Alzheimer's Disease And Hospice Care: A Biopsychosocial Model Approach

Abstract

The document is designed for "lay people." That is, I wrote it specifically for family members of people with Alzheimer's disease in an effort to explain some of the things that happen during the course of the disease. I also wrote it as a potential care plan for terminally ill patients, particularly those with Alzheimer's disease, so that a patient or family member might have a basis to start from when approaching a physician about using the biopsychosocial model approach to treatment. Finally, I wrote it as a tribute to hospice care and the effect they have on terminally ill patients. Because this is not a doctoral thesis, there are, of course, other areas that need to be researched. I would like to see more in depth research into the cost effectiveness of some of the alternative areas of care for Alzheimer's patients: day care programs, nursing home placements, etc. I also think there could be more extensive research into the supports and drawbacks of the biopsychosocial model and the medical community's objections to the model. One of the problems with this aspect of the paper is that little has been printed in journals about the biopsychosocial model and, as such, little has been printed in objection to it. I think as the curricular reform in medical school education continues to take place, this topic will find ever increasing popularity amongst the medical community.