Excess disability during morning care in nursing home residents with dementia.
Excess disability was examined in 17 nursing home residents with dementia by comparing their performance of morning care tasks under two activities of daily living (ADL) caregiving approaches-a dependence-supportive one under usual care and an independence-supportive one under functional rehabilitation. The results suggest that excess disability in severely cognitively impaired and functionally disabled residents can be reduced by increasing opportunities for independent activity, and substituting nondirective and directive verbal assists for physical assists. Further, the findings indicate that increased independence in ADL can be achieved without increasing disruptive behaviors and can foster appropriate requests for task-related help during caregiving. Functional rehabilitation, however, requires more time than usual care.
Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA. jcr+@pitt.edu
J C
JC
Rogers
M B
MB
Holm
L D
LD
Burgio
C
C
Hsu
J M
JM
Hardin
B J
BJ
McDowell
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009735:Nursing Homes; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors