Caregiver appraisals of lucid episodes in people with late-stage Alzheimer's disease or related dementias

Joan M. Griffin, Kyungmin Kim, Joseph E. Gaugler, Virginia S. Biggar, Theresa Frangiosa, Lauren R. Bangerter, Alexander Batthyany, Dawn M. Finnie, Maria I. Lapid

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Introduction: Little is known about how family caregivers who witness unexpected and spontaneous communication among people in late stages of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) appraise these episodes of lucidity (EL). Methods: In an electronic, cross-sectional survey for former and current caregivers who participate in UsAgainstAlzheimer's A-LIST®, participants who reported witnessing an EL were asked how positive and stressful ELs were, if they made or changed decisions based on an EL, and what resources they sought out to explain ELs. Results: Caregivers reported 72% of ELs to be quite a bit or very positive, 17% to be stressful, and 10% to be both stressful and positive. Twelve percent of caregivers changed care plans because of ELs and 13% sought out information about ELs. Discussion: These exploratory data suggest caregiver reactions to EL vary. Caregivers may change or postpone care decisions due to EL, and few resources exist to address caregiver queries about EL.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbere12313
JournalAlzheimer's and Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment and Disease Monitoring
Volume14
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors wish to acknowledge the participants who gave their time and shared their experiences for this research and the Kern Center for the Science of Healthcare Delivery at Mayo Clinic. This study was supported by funding from National Institute on Aging, Grant #5R21AG069767-02.

Funding Information:
The authors wish to acknowledge the participants who gave their time and shared their experiences for this research and the Kern Center for the Science of Healthcare Delivery at Mayo Clinic. This study was supported by funding from National Institute on Aging, Grant #5R21AG069767‐02.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring published by Wiley Periodicals, LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.

Keywords

  • Alzheimer's disease and related dementias
  • appraisal
  • family caregivers
  • lucidity
  • paradoxical lucidity

PubMed: MeSH publication types

  • Journal Article

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Caregiver appraisals of lucid episodes in people with late-stage Alzheimer's disease or related dementias'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this