Enhancing Quality of Life for Nursing Home Residents

The Pennsylvania State University (PENNSTATE)

Status and phase

Completed

Phase 2

Conditions

Alzheimer's Disease

Treatments

Behavioral: Activity matched to both interest and function

Behavioral: Activity matched to function

Behavioral: Activity matched to interest

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

NIH

Identifiers

NCT00388544

R01NR008910 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

19150

R01NR008910-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

Many persons with dementia exhibit behaviors that caregivers find difficult to manage. The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of individualized recreational activities for reducing agitation and passivity in persons with dementia.

Full description

Most persons with dementia exhibit behavioral symptoms, such as agitation and passivity, at some time in the course of their illness. These behaviors are a source of caregiver burden and often precipitate nursing home placement. There are a number of drugs that can be used to treat these behaviors, but they are costly and have serious adverse effects in a sizable number of people. Non-drug interventions, such as recreational activities, are recommended as the first line of treatment for behavioral symptoms. However, we don't know which activities are most effective for individual residents. The "one size fits all" approach has not been very effective. We are testing an approach that individualizes activities for residents based on their personality style of interest and functional level. We anticipate that this approach will be more effective for reducing behavioral symptoms than routine activities given to all residents. Consenting residents are assessed for personality and functional level and are videotaped during a baseline period and during activities so we can reliably measure behaviors, affect and engagement.

Enrollment

128 patients

Sex

All

Ages

65+ years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

English speaking; diagnosis of dementia; a willing informant who knows the subject well and who can provide past personality and other data; a stable dose of any psychoactive drug from pre-baseline through final observation; and presence of agitation or passivity.

Exclusion criteria

delirium or an unstable medical condition; history of Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, seizure disorder, stroke, alcoholism, drug abuse, head trauma with loss of consciousness, or psychiatric illness preceding the onset of memory loss; severe vision or hearing impairment; and receiving a new psychoactive medication within the past 30 days.