Personhood-Based Dementia Care: Using the Familial Caregiver as a Bridging Model for Professional Caregivers

With biomedicine at the forefront of our culture's understanding of illness, true healing is often neglected. It has become common practice to place elderly persons with Alzheimer's disease in nursing homes or long-term care facilities that do not always regard the sufferers' well-bei...

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Main Author: Michael Gabriel Fetterolf
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University Library System, University of Pittsburgh 2015-05-01
Series:Anthropology & Aging
Online Access:http://anthro-age.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/anthro-age/article/view/84
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author Michael Gabriel Fetterolf
author_facet Michael Gabriel Fetterolf
author_sort Michael Gabriel Fetterolf
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description With biomedicine at the forefront of our culture's understanding of illness, true healing is often neglected. It has become common practice to place elderly persons with Alzheimer's disease in nursing homes or long-term care facilities that do not always regard the sufferers' well-being as a top priority. This article draws from familial caregiving roles as a basis for understanding personhood, which I take to be a bridge between the world of a caregiver and the world of an Alzheimer's sufferer. Furthermore, through the modeling of professional caregiving strategies, I show how one might form meaningful relationships in long-term care facilities, and likewise provide the aging and afflicted person with forms of healing.
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spelling doaj.art-0a417102459b42eea1140b7221651f142022-12-22T00:28:46ZengUniversity Library System, University of PittsburghAnthropology & Aging2374-22672015-05-013618210010.5195/aa.2015.8492Personhood-Based Dementia Care: Using the Familial Caregiver as a Bridging Model for Professional CaregiversMichael Gabriel FetterolfWith biomedicine at the forefront of our culture's understanding of illness, true healing is often neglected. It has become common practice to place elderly persons with Alzheimer's disease in nursing homes or long-term care facilities that do not always regard the sufferers' well-being as a top priority. This article draws from familial caregiving roles as a basis for understanding personhood, which I take to be a bridge between the world of a caregiver and the world of an Alzheimer's sufferer. Furthermore, through the modeling of professional caregiving strategies, I show how one might form meaningful relationships in long-term care facilities, and likewise provide the aging and afflicted person with forms of healing.http://anthro-age.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/anthro-age/article/view/84
spellingShingle Michael Gabriel Fetterolf
Personhood-Based Dementia Care: Using the Familial Caregiver as a Bridging Model for Professional Caregivers
Anthropology & Aging
title Personhood-Based Dementia Care: Using the Familial Caregiver as a Bridging Model for Professional Caregivers
title_full Personhood-Based Dementia Care: Using the Familial Caregiver as a Bridging Model for Professional Caregivers
title_fullStr Personhood-Based Dementia Care: Using the Familial Caregiver as a Bridging Model for Professional Caregivers
title_full_unstemmed Personhood-Based Dementia Care: Using the Familial Caregiver as a Bridging Model for Professional Caregivers
title_short Personhood-Based Dementia Care: Using the Familial Caregiver as a Bridging Model for Professional Caregivers
title_sort personhood based dementia care using the familial caregiver as a bridging model for professional caregivers
url http://anthro-age.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/anthro-age/article/view/84
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