Adelyons / Anchorly / One-page profile
What to include in a one-page profile for someone with dementia
A one-page profile is a short, person-centered summary that a new carer can read in two minutes: who the person is, what matters to them, how they like to be supported, what tends to upset them, and what reliably helps. It travels with them to respite, to hospital, and into a care home move.
What a one-page profile is
It is a single page about the person rather than the condition, written by the people who know them best and intended for the people who do not know them yet. You may also see it called a life story, an about-me sheet, or a hospital passport.
The reason it exists is simple: someone with dementia may not be able to say "I go by Jim, not James," "I take my tea strong," or "I get frightened when people rush me." Without a page that says so, every new sitter, agency carer or ward nurse has to learn it by trial and error, and the person absorbs the cost of that learning.
What to include
Cover six things: identity, life story, routine, communication, what upsets them, and what helps. Anything that would not change how a stranger treats them in the first hour can be left out.
| Section | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Who I am | Preferred name, a recent photo, family members by name and relationship | "Call me Peggy. My husband Ron died in 2019; my daughter Anne visits Sundays." |
| My life | Work, where they grew up, service, faith, the things they were known for | "I taught primary school for 30 years and still like being useful with children." |
| My day | Wake and sleep times, how they take meals, what the routine looks like | "Up at 6. Tea before anything else. Nap after lunch or the evening is hard." |
| How to talk with me | Hearing or vision needs, pace, whether to give choices or single steps | "Face me, one question at a time. I answer better to a choice of two." |
| What upsets me | Known triggers, stated plainly and without blame | "Being rushed while dressing. Loud television. Several people talking at once." |
| What helps | The things that reliably settle them, specific enough to act on | "Big band music. Folding towels. A walk to the end of the road." |
| Practical notes | Allergies, mobility, glasses and hearing aids, who to call | "Wears hearing aids, right ear only. Anne is the first call." |
The examples above are illustrations, not a template to copy. The value of the page is entirely in its specificity to one person.
Write it in their voice, not as a diagnosis list
Write in the first person where you can, and describe the person rather than the deficits. "I like to do things at my own pace" changes how someone approaches the room in a way that "resistant to care" does not.
A profile that reads as a list of problems teaches a new carer to expect a difficult patient. A profile that reads as a person teaches them to expect a person, and it also protects the dignity of someone who cannot review what has been written about them.
The what-helps section is the most useful part
If you only get one section right, make it this one. It is the section a new carer reaches for during a hard moment, and it is the part nobody else can reconstruct.
Be concrete. "Music" is not actionable at 5pm on a bad evening; the name of the singer and where the playlist lives is. The same goes for the phrase that reassures them, the photo album that works, the chore they enjoy helping with, and the walk they always agree to. If you keep a daily log, this section largely writes itself from the "what helped" entries you have already recorded; see what to track in a dementia daily log.
When to hand it over
Give the profile to anyone who will spend time with them without you present, ideally before the first shift rather than during it.
- A new sitter, agency carer, or respite service.
- A day center or a first week at a memory-care community.
- A hospital admission or an emergency department visit, where staff have no history and little time.
- Family members who visit rarely and find the visits difficult.
Pair it with the current picture where it matters: a profile says who they are, and a short care snapshot says how they have been lately. In an emergency department both are more useful than anything you will remember to say.
Keeping it current
Review it whenever something stops working or a new thing starts helping, and at least every few months. Dementia changes, and a profile describing last year's routine can mislead the people relying on it.
Keep the page short as it evolves. When you add something, take something out; a three-page document does not get read at the start of a shift, which defeats the point of writing it.
Keeping a life story in Anchorly
Anchorly keeps a person-centered life story and a calm card, so what helps during agitation is one tap away and any sitter, respite carer or care home can read who they are. Everything lives in a local database on your phone with no account and no cloud backend, and with Anchorly+ you can generate an about-them or care-snapshot PDF on the device and share it yourself.