Dementia Rehab and Management: Evidence-Based Update

Course overview

Alzheimer's disease and related dementias represent one of the most significant healthcare challenges of our time. With more than 6 million Americans currently living with Alzheimer's disease and projections indicating this number will double by 2050, allied health professionals across all practice settings encounter individuals affected by dementia with increasing frequency. The economic burden is equally staggering, with global costs projected to reach $2 trillion annually by 2030, underscoring the urgent need for effective, evidence-based rehabilitation and management strategies. The evidence base for dementia rehabilitation has evolved substantially between 2022 and 2025. This period has witnessed the publication of landmark systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and clinical practice guidelines that have refined our understanding of what works, for whom, and under what circumstances. The World Guidelines for Falls Prevention and Management for Older Adults, published in 2022, provided the first globally applicable consensus recommendations incorporating dementia-specific considerations. The American Occupational Therapy Association released updated practice guidelines in 2024 specifically addressing adults living with Alzheimer's disease and related neurocognitive disorders. The American Geriatrics Society has issued comprehensive guidance on exercise interventions for older adults with cognitive impairment. Perhaps most significantly, a 2023 global inter-societal Delphi consensus established standardized outcome measures across nine domains, enabling more rigorous evaluation of intervention effectiveness. This continuing education course synthesizes the best available evidence to provide allied health professionals with practical, implementable strategies for dementia rehabilitation and management. The course adopts a stage-specific approach, recognizing that intervention goals, methods, and expected outcomes differ substantially across the dementia trajectory. Early-stage interventions emphasize maintaining function and independence through cognitive rehabilitation, physical exercise, and compensatory strategy training. Moderate-stage approaches shift toward managing behavioral symptoms, adapting activities, and supporting caregivers. Advanced-stage care prioritizes comfort, quality of life, and palliative principles. The course content reflects an interdisciplinary perspective, acknowledging that optimal dementia care requires coordinated efforts across professional boundaries. Physical therapists contribute expertise in mobility, balance, and fall prevention. Occupational therapists address functional cognition, activity adaptation, and environmental modification. Nurses provide person-centered care, behavioral symptom management, and care coordination. Together, these disciplines along with speech-language pathologists, social workers, and others constitute the comprehensive care team essential for addressing the complex needs of persons with dementia and their care partners. Implementation science principles inform the course structure, recognizing that knowledge of effective interventions is necessary but insufficient for improving patient outcomes. Barriers to implementation in long-term care, inpatient rehabilitation, and community settings are explicitly addressed, along with evidence-based strategies for overcoming them. Staff education models that produce sustained behavior change are presented, emphasizing active learning methods, theory-driven approaches, and organizational support. Upon completion of this course, participants will be equipped to identify appropriate stage-specific interventions, select validated outcome measures, implement evidence-based safety protocols, and adapt care approaches for diverse populations. The ultimate goal is improved quality of life for persons living with dementia and reduced burden for their caregivers outcomes that the evidence increasingly demonstrates are achievable throu