OBJECTIVE: This study examined barriers to hearing aid use among persons who were reported to have a hearing aid and among those reported to have hearing difficulties but no hearing aids.

SETTING: Interviews were conducted at a large, mid-Atlantic nonprofit nursing home.

PARTICIPANTS: Both nursing home residents (279) and nursing staff members (51) were interviewed.

DESIGN AND MEASUREMENTS: In a cross-sectional survey of nursing home residents, brief structured interviews were performed ...

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between type, frequency, and level of disruptiveness of physically aggressive agitated behaviors, physically non-aggressive agitated behaviors, verbally aggressive agitated behaviors, and verbally non-aggressive agitated behaviors in persons with dementia.

METHODS: The study was conducted in 11 nursing homes in Maryland, one of which housed two participating buildings. Participants were 191 older nursing home residents with dementia. Cohen-Mansfield ...

OBJECTIVE: To examine how presentation of different stimuli impacts affect in nursing home residents with dementia.

METHOD: Participants were 193 residents aged 60 to 101 years from 7 Maryland nursing homes who had a diagnosis of dementia (derived from the medical chart or obtained from the attending physician). Cognitive functioning was assessed via the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and data pertaining to activities of daily living were obtained through the Minimum Data Set. ...

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to (1) identify behaviors that occur in noncommunicative nursing home residents that are perceived by nurses to be indicators of pain, (2) determine factors affecting the differentiation of pain behaviors from similar behaviors due to other causes, and (3) assess nurses' perceptions of the prevalence and importance of specific indicators of pain as well as barriers to the detection of pain in this population.

SETTING AND PATIENTS: Seventy-two staff ...

OBJECTIVE: Atypical antipsychotic drugs have been used off label in clinical practice for treatment of serious dementia-associated agitation and aggression. Following reports of cerebrovascular adverse events associated with the use of atypical antipsychotics in elderly patients with dementia, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued black box warnings for several atypical antipsychotics titled "Cerebrovascular Adverse Events, Including Stroke, in Elderly Patients With ...

OBJECTIVES: To assess the incidence of and factors related to nondisabled but functionally limited older adults aged 75 to 85 years losing the ability to walk 400 m.

DESIGN: Observational study with average follow-up of 21 months.

SETTING: Community.

PARTICIPANTS: At baseline, 101 persons with objective signs of functional limitations and intact cognitive function agreed to participate in the study. Of these, 81 were able to walk 400 m at baseline, and 62 participated in the follow-up ...

OBJECTIVES: To determine which stimuli are 1) most engaging 2) most often refused by nursing home residents with dementia, and 3) most appropriate for persons who are more difficult to engage with stimuli.

METHODS: Participants were 193 residents of seven Maryland nursing homes. All participants had a diagnosis of dementia. Stimulus engagement was assessed by the Observational Measure of Engagement.

RESULTS: The most engaging stimuli were one-on-one socializing with a research assistant, ...

One hundred three nursing home residents were interviewed regarding their preferences for the choice of an agent for health-care decision making while being offered the opportunity to execute a Durable Power of Attorney for health care. They also completed a questionnaire that tapped their preferences regarding the use of four types of life-support treatment under three hypothetical levels of future cognitive functioning. Factors that might influence these preferences, such as previous ...

This paper examines the validity of the Minimum Data Set (MDS), a comprehensive functional assessment used in most United States nursing homes, for recognizing pain in cognitively impaired nursing home residents. Eighty nursing home residents participated in the study. They were initially divided into four groups, along two dimensions: severe vs. mild/moderate cognitive impairment, and pain-medicated vs. non-medicated for pain. Three indicators of pain were derived from the MDS: pain ...

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of personal attributes on engagement in persons with dementia.

METHODS: Participants were 193 residents of seven Maryland nursing homes. All participants had a diagnosis of dementia. Cognitive functioning was assessed via the Mini-Mental State Examination, and engagement was assessed via the Observational Measure of Engagement. Data pertaining to activities of daily living were obtained from the Minimum Data Set.

RESULTS: Women had longer mean engagement ...

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of past research concerning longitudinal changes in loneliness in old age and in the factors that correlate with loneliness in older persons. This study examines (a) whether loneliness increases with age, (b) characteristics of the lonely older population, and (c) predictors of becoming lonely in old age.

METHODS: Data are from the Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Aging Study, a national longitudinal study on the health, mental, and social status of people ...

OBJECTIVES: Behavior problems are common in dementia, yet little is known about how physicians deal with these problems in practice. This article reports on a survey asking physicians to describe, with respect to the last nursing home resident with dementia they treated for behavior problems, the behaviors observed, assessment methods used, suspected etiology of the problem, types of intervention, and their reaction to the intervention process.

DESIGN: This is a descriptive study ...

Although hearing impairment is among the most common chronic ailments of older persons, the problem is even greater among those in nursing homes. It is estimated that 70% to 90% of elderly residents in long-term care facilities have some degree of hearing impairment. Despite this high prevalence, significant underuse of hearing aids or other assistive devices exists, especially among those with dementia.

OBJECTIVES: The current study assessed rates of hearing impairment and hearing aid ...