ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: About 50% of the 65,000 elderly with dementia in Norway live in their own homes, and are cared for by their families and social and health care personnel in the municipalities. According to governmental documents, the provision of help to demented patients should be predictable, continuous, individually tailored, and carried out by few helpers. The purpose of this study was to examine public social and health services provided to demented patients living at home. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Provision of public care to 460 patients from 24 municipalities, was recorded for seven consecutive days. The average patient age was 82 years (SD 7.1), 74% were women. Degree of dementia was assessed with the Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR). Functional status and need of help was assessed with the Rapid Disability Rating Scale-2 (RDRS 2). RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION: . Of the 460 patients, 54% had received a diagnosis by a physician. On average, 8 (SD 4) different people helped for 5.4 ( SD: 6.3) hours a week. Help was most frequently given to; take medicines, prepare food, carry out personal Activity of Daily Living (ADL) and to clean the house. Some did not receive enough help and a few received too much. Patients with a dementia diagnosis did not receive more help than those without. The results indicate that Norwegian municipalities provide a substantial amount of health services, but fail to tailor plans according to individual needs.
