Dementia Caregiver Interventions¶
Scale of dementia caregiving in the U.S.¶
Nearly 13 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer's or other dementias, with this care valued at more than $446 billion annually.1 Most dementia care happens at home, by family.
Behavioral and psychological symptoms: the DICE approach¶
One or more behavioral and psychological symptoms will affect nearly all people with dementia over the course of their illness.2 When these symptoms emerge, the DICE framework (Describe, Investigate, Create, Evaluate) offers a structured, non-pharmacological approach:
- Describe the behavior in context — who, what, when, where, consequences.
- Investigate likely contributors — medical, environmental, caregiver factors, and person-specific triggers.
- Create a plan that addresses the most likely contributor first, usually non-pharmacological.
- Evaluate whether it worked and what to try next.
This framework treats behavioral and psychological symptoms as a product of the person, the caregiver, and the environment together, not as a symptom to medicate in isolation.