Use of health and human services by community-residing people with dementia

This article reports on the use of and need for health and human services by community-residing people with dementia. Telephone interviews were conducted with a sample of 608 caregivers of such individuals who were randomly selected from a dementia registry. Caregivers reported using an average of 3.2 health services and 3.7 human services to assist them in the care of the person with dementia. Despite the high level of services use, 73 percent of the caregivers indicated a high need for at least one additional service, and 72 percent indicated that additional services would reduce the likelihood of institutionalization of the recipient. Although services use was more frequent than expected, many caregivers lacked knowledge about services, a fact that suggested that social workers have a vital information and referral role to play.