MANAGEMENT OF SCREAMING IN NURSING HOME RESIDENTS

NIH RePORTER · NIH · R01 · $114,750 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

Vocally disruptive behaviors, which include screaming, shouting, and other disturbing loud noises, are common in nursing homes. The necessity for managing these behaviors is widely recognized, and represents one of the major challenges in long-term care. The proposed study builds on the findings of our previous studies on the understanding of behavioral problems in the nursing home. These studies showed that screaming is associated with cognitive impairment, depressed affect, and with pain. Additionally, in an in-depth study of highly agitated nursing home residents, we found that verbally agitated behaviors, such as screaming, were manifested less frequently when the residents were exposed to music or to television, and when they were not alone. The aim of the proposed study is to assess the effectiveness of several interventions for the management of vocally disruptive behaviors. The interventions are: 1) a thorough medical examination aimed at finding and treating any underlying physiological reason for pain; 2) the use of music; 3) the presentation of a videotape of the resident's relatives, and 4) direct social interaction. The effect of these management techniques to control disruptive verbal behaviors will be assessed in 56 nursing home residents. In the first phase of the study all participants will be exposed to the medical intervention. In the second phase, a pretest-posttest cross-over design will be used. All participants will be exposed to all the management interventions, as well as to a "no-intervention" condition. The specific interventions will last 2 weeks, and will be followed by a week "wash-out" period. The frequency and duration of vocally disruptive behaviors will be assessed using audiotapes, systematic time-sampling observations, and nurses' assessments. This study is expected to provide data that will help mitigate the suffering of nursing home residents manifesting verbally disruptive behaviors, improve their quality of life, and decrease the burden for caregivers.

Key facts

NIH application ID
3122563
Project number
1R01AG010642-01
Recipient
HEBREW HOME OF GREATER WASHINGTON
SAM.gov UEI
RY46DLNQAN83
Principal Investigator
Jiska Cohen-Mansfield
Activity code
R01
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
1991
Award amount
$114,750
Award type
1
Project period
1991-09-30 → 1994-06-30