Case descriptions for use when training users of the IDEAL schedule

This chapter provides four case histories that can be used in the training of future users of the International Schedule for the Integrated Assessment and Staging of Care for Dementia (IDEAL schedule) and its accompanying ‘Menu of care options’. The case histories describe patients with different types and severity levels of dementia and have been written in a manner that makes them understandable in different settings or countries, as well as having been shown to be useful in the training of users of the schedule in different countries. Ratings for the case histories are provided according to the seven dimensions of the IDEAL schedule, with the consequent links to the ‘Menu of care options’. The chapter also includes suggestions about the development of local case histories typical for the setting in which the schedule will be used when training users in that setting.

International Schedule for Integrated Assessment and Staging of Care for Dementia (IDEAL schedule)

This chapter includes a complete copy of the IDEAL schedule, including its seven dimensions: 1) activities of daily living; 2) physical health; 3) cognitive functioning; 4) behavioural and psychological symptoms; 5) social support; 6) informal care, (which includes two sub-dimensions: time spent on care by informal carer and carer stress); and 7) formal professional care (which includes three sub-dimensions: total number of hours of formal professional care received, total number of hours of formal professional care needed, and additional dementia-related care needed). Each dimension has a set of anchor points, which assist the user of the schedule in rating the different dimensions appropriately. Information is also provided on how to calculate the total sum score on the IDEAL schedule.

Overview of IDEAL schedule and how to use it

This chapter gives a detailed description of the International Schedule for the Integrated Assessment and Staging of Care for Dementia (IDEAL schedule), as well as of the glossary that accompanies the schedule. It provides information necessary to decide who may use the schedule, what purposes the assessments may serve, and how the schedule should be used. The chapter describes the IDEAL schedule’s structure, as well as its seven dimensions and the anchor points that the schedule has for each of those dimensions, and the schedule’s rating system. It also describes how to train staff in the use of the IDEAL schedule, how to conduct a clinical interview with the IDEAL schedule, and what to take into account in finalizing the assessment after the IDEAL interview.

How was the IDEAL schedule developed and tested?

This chapter provides information on how the International Schedule for the Integrated Assessment and Staging of Care for Dementia (IDEAL schedule) was developed and tested. It includes information on the three developmental stages of the IDEAL schedule: 1) a series of focus groups, which involved convening stakeholders who were engaged in the process of care for people with dementia to assess the need for a new dementia staging schedule, and to identify the ideal design, necessary items, and characteristics for such a staging schedule; 2) a pilot study with the draft schedule and using case histories to assess inter-rater reliability of assessments obtained using the schedule; and 3) a large-scale cross-country field study to test the schedule’s inter-rater reliability when used to assess patients in clinical practice. Information about the feasibility/acceptability and validity testing of the IDEAL schedule is also included in this chapter.

The aims of the IDEAL schedule

This chapter provides an overview of the purposes of the International Schedule for the Integrated Assessment and Staging of Care for Dementia (IDEAL schedule) and its user manual. The IDEAL user manual provides information that is needed when learning how to use the IDEAL schedule. The schedule is a global clinical staging schedule for dementia, which allows an assessment of a person across seven dimensions (activities of daily living, physical health, cognitive functioning, behavioural and psychological symptoms, social support, informal care, and formal professional care), and provides ability-to-function information as well as suggestions concerning care elements corresponding to the level of impairments of function. Attached to the IDEAL schedule is a ‘Menu of care options’ with recommendations for interventions for different stages of severity of dementia, as measured by the IDEAL schedule.

Menu of care options

This chapter provides detailed information on the ‘Menu of care options’ that is attached to the International Schedule for the Integrated Assessment and Staging of Care for Dementia (IDEAL schedule). It provides recommended priorities for interventions (although not all possible interventions) for each of the different symptoms and severity patterns of dementia, as measured by the IDEAL schedule. The chapter includes an overview of the ‘Menu of care options’, a full copy of the ‘Menu of care options’ itself (which can be applied across countries worldwide), and five country example tables of the ‘Menu of care options’—for the Netherlands, Spain, Croatia, India, and Nigeria—illustrating the kind of interventions that may be relevant in countries with different levels of resources and experience. The chapter also includes a sub-chapter on the ‘Dementia Networking’ approach used for dementia care in the Netherlands.

Glossary for the IDEAL schedule

This chapter provides a definition of the terms used in the International Schedule for the Integrated Assessment and Staging of Care for Dementia (IDEAL schedule) and provides further details for each of the schedule’s seven dimensions and how these should be rated. It also gives examples for each anchor point of the IDEAL schedule’s dimensions to help healthcare professionals who have experience working with people living with dementia in the correct application of the schedule in clinical practice and research. The glossary is a key component of the IDEAL schedule and should be used alongside the schedule, including within training.