Family/carer involvement
Older people who are cognitively impaired and in hospital
appear to benefit when a family member or carer participate in
aspects of their care. Beneficial family/carer participation in-
cludes sharing information with staff. This information may
establish the older person’s usual behaviour patterns and will
help to individualize care plans in order to provide a relatively
consistent routine, and help older people with dementia to stay
calm and feel secure (McCloskey, 2004). Further support
for the importance of family involvement in care is discussed in
the following section in a program called creating avenues
for relative empowerment (CARE) (Li et al., 2003).