Lo Raymond Y
Division of Cognitive/Geriatric Neurology, Department of Neurology, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Hualien, Taiwan.
School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan.
Tzu Chi Med J. 2019 Aug 2;32(1):14-18. doi: 10.4103/tcmj.tcmj_116_19. eCollection 2020 Jan-Mar.
The number of dementia cases increases with age, and the prevalence of dementia at the age above 80 is approaching 20% in Taiwan. Dementia is not simply a neurological disorder, but also a long-term care issue in public health and a matter of social adaptation. Scientific discoveries about dementia diagnostics, therapeutics, and preventive strategy have become the focus of media attention, but always updated and overwhelmed, which appears to increase rather than decrease the uncertainty and complexity of health communication in dementia care. Health literacy is essential for patients to understand medical information, utilize medical resources, and make shared decisions; however, the capacity to handle health information is often compromised in older adults with cognitive decline. Both ends of the increased uncertainty in dementia science and the reduced capacity in older adults are major challenges in dementia care. Dementia literacy, defined as knowledge and beliefs regarding dementia that aid recognition, management, or prevention, plays a vital role in effective care risk assessment and communication. However, little is known about the current state of dementia literacy among older adults, people with dementia, and their caregivers, and how well the dementia care practice can be implemented at the individual level is questionable. Empowering caregivers with adequate dementia literacy and developing a risk communication model in practice will translate the power of knowledge to effective care strategies, thus ameliorating the caregiver burden and enhancing the life quality of people with dementia in the long run.
失智症病例数随年龄增长而增加，在台湾，80岁以上人群的失智症患病率接近20%。失智症不仅是一种神经疾病，也是公共卫生领域的长期照护问题以及社会适应问题。关于失智症诊断、治疗和预防策略的科学发现已成为媒体关注的焦点，但这些信息总是不断更新且铺天盖地，这似乎增加而非减少了失智症照护中健康沟通的不确定性和复杂性。健康素养对于患者理解医疗信息、利用医疗资源并做出共同决策至关重要；然而，认知能力下降的老年人处理健康信息的能力往往会受到影响。失智症科学领域不确定性的增加和老年人能力的下降这两方面，都是失智症照护中的重大挑战。失智症素养被定义为有助于识别、管理或预防失智症的相关知识和信念，在有效的照护风险评估和沟通中起着至关重要的作用。然而，对于老年人、失智症患者及其照护者的失智症素养现状，以及失智症照护实践在个体层面的实施效果如何，我们知之甚少。赋予照护者足够的失智症素养并在实践中建立风险沟通模式，将把知识的力量转化为有效的照护策略，从而从长远来看减轻照护者负担，提高失智症患者的生活质量。
