developed by 27 dementia care experts convened by the Alzheimer’s Association and are based on a comprehensive review of current evidence, best practice, and expert opinion. The recommendations seek to better define quality care across all care settings and throughout the disease course. They are intended for professional care providers who work with individuals living with dementia and their families in long-term and community-based care settings. Person-centered care, the foundation of the recommendations, is an approach to caregiving that respects those receiving care as individuals with unique needs and preferences; attempts to promote respect, engagement, individuality, independence, and a better quality of life for those receiving and providing care; and addresses the changing needs of each person with dementia. With the fundamentals of person-centered care as the foundation, the Dementia Care Practice Recommendations illustrate the goals of quality dementia care in the following additional areas: