Community and long-term care supports for older adults with cognitive decline

This chapter addresses the impact of brain aging and cognitive decline for older adults in relation to long-term care support services. It reviews the impact of cognitive aging on older adults across service settings, beginning with informal (family) caregivers who provide a majority of care for older adults at home, and proceeding through increasing levels of care support. Long-term care services assist older adults to achieve activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. These services range from in-home supports to residential care in assisted living facilities and nursing homes. The population of older adults is growing and the number of persons with dementia is projected to triple in the next few decades with implications for families, institutional care providers, and society at large. Person-centered care is an important principal for quality of care for individuals with cognitive impairment and dementia.