Abilities and activities of patients with dementia in day hospitals

The proportion of individuals with dementia is increasing in all kinds of institutions. Specialised day hospitals are now being developed as an alternative to long term care for the demented. Twelve day hospital wards, with 312 individuals suffering from dementia, were included in a study aiming to assess functional abilities and frequencies of participation in different activities. Eighty-nine per cent of the day hospital patients could be classified as having a dementia disease. Seventy-eight per cent of the population were dependent on some kind of help from a caregiver in the performance of ADL activities. The most common occupations that could be seen in the programmes were physical activities, entertainment, and personal care activities. The activities were often undertaken as large group activities, often including more than ten patients. The functional abilities that characterise the population are comparable with those of the population living in pensioners' service blocks with full board.