Kitwood’s Formula

Kitwood’s Formula The Biomedical approach to dementia Many if not all of the symptoms of dementia are the direct outcome of the neuropathology caused by the disease process Kitwood concluded from his work that a broader understanding of people with dementia is needed

Work by other researchers including: Harris 2002; Killick and Allan 2001; Sabat 2001; Snyder 1999 and Wilkinson 2002 concluded that the behaviour of people with dementia is affected by at least 4 factors

Brain damage The person’s reaction to the effects of the brain damage The ways in which the person is treated by healthy others The reactions of the diagnosed person to the ways in which he or she is treated by others

SD = NI + MSP Kitwood’s Formula Senile dementia = neurological impairment + malignant social psychology