title: Effect of the BACE intervention on agitation of people with dementia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study tests the effectiveness of the theoretically driven BACE (i.e., Balancing Arousal Controls Excesses) intervention in decreasing agitation in residents of long-term care with moderate or severe dementia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A pretest-posttest double-blinded experimental design with random assignment was used with a sample of 78 participants. The BACE intervention controls the daily activity schedule so that there is a balance between a person's high-arousal and low-arousal states. The outcome measure was observed agitation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  When time spent in arousal imbalance at pretest was controlled for, a repeated measures analysis of covariance revealed a statistically significant Group x Time interaction, F(1, 69) = 4.26, p =.043, with a partial eta(2) =.06. The average change in agitation for the treatment group was a decrease of 8.43 points (SD = 12.01) from pretest to posttest, an effect size of.7.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study support the theory that balancing arousal states by using an individualized approach is effective in decreasing agitation levels of people with dementia.
authors.affiliation: Cunningham Hall, 1921 East Hartford Avenue, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0413, USA. ckovach@uwm.edu
authors.forename: Christine R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Kovach
authors.forename: Yavuz
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Taneli
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dohearty
authors.forename: Andrea Matovina
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Schlidt
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cashin
authors.forename: Amy L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Silva-Smith
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000150:complications / Q000451:nursing*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006802:Human Activities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015146:Midwestern United States; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011595:Psychomotor Agitation / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*