Date of Award

Spring 2019

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Department/Major

Nursing

First Advisor

Dr. Randal Quevillon

Second Advisor

Dr. Jean Yockey

Third Advisor

Kathy Jorgenson

Keywords

Dementia, Agitation, Nonpharmacological, Interventions

Abstract

Many interventions exist to address agitation behaviors in patients with dementia. The main objectives of this paper are to review the efficacy of nonpharmacologic interventions, and to receive input from current caregivers in order to develop recommendations for future practice and research. First, this paper will explore the evidence behind individual nonpharmacologic interventions for agitation. Next, it will examine a theory that concerns the etiology of agitation and explore how it could be used to mold more effective interventions. Lastly, a qualitative interview will be conducted with caregivers to better understand how staff currently address agitation and to obtain their opinions on what tools they believe would be helpful for them to improve practice. Overall, this paper will review the efficacy of interventions for agitation in persons with dementia and propose new recommendations on how to address agitation by designing interventions that fulfill patients’ needs. The goal of this paper is to improve the care of patients with dementia by identifying evidence-based interventions and developing tools and recommendations to decrease agitation.

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