# REDUCING DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIORS IN DEMENTIA DURING BATHING

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 1992 · $103,181

## Abstract

In the care of older persons with Alzheimer's Disease and related
dementias (AD), severe disruptive behaviors (DBs) occur most commonly
during assistance with activities of daily living.  For caregivers,
bathing is one of the most problematic of these activities.  The proposed
project will address disruptive behavior during bathing by studying this
common problem in a population with an unusually high prevalence of DBs:
older persons who have been committed to a state psychiatric facility
with a primary diagnosis of AD.  The proposed research is a collaborative
effort between the University of North Carolina, Duke University, and
John Umstead Hospital (JUH).  JUH admits over 80 elderly persons (over
one-third of which are African-American) with dementia and DBs annually
and has recently created a dedicated dementia unit.  Our definition of
disruptive behaviors (DBs) includes resistiveness to care, agitation,
verbal aggressiveness, and physical aggressiveness.

This project aims: 1) to improve our understanding and measurement of DBs
during bathing; 2) to develop a behavioral intervention that reduces such
behaviors, enhances completion of bathing tasks with maximal self-care,
and is accepted by staff; and 3) to conduct a preliminary randomized
clinical trial of that intervention among geriatric patients with AD.
Phase one, which will take place on the dementia unit at JUH, will: a)
refine direct (video) observation measures of DBs during bathing, of
completion of bathing tasks, and of caregiving behaviors during bathing
and b) identify factors related to the patient, the physical environment,
and the bathing routine that lead to DBs during bathing.  Phase two,
which will also take place on the JUH dementia unit, will develop a
multidimensional therapeutic approach to bathing these patients, that
combines general and patient-specific strategies and focuses on education
of existing staff.  Phase three, which will take place on two general
adult wards at JUH, will be a randomized clinical trial of adequate
numbers to yield preliminary results and to pave the way for a larger
randomized trial.  The results of these studies should yield information
useful to the sizeable population of state hospital residents with AD;
they may also be generalizable to all AD patients who present problems
during bathing.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3123431
- **Project number:** 1R01AG011506-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **SAM.gov UEI:** D3LHU66KBLD5
- **Principal Investigator:** PHILIP D SLOANE
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1992
- **Award amount:** $103,181
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 1992-09-30 → 1995-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3123431

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3123431, REDUCING DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIORS IN DEMENTIA DURING BATHING (1R01AG011506-01). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3123431. Licensed CC0.

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