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Environmental approach to reducing agitation in older persons with dementia in a nursing home
Author(s) -
Wilkes Lesley,
Fleming Andrew,
Wilkes Benjamin L,
Cioffi Jane M,
Le Miere Jenny
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
australasian journal on ageing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1741-6612
pISSN - 1440-6381
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-6612.2005.00105.x
Subject(s) - dementia , aggression , nursing homes , unit (ring theory) , medicine , nursing care , gerontology , psychology , nursing , psychiatry , disease , mathematics education , pathology
Objective: This paper reports the effects on challenging (agitated) behaviours, such as aggression, noisiness and wandering, when persons with dementia were relocated to a special unit.Methods: The study was a simple interrupted time series quasi‐experimental design. The dependent variable was agitated behaviour and the independent variables were residing in an old unit and in a Special Care Unit (SCU). Twenty‐two persons with dementia from a nursing home were involved in this study. Subjects were assessed weekly for 1 month prior to the move to the SCU and weekly for 1 month at 3 and 6 months after the move. Data were entered into SPSS software and analysed.Results: The most significant results from the study were that the verbally agitated behaviour of the subjects was reduced and sustained throughout the 6 months of the study after their move into a SCU.Conclusions: This study has shown that environmental design does impact positively in the care of persons with dementia.