Evaluated special unit for care of patients with Alzheimer's disease or related disorders. Results showed in the unit, in which reduced stimulation was emphasized, patient weight loss was curtailed, patient agitation was diminished, restraint use was reduced, and wandering was no longer a concern. Found family members to be satisfied with care.…

Compared effects of different visiting programs (people, people and pets, pets, no visit) on behaviors of nursing home residents. Found all three visiting programs increased behaviors of smiling and alertness in comparison to control conditions. Close proximity to person-alone visitor was associated with greatest number of positive resident…

Used a behavioral intervention of goal-setting with feedback and contingent reinforcement to increase stationary bike riding in eight male nursing home residents with multiple major medical and psychiatric disorders. A consistent increase in riding resulted among all participants. Findings support the effectivenes of behavioral strategies in…

Purpose: Agitation frequently accompanies cognitive decline among nursing home residents. This study used cross-sectional and longitudinal (up to 18 months) methods to examine agitation among profoundly and moderately impaired residents using both staff report and direct observation methods. Design and Methods: The study included participants (N =…

Behavior modification and behavior therapy techniques with institutionalized and community elderly are powerful approaches which effect changes in behavior quickly and dramatically, and are particularly useful because they involve total staff or family members in their implementation. Unlike psychotropic medications, behavioral approaches do not…

This study replicated a social skills training program previously designed to eliminate verbally aggressive behavior in six institutionalized elderly, by substituting physical acts of aggression for verbal ones. The treatment package consisted of instructions, modeling, role playing, and feedback. Dependent measures included confirmed incidents of…

Older Americans are suffering from both physical and social losses as they age. These losses are sometimes accompanied by the elderly person's entrance into a long-term care facility. Some researchers have suggested that such facilities fail to maintain the residents' independent behavior. Others contend that behavior is plastic and can be…

This study reports an experimentally designed evaluation of Reality Orientation. Twelve elderly residents were chosen for the experimental group and 13 residents were chosen for the no-treatment control group. Both classroom Reality Orientation and 24-hour Reality Orientation were introduced on the experimental floor. A pretest-posttest control…

Examined the effects of a training program for geriatric staff designed to reduce the functional dependency of targeted health-related facility residents. Results indicate dependency was reduced and independence increased by training staff in the principles of behavior analysis focusing on cognitive and attitudinal restructuring. (Author/RC)