My background is in phyical therapy- so it has been fun to contribute to an education document for PT’s and PTA’s who practice in home health to help them understand and better recognize the presence and unique aspects of dementia, delirium and depression. They can look alike in older adults but even more challenging is that they can co-exist!
In particular it was exciting to work on this for the Home Health Section of APTA since so many people who receive home health services may not be getting out to see a physician as often. This means PT’s are going to need to be acutely aware of subtle changes that may indicate a dementia, or new onset/worsening depression. Similarly, if another medical condition is exacerbated, identifying a new onset of delirium is critical to getting appropriate medical attention quickly.
To learn more there a several options. The Home Health Section has made this resource free for download. You can find it here: https://www.homehealthsection.org/store/ViewProduct.aspx?id=12263190 You can listen to a podcast on the subject that they produced here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/home-health-minute-home-health-physical-therapy-geriatrics/id1180988754?mt=2&i=1000421835408 or you can join me and my co-authors Ken Miller and Sean Hagey at APTA Combined Sections Meeting (CSM) in Washington, DC on Friday January 25th at 3pm for our 2 hour educational session about the 3 D’s https://apta.expoplanner.com/index.cfm?do=expomap.sess&event_id=29&session_id=15197