title: An evaluation of Snoezelen(®) compared to 'common best practice' for allaying the symptoms of wandering and restlessness among residents with dementia in aged care facilities.
abstract: Snoezelen has become an increasingly popular therapy in residential aged care facilities in Australia and elsewhere, despite no conclusive evidence of its clinical efficacy. This paper reports on an evaluation of the use of Snoezelen compared to 'common best practice' for allaying the dementia related behaviors of wandering and restlessness in two residential aged care facilities in Victoria, Australia. Sixteen residents had their behavior and responses to Snoezelen or 'common best practice' observed and recorded over three time periods. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed there was a significant improvement in behaviors immediately after the intervention and after 60 min. However, no significant differences were found between residents receiving Snoezelen and 'common best practice' interventions for the reduction of the dementia related behaviors.
authors: Australian Centre for Evidence Based Aged Care, Australian Institute for Primary Care and Ageing, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: m.bauer@latrobe.edu.au.
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Bauer
authors: Australian Centre for Evidence Based Aged Care, Australian Institute for Primary Care and Ageing, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia.
authors: Jo-Anne
authors: JA
authors: Rayner
authors: Lincoln Centre for Research on Ageing, Australian Institute for Primary Care and Ageing, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3086, Australia.
authors: Judy
authors: J
authors: Tang
authors: Helen Macpherson Smith Institute of Community Health, Royal District Nursing Service, St Kilda, Victoria, Australia.
authors: Susan
authors: S
authors: Koch
authors: Australian Centre for Evidence Based Aged Care, Australian Institute for Primary Care and Ageing, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia.
authors: Christine
authors: C
authors: While
authors: Helen Macpherson Smith Institute of Community Health, Royal District Nursing Service, St Kilda, Victoria, Australia.
authors: Fleur
authors: F
authors: O'Keefe
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D040561:Assisted Living Facilities; D001315:Australia; D003704:Dementia / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011595:Psychomotor Agitation / Q000517:prevention & control*; D055816:Wandering Behavior / Q000523:psychology
keywords: Dementia; Evaluation; Restlessness; Snoezelen; Standard care; Wandering