Deaths From Resident-to-Resident Incidents in Dementia Offers Insights to Inform Policy

A study published in the Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect suggests the analysis of incidents between residents with dementia in long-term care communities may help reduce future deaths, reports ScienceDaily . The researchers determined 44 percent of such fatalities were the results of physical contact classified as push-fall. "Many of the injuries consisted of hip fractures or head or brain injuries and on average it was slightly more than two weeks from the incident to their passing, which speaks volumes to the frailty and vulnerability of this population," says the University of Minnesota School of Nursing's Eilon Caspi. Meanwhile, 75 percent of these incidents were among men. "The preliminary findings may have implications for more targeted interventions," Caspi says. Furthermore, 59 percent of all incidents occurred inside bedrooms and 43 percent involved roommates. "Policies, procedures, and practices related to roommate assignment and monitoring need to be thoughtful and revisited regularly and we need to explore all avenues for reducing to the minimum possible the use of shared bedrooms or at a minimum increasing roommates' sense of privacy and security," Caspi recommends. Also of note was the finding that incidents happened most often on evenings and weekends. "Taking proactive, anticipatory, preventative measures and increasing staffing levels, the active presence of managers, and meaningful engagement during the evenings and weekends could reduce the incidence," Caspi suggests.