The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People Who Have Alzheimer Disease, Other Dementias, and Memory Loss

by Nancy L. Mace, Peter V. Rabins

Overview

After 35 years, still the indispensable guide for countless families and professionals caring for someone with dementia.

Through five editions, The 36-Hour Day has been an essential resource for families who love and care for people with Alzheimer disease. Whether a person has Alzheimer disease or another form of dementia, he or she will face a host of problems. The 36-Hour Day will help family members and caregivers address these challenges and simultaneously cope with their own emotions and needs.

Featuring useful takeaway messages and informed by recent research into the causes of and the search for therapies to prevent or cure dementia, this edition includes new information on

• devices to make life simpler and safer for people who have dementia
• strategies for delaying behavioral and neuropsychiatric symptoms
• changes in Medicare and other health care insurance laws
• palliative care, hospice care, durable power of attorney, and guardianship
• dementia due to traumatic brain injury
• choosing a residential care facility
• support groups for caregivers, friends, and family members

The central idea underlying the book—that much can be done to improve the lives of people with dementia and of those caring for them—remains the same. The 36-Hour Day is the definitive dementia care guide.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421422237
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	04/18/2017
Series:	A Johns Hopkins Press Health Book
Edition description:	sixth edition
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Nancy L. Mace, MA, is retired. She was a consultant to and member of the board of directors of the Alzheimer's Association and an assistant in psychiatry and coordinator of the T. Rowe and Eleanor Price Teaching Service of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Peter V. Rabins, MD, MPH, is professor emeritus of psychiatry and medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He was the founding director of its geriatric psychiatry program and the first holder of the Richman Family Professorship of Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders. He is the author of Is It Alzheimer's? 101 Answers to Your Most Pressing Questions about Memory Loss and Dementia, also available from Johns Hopkins University Press.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface
1. Dementia
2. Getting Medical Help for the Person Who Has Dementia
3. Characteristic Behavioral Symptoms in People Who Have Dementia
4. Problems in Independent Living
5. Problems Arising in Daily Care
6. Medical Problems
7. Managing the Behavioral and Neuropsychiatric Symptoms of Dementia
8. Symptoms Associated with Mood Change and Suspiciousness
9. Special Arrangements if you Become Ill
10. Getting Outside Help
11. You and the person Who Has Dementia
12. How Caring for a Person Who Has Dementia Affects You
13. Caring for Yourself
14. For Children and Teenagers
15. Financial and Legal Issues
16. Long-Term Care Arrangements
17. Preventing and Delaying Cognitive Decline
18. Brain Disorders and the Causes of Dementia
19. Research in Dementia
Index

What People are Saying About This

"From its knowing title to its knows-everything contents, The 36-Hour Day "gets" what you're going through. This encyclopedia of dementia care misses no aspect of life affected, from tough behaviors to challenged relationships to medication decisions  — describing each with both the honesty and compassion we caregivers deeply need."

Meryl Comer

"Having lived the chapter and verse of The 36-Hour Day for twenty years, I know how this book empowers families with constructive and compassionate advice. This new edition offers definitive testament to the slow destructive force of Alzheimer’s disease and how it challenges families caring for loved ones with dementia. It is a must read by all those who serve our aging generation."

Lisa Genova

"Thorough and compassionate, offering accessible information and practical advice, The 36-Hour Day is a necessary resource for families living with dementia. Still the gold standard, this book is the trusted reference that families turn to first—and over and over—for guidance and support in caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease."

Jeffrey Cummings

"We yearn for the day when there is no Alzheimer’s, no Alzheimer patients, and no Alzheimer caregivers. Until then, there is The 36-Hour Day."

Paula Spencer Scott

"From its knowing title to its knows-everything contents, The 36-Hour Day "gets" what you're going through. This encyclopedia of dementia care misses no aspect of life affected, from tough behaviors to challenged relationships to medication decisions  — describing each with both the honesty and compassion we caregivers deeply need."

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Lorraine J. Phillips, PhD (University of Delaware School of Nursing)
Description: Given that one in 10 people age 65 years and older have dementia and that dementia prevalence increases with age, it is important for all of society to have a greater understanding of the disease process, diagnostic and treatment options, the challenges surrounding living with dementia and caring for someone with dementia, and the needs of all involved. Now in its sixth edition, this is a comprehensive guidebook for caregivers of persons with dementia. The authors expertly address the entire spectrum of concerns caregivers may face, from medical diagnosis and treatment to daily care and relationships.
Purpose: The purpose is to share knowledge about dementia diagnoses, living with dementia, caring for someone with dementia, and ways to live optimally when dementia develops. In this sixth edition of an enormously popular book, the authors elegantly communicate insights from their professional knowledge and experience as well as authentic stories of joy and sorrow from persons with dementia and their caregivers.
Audience: The authors have mastered the art of writing for a wide audience, from families and caregivers to healthcare providers. Although readers do not need a science or medical background to understand the content, the book is a fascinating read for a professional audience as well. The authors' compassionate treatment of sensitive topics is noteworthy. As a retired member of the Alzheimer's Association board of directors, Nancy L. Mace, MA, brings credible authority to the needs of caregivers. Peter V. Rabins, MD, MPH, now a professor at the University of Maryland, is an expert in geriatric psychiatry and previously held the Richman Family Professorship of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Features: The book is rich with personal examples from both persons with dementia and caregivers of persons with dementia. Topics covered in the 19 chapters include dementia diagnosis and treatment, medical problems associated with dementia, behavioral and neuropsychiatric symptoms, daily care needs of the person with dementia, caregiving challenges and strategies, financial and legal issues, support for the caregiver, long-term care options, and dementia research. The sidebars scattered throughout the chapters offer important tips and resources, such as the URL for the Nursing Home Compare website. Incorporating personal narratives in each chapter conveys the universal shared experience of dementia caregiving.
Assessment: This book considers all aspects of the dementia experience with the seriousness it deserves. It is useful as a reference for caregivers as well as practitioners who care for persons with dementia and their caregivers. Caregivers could reference this when interacting with healthcare professionals treating their loved one with dementia.

Doody's Review Service

"Continues to be the 'bible' of recommendation for any caregiver whose family member suffers from dementia."

Bookwatch

"Recommended to all caregivers and families of persons with dementia as an indispensable source of valuable information on a very wide range of topics."

Case Management Journals

"The 36-Hour Day, 6th edition, serves as an essential guidebook full of detailed, practical, and compassionate advice for those caring for a PWD. This edition, released 36 years after the original, continues to provide relevant, practical, and up-to-date advice to those providing care to an individual with memory loss. The 36-Hour Day continues to serve as the gold-standard care guide for millions of dementia caregivers."

The Gerontologist - Kara B. Dassel

"The best guide of its kind."

Chicago Sun-Times

"An excellent guide with general information for family caregivers of persons with dementia... The text is person focused and describes the complexity and depth of the care required not only for persons with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia but also for caregivers."

Adaptation and Aging Activities

"Excellent guidance and clear information of a kind that the family needs... The authors offer the realistic advice that sometimes it is better to concede the patient's frailties than to try to do something about them, and that a compassionate sense of humor often helps."

New York Times

"From its knowing title to its knows-everything contents, The 36-Hour Day "gets" what you're going through. This encyclopedia of dementia care misses no aspect of life affected, from tough behaviors to challenged relationships to medication decisions  — describing each with both the honesty and compassion we caregivers deeply need."

Paula Spencer Scott

"An admirably realistic guide to caring for people with Alzheimer's."

New York Review of Books

"An excellent book for families who are caring for persons with dementia... A book that physicians can confidently recommend to the families of their patients."

Journal of the American Medical Association

"This is for carers and families, but equally should be on the reading list for nursing and medical students. Every ward should have a copy as nursing and clinicians can learn so much from this and ensure a high standard of care for these patients."

Nursing Times

"For a reader who wants a book about Alzheimer’s and caregiving, this is still the one to buy. Recommended."

Choice

"Both a guide and a legend."

Chicago Tribune

"Having lived the chapter and verse of The 36-Hour Day for twenty years, I know how this book empowers families with constructive and compassionate advice. This new edition offers definitive testament to the slow destructive force of Alzheimer's disease and how it challenges families caring for loved ones with dementia. It is a must read by all those who serve our aging generation."

Meryl Comer

"We yearn for the day when there is no Alzheimer's, no Alzheimer patients, and no Alzheimer caregivers. Until then, there is The 36-Hour Day."

Jeffrey Cummings

"The best guide of its kind."

Chicago Sun-Times

"Both a guide and a legend."

Chicago Tribune