Person-centred care of people with severe Alzheimer's disease: current status and ways forward

Abstract

When caring for people with severe Alzheimer's disease (AD), the concept of the person being central is increasingly advocated in clinical practice and academia as an approach to deliver high-quality care. The aim of person-centred care, which emanates from phenomological perspectives on AD, is to acknowledge the personhood of people with AD in all aspects of their care. It generally includes the recognition that the personality of the person with AD is increasingly concealed rather than lost; personalisation of the person's care and their environment; offering shared decision-making; interpretation of behaviour from the viewpoint of the person; and prioritising the relationship as much as the care tasks. However, questions remain about how to provide, measure, and explore clinical outcomes of person-centred care. In this Review, we summarise the current knowledge about person-centred care for people with severe AD and highlight the areas in need of further research.