Humanitude, a caregiving method developed in France that emphasizes eye contact, touch and verbal communication to convey respect for the patient as a human being, is gaining attention in Japan for treating patients with dementia.
Tokyo Medical Center in Meguro Ward, one of the hospitals adopting the Humanitude method, provides seminars for caregivers to expand its use.
In a videotape shown at one such seminar, two nurses took a female patient with dementia to a shower. One nurse approached the woman from the front, looked at her at eye level and kept speaking to her gently while the other nurse washed her body with warm water.