Social Interaction, Staff Training Reduce Agitation in People With Dementia

The results of a recent trial published in PLoS Medicine suggest agitation could be mitigated in people with dementia by social interaction among nursing community residents and staff, reports Reuters . The researchers recruited 69 U.K. nursing communities and randomly assigned about 50 percent to implement a program. Staff in those communities received training in techniques for enabling social interaction and education in the effects and risks of antipsychotic medications, while residents in the remaining communities continued to get their usual care. Of 847 subjects in the initial study group, 533 completed the study and were assessed over a nine-month period, both before and after the intervention. "A key element of this research is that we worked alongside caregivers for nine months to embed these learned elements into everyday practice," says University of Exeter Professor Clive Ballard. "This was essential because just a one-off training seminar or a training book — without this mentoring — would not have resulted in a successful intervention." Ballard notes a "person-centered" strategy incorporates individual residents' wants and needs as a way to facilitate healing, and prioritizes these wants and needs over healthcare professional goals at times. Residents who received the intervention had statistically significant decreases in agitation and neuropsychiatric symptoms and improved quality of life versus the usual-care group. No differences were observed in use of antipsychotic drugs.