Nurses' acceptance of behavioral treatments and pharmacotherapy for behavioral disturbances in older adults.
Behavioral disturbances are common in elderly individuals, particularly in those suffering from dementia. Nurses are called on to manage these problem behaviors both in the nursing home and through home health care. There has been growing interest in nonpharmacological interventions for these problems, most notably behavioral therapies. However, until recently, no information was available regarding the acceptance by health care professionals on the use of these treatments with elderly individuals. The purpose of this study was to assess geriatric nurses' acceptance of two behavioral treatments (differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior and time-out from positive reinforcement) and the most commonly used treatment at this time, pharmacotherapy. Nurses were asked to read a clinical case vignette and three treatment descriptions, rating the treatments with Kazdin's Treatment Evaluation Inventory. Results show that both behavioral treatments, including a mildly aversive treatment (time-out) were rated more positively than pharmacotherapy. Nurses modified their ratings in response to described differences in the patient's cognitive functioning and place of residence. Most interesting, acceptability ratings were influenced by characteristics of nurse raters, including the nurses' educational background and the amount of contact with geriatric patients.
Burgio
L D
LD
Department of Medicine, University of Alabama School of Medicine, Birmingham 34294-4410, USA.
Hardin
J M
JM
Sinnott
J
J
Janosky
J
J
Hohman
M J
MJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D005260:Female; D005851:Geriatric Nursing; D006220:Haloperidol / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research / Q000379:methods; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*
D006220:Haloperidol