Citation

Yuen I, Kwok T. Int. J. Geriatr. Psychiatry 2019; 34(9): 1352-1358.

Affiliation

The Chinese University of Hong Kong Jockey Club Institute of Ageing, Shatin, Hong Kong.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/gps.5063

PMID

30697810

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of the DementiAbility Methods: The Montessori Way™ (DMMW) on agitation in long term care home residents with dementia. The activities using the DMMW are hypothesized to reduce agitation in terms of its frequency and disruptiveness to greater extent than structured social activities as control.

METHODS: Forty-six long-term care home residents with dementia were randomly allocated to receive the DMMW (n=23) or structured social activities as control (n=23). Each participant received 6 intervention sessions of 45 minutes each within 2 weeks, at long-term care home. Agitation in terms of frequency and disruptiveness before and after the intervention were compared.

RESULTS: The results showed that the DMMW resulted in significant reduction in overall frequency and disruptiveness of agitation. The DMMW group had significant reduction in frequency and disruptiveness of verbal aggressive, physical non-aggressive and physical aggressive behaviors after the intervention.

CONCLUSIONS: In summary, the present findings support the potential of the DMMW as a safe and efficacious therapeutic intervention for addressing agitation in long-term care home residents with dementia, relevant to Hong Kong culture.

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Language: en

Keywords

DementiAbility; Montessori Way™; agitation; dementia; long-term care