title: An observational study of agitation in agitated nursing home residents.
abstract: Direct observations of 24 highly agitated, cognitively impaired nursing home residents were performed during each hour of the 24-hour day for 2-3 months. Results showed that agitated behaviors (in particular, strange noises, requests for attention, repetitious mannerisms, picking at things, strange movements, and pacing) were manifested at very high frequencies. The data also showed that daytime agitation was positively related to nighttime agitation. Patterns of agitation were specific to each resident, an important finding for future research and intervention.
authors.affiliation: Hebrew Home of Greater Washington.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cohen-Mansfield
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Werner
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Marx
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes; D015995:Prevalence; D011595:Psychomotor Agitation / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index