SOCIAL-HEALTHCARE COORDINATION AND INTEGRAL EVALUATION IN DEMENTIA: THE ROLE OF ALZHEIMER FAMILY ASSOCIATIONS

Abstract

Coordination of social and healthcare services in Spain is a task that has just recently begun to develop. Fitting dementias in dependency evaluation is one of the questions that is analyzed in this article, where the contribution of family associations in the diagnostic process, caregiving and provision of services and/or resources are discussed. A general evaluation protocol for diagnosis of dementia is presented and the relevance of early detection of the initial stages as mild cognitive impairment is analyzed. Professional psychologists could be considered “case management” facilitating agents in evaluating and allocating services.

Keywords

• Dementia
• Early diagnosis
• Dependence evaluation
• Social-healthcare coordination.