How to Live and Support in the Longevity Society

Abstract

Firstly I would like to refer to personcentered care and personhood from Dementia Reconsidered published by Tom Kitwood in this manuscript Of all the branches of work with older people, dementia care is probably the most challenging. It is the one which makes the greatest demands on relatives care staff, people who typically receive little support and recognition for their efforts. In this paper, the work of Professor Tom Kitwood, Bradford University, UK, developed the entirely new standard of dementia, personcentered care which has been currently main stream of dementia care. In the main ethical discourses of western philosophy, one primary theme has been the idea that each person has absolute value. We thus have an obligation to treat each other with deep respect ; as ends, and never as means towards some other end. This is the important theme : the concept of personhood. We would like to apply in the areas of physicians’ clinical practice as well as other paramedical fields. It must be stressed at the outset that the bulk of the caring for patients with dementia is done by a network of family, friends and neighbours. In areas where such traditional links have weakened, the gaps may be partially plugged by voluntary organizations. We have currently four anti-dementia drugs : donepezil (aricept), rivastigmine, galantamine and memantine. This situation has been favorable for the patients suffered by Alzheimer’s disease. We hope that the better pharmaceutical approach will be available in the near future. In conclusion I expect our academic association of psychosomatic medicine might be a nuclear power to increase support the person with dementia, frail elderly and children in the communities throughout our country.