Functional Analysis In The Home Setting Of An Older Adult With Neurocognitive Disorder, Emily Norton

Masters Theses

Currently within the behavioral gerontology literature there are no published studies that include a functional assessment in the home setting. The primary goal of the present study was to address this gap by conducting a functional analysis on a challenging behavior of an older adult with neurocognitive disorder in the home. This study occurred in two phases. During phase one, researchers conducted an antecedent functional analysis on the bizarre speech of an 81-year-old female with suspected dementia across four conditions (television on, no interactions initiated; television on, interactions initiated; television off, no interactions initiated; television off, interactions initiated). Results from …

Help-Seeking For Cognitive Impairment By The Patient : The Role Of Self-Compassion., Allison J. Midden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Older adults represent one of the fastest growing population groups with estimates predicting global growth from 617 million in 2015 to 1.6 billion in 2050. As the aged population increases, incidence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other dementias will also increase. Professionals agree that early intervention is essential for therapeutic and quality of life purposes. However, many older adults wait several months or years to seek medical help after first noticing signs of cognitive impairment. The present study seeks to identify the predictors of help-seeking for cognitive impairment by an individual for him/herself and the role that self-compassion may play …

The Impact Of A Multisensory Stimulation Environment Within A Memory Care Assisted Living Facility, Dana M. Prince

Dissertations

The use of Multisensory Stimulation Environments (MSSE) has grown increasingly more common in the United States (U.S.) as a nonpharmacological intervention for Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD). However, typical MSSE designs require a secluded room isolated from outside stimulation and demand direct supervision from the care provider during treatment. Due to projected shortages in the clinical workforce and the population of older adults on the rise, a study was designed to reveal the effectiveness of an open-floorplan MSSE to reduce the demand of care providers during the use of the MSSE while allowing subjects diagnosed with dementia to …

Staff Perceptions Of Quality Interactions In Dementia Care, Rebecka A. Schultz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The national aging trend suggests that population of those aged 65 and older will reach 83.7 million by the year 2050. With increasing age comes the growing possibility of one getting some form of dementia. The Alzheimer’s Association expects the number of American’s with dementia to triple from the reported 5 million cases in 2014 by 2050. With a rise in this cognitively impaired population there is reason to look closely at the needs of persons with dementia living in residential facilities and whether or not they are being met. The main focus of residential facilities is to provide aid …

Impact Of A Web-Based Instructional Module Of Alzheimer’S Disease Within Seven Content Knowledge Domains, Joyce Haynie

Dissertations

Abstract

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) has been classified as the most common form of dementia. Primary health care providers are usually the first clinicians to whom individuals present with symptoms of dementia. By 2050, it is expected that as many as 13.8 million Americans will be living with AD, and millions more will be placed in the challenging role of providing care for these individuals. However, studies continue to show that dementia is often underdiagnosed and under detected. The purpose of the study was to systematically inquire about the impact of AD education on level of knowledge about AD among primary …

'I Honoured Him Until The End': Storytelling Of Indigenous Female Caregivers And Care Providers Focused On Alzheimer's Disease And Other Dementias (Adod), Danielle E. Alcock

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Focused on the experiences of Indigenous female caregivers for a loved one diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias (ADOD); this study uses Indigenous methodology of oral storytelling to examine systemic barriers of navigating the Canadian healthcare system. Non-Indigenous healthcare providers who care for families and individuals affected by dementia also share their experiences to give insight to culturally safe care and what institutional supports are needed for frontline staff to achieve this.

Indigenous caregivers were all Anishanaabe and Métis who share stories about caring for their male loved ones. Through their stories of strength and resiliency, the importance of …

The Effectiveness Of Dance Movement Therapy With Elderly Women Who Have Dementia, Han Wang

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

As our world population rapidly ages, the number of people who develop dementia is also growing. Dementia brings significant impacts to patients and their families as well as to our society. Dance movement therapy (DMT) is regarded as a useful and appropriate intervention for those who find words difficult, those with cognitive impairments, or those who find it difficult to express and explore their emotions. It’s also combined both physical and psychological benefits. Therefore, it is possible that DMT has positive effects such as delaying cognitive deterioration, increasing social interaction, reducing anxiety, etc. for people who are suffering from dementia. …

Dementia Screening In A Primary Care Clinic: Quality Improvement Project To Identify A Proper Dementia Screening Tool, Erni Dewi Ruslie

Capstones & Scholarly Projects

Alzheimer’s dementia affects approximately 50 million people in the world and was the sixth leading cause of death in the United States in 2014 (Heron, 2016). The death rate due to Alzheimer’s increased by 55% from 1999 to 2014 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). Several studies have shown that in primary care, the majority of older adults with dementia are undiagnosed (Boustani et al., 2011; Connolly, Gaehl, Martin, Morris, & Purandare, 2011; Sternberg, Wolfson, & Baumgarten, 2000). Mild dementia is particularly under-diagnosed (Van den Dungen et al., 2011). In 2014, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force concluded current …

The Impact Of A Sensory Garden Intervention For Individuals With Dementia, Haley Elizabeth Collins

All Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of sensory gardens on agitation and quality of life for people with dementia. The sensory garden consisted of plants that stimulated all the senses. Four people diagnosed with dementia residing in assisted living participated in the multiple treatment single-subject design (A1-B-BC-A2) study. Baseline phase A1 lasted two-weeks, intervention B and BC were four-weeks each, and return to baseline A2 was two-weeks, for a total of 12 weeks. Intervention B was an indoor sensory garden and intervention BC was an approximated outside sensory garden. Data revealed positive trends following the sensory …

The Utility Of Music-Based Interventions In Dementia Care, Adriana C. Doerr

Dissertations

While research has investigated the impact of music-based interventions on management of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), there is limited discussion of which music-based interventions are most effective for various levels of dementia severity, or of how to determine which music-based interventions are both accessible and feasible for caregivers and nursing staff. This review sought to identify the benefits of music-based interventions in dementia care within various domains of functioning and determine whether music-based interventions are effective for various levels of dementia severity. Peer-reviewed articles and studies that evaluated the effectiveness of various music interventions or demonstrated music's …

Dementia Caregiver Coping Strategies And Caregiver-Care Recipient Relationship Closeness: Associations With Care-Recipient Outcomes, Stephanie Behrensberg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This project used data from the Dementia Progression Study, a longitudinal, population-based study based out of Cache County, Utah. Statistical models were used to examine the association between caregiver factors, the care environment, and cognitive outcomes in persons with dementia. Mediational analyses were also used to examine if the care environment, inferred for nutritional status, engagement in physical and cognitively stimulating activities, mediated the relationship between the closeness/caregiver coping strategies and cognition in persons with dementia. Results showed that closer caregiver-care recipient relationships were associated with better nutritional status and more engagement in number of cognitively stimulating activities as well …

Dementia And The Role Of Alzheimer Disease, Jodi Kiessling

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Alzheimer disease is a progressive disease causing cognitive and functional decline with the hallmark sign of plagues and tangles within the brain. Genetics, inflammation, accumulation of beta-amyloid protein and breakdown of the blood brain barrier are all contributing factors in the disease. Treatment is not curative and is focused on symptom management and management of pre-existing chronic diseases.

"Music And Memory": Is It Personalized Music Therapy Or Just 'Good Music'?, Tamara Adams

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This review of the literature focuses on the benefits of music and music therapy for persons diagnosed with dementia. A summary of the role of music therapy is given and compared to the Music & Memory program. The question is whether it is fair to call the latter music therapy when assessments are carried out by individuals not qualified in music therapy, but trained in the Music & Memory program. The consequence of the lack of knowledge of this distinction is inconsistent communication which misleads stakeholders about the role of music therapy in healthcare. In my experience through volunteering in …

Leading The Play: Development Of A Method Supporting Expression And Control With Adults With Dementia, Victoria Green

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This paper explores the concept of client-led play with older adults with dementia and its possible impact on an individual’s ability to express enjoyment and sense of control. Expressive arts therapy is explored as a possible natural vehicle for providing client-led play groups to older adults with dementia. While research is limited regarding client-led play specifically, there has been significant research supporting the use of the creative arts with individuals with dementia, as it provides opportunities for non-verbal expression and spontaneous creativity. This paper argues that the arts have a natural connection to play through the use of the imagination …

Assisting Elders With Dementia In Residential Settings Through Music Therapy: A Literature Review, Benjamin Burke

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Dementia is one of the most prevalent diagnoses for elders causing strain and debilitation of their social, mental, physical, emotional, behavioral and psychological faculties. Due to the nature of this condition, treatments for dementia have been structured to aid and improve the well-being and quality of life for those afflicted. Some of the goals that assisted-living services establish include reducing anxiety, increasing levels of comfort, improving mood, memory care and bettering verbal processing. Music therapy has been an intervention that assists with establishing these goals and implementing strategies resulting in short-term and long-term effects for those receiving treatment for dementia. …

A Toolkit For Administration Of Antipsychotic Medications In Nursing Homes, Nino Dantes Flores

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Psychotropic medications should be used with extreme caution in older adults residing in long- term care facilities. Delirium and altered mental status are associated with multiple complex underlying medical conditions and can be difficult to recognize, particularly among the elderly residing in long-term care facilities. The use of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Antipsychotic Toolkit allows for ethical and evidence- based care of the elderly within the regulations and best practice for use of antipsychotics. This Doctor of Nursing Practice quality improvement project is designed to provide a toolkit for practitioners of behavioral modification …

Physiotherapy Is Associated With Improvements In Gait And Balance In Individuals With Cognitive Impairment: A Retrospective Analysis, Steven Jackson, Elbert Chen, Jason Phan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that individuals with cognitive impairment (CI) exhibit significant motor impairments; however, these motor impairments receive little treatment attention compared to more prominent CI. Moreover, there is a lack of evidence about physiotherapy (PT) in individuals with CI. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine if PT was effective at improving gait and balance in individuals with Alzheimer disease (AD), vascular dementia (VaD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). METHODS: Retrospective data of 173 individuals with CI conditions and an initial evaluation for PT were extracted from electronic records from January 2016 …

Executive Function Deficits In Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment: Exploring The Impact Of Substance Use, William C. Dooley

MSU Graduate Theses

Substance use is pervasive in the United States. With overdose deaths on the rise for the past decade, studies have examined the detrimental effects of a range of substances. Substance use has been shown to affect the domains of executive functioning, while diseases such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis-C (Hep-C) have been shown to increase the severity of these deficits when comorbid with substance use. Alzheimer’s Dementia (AD) also affects many of the same domains of executive functioning as substance use. However, because of the rapid degenerative nature of the disease, individuals clinically determined to have Mild Cognitive …

Implementation Of A Finger Foods Diet For Adults With Dementia, Christina Gilboy, Anita Nucci, Jessica White

Nutrition Masters Projects

Dementia is a general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to affect memory, thinking, behavior and the ability to accurately perform everyday activities. Seniors’ eating habits are impacted depending on which stage of dementia they are experiencing. Common signs and symptoms in early-stage dementia include forgetfulness, difficulty communicating thoughts, anxiety and depression, loss of concentration, being unable to recognize spoiled food, changes in food preferences, and an inability to hold attention through a meal. In middle-stage dementia, solutions include: constant redirection to meals and snacks, introducing tablemates as they may not remember their names from last meal, …

Alternative Therapies In Person-Centered Care For Persons With Dementia In Nursing Homes, Kallol Kumar Bhattacharyya

Gerontology Theses

ABSTRACT

Increasing numbers of people are living with dementia in every part of the globe. Curative options are unavailable through traditional medical model; alternative therapeutic approaches are required urgently. Using a grounded theory methodology, this study seeks to build an understanding of the barriers and facilitators to person-centered care (PCC) approaches and the integration of complementary and alternative approaches for people living with dementia (PLWD) and residing in nursing homes throughout the state of Georgia. This study will generate implications for implementing PCC and culture change, its barriers, facilitators and how PCC can improve the daily lives of persons living …

Responding To Behavioral Expressions Of Residents Living With Dementia In Assisted Living, Alejandro Torres-Pomales

Gerontology Theses

This thesis focuses on direct care workers’ (DCW) interpretations of and responses to the behaviors and expressions of assisted living (AL) residents with dementia. Data are drawn from a five-year grounded theory study of AL residents’ care arrangements that involved interviewing, participant observation, and resident record review. This study analyzes data from a sub-sample of 29 residents living with dementia and their care network members from 7 diverse AL settings studied over 2 years. The aims are to: examine DCWs’ reactions to resident behaviors; and understand how and under what circumstances DCWs seek assistance from external network members. DCWs responses …

Risk And Resiliency Factors Related To Dementia Caregiver Mental Health, Olivia Altamirano

Open Access Theses

Prevalence rates for dementia are expected to rise exponentially as the elderly population rises. With this comes a corresponding increase in the number of family members who will become dementia caregivers. Caregivers of people with dementia have been found to experience high rates of mental illness including depression and anxiety. Identifying risk and resiliency factors that relate to caregiver mental health is necessary to develop appropriate interventions to prevent caregiver burnout. The current study explored how family functioning (measured with a latent variable that includes family cohesion, family balance, and family communication), caregiver expressed emotion, and patient symptom severity related …

The Impact Of Custodial Grandparenting On Levels Of Cognition In A Longitudinal Sample Of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, Ian Timothy Mckay

Theses and Dissertations

There are currently 2.7 million grandparents raising grandchildren in the United States. As grandparenting has become more prevalent, concerns have surfaced regarding the effect of additional caregiving responsibilities placed on an aging population. The following study uses an existing dataset that interviewed individuals who graduated from Wisconsin high schools in 1957. The present study examined the impact of grandparenting on measures of cognitive ability, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, which had yet to be examined. Findings from the cross-sectional analysis show that custodial grandparents outperformed their non-custodial grandparent counterparts on the cognitive tests of word recall, category fluency, letter fluency, and …

The Use Of Behavior Skills Training And Behaviorally Based Interventions In Memory Care, Claire Gallagher

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Abstract

The current study examines the effects of using Behavior Skills Training (BST), an evidenced-based practice for teaching, to train direct care staff members in a Memory Care Community to employ a multi-component, behaviorally-based intervention with residents that have a memory impairment. This study utilizes single case methodology with a stacked AB design replicated across three staff members, three residents, and three transition environments. The design is comprised of a baseline condition, training with BST, a post-training condition with in-vivo coaching, and a maintenance probe. Results include an increase in the percent independence with which staff participants accurately complete the …

Assessing Palliative Care Needs In Residents With Alzheimer's, Emily Yarnell

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Current evidence indicates a lack of assessment protocols focusing on palliative care needs for patients with Alzheimer’s disease. This gap in practice supported the need to implement an evidence-based assessment protocol for early identification of palliative care needs in patients with Alzheimer’s disease residing in a long-term care facility. The protocol included using the patient’s Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) score to determine the patient’s palliative care needs according to the Dementia Progression Prioritization of Goals model. If the score indicated moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease, then their goal was maximization of comfort, indicating a need to begin palliative care plans. …

A Sensory-Based Program To Enhance Occupational Performance For Dementia, Ivy Annahi Torres-Flores, Jacob Gantan, Heather Anne August, Naomi Grace Wong

Occupational Therapy | Graduate Capstone Projects

Dementia is a neurological disease, causing behavioral and cognitive symptoms, that progressively impairs an individual’s ability to engage in meaningful activities. Progressive deterioration associated with dementia impacts occupational performance and independence and quality of life. Sensory based interventions, such as drumming groups, have been hypothesized to be a non-pharmacological intervention for individuals with dementia. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of a sensory based intervention program, in this case participation in a drumming group, on functional engagement during self-feeding for individuals with dementia. Researchers gathered data over the course of two days using the Functional Behavior …

The Effects Of A Dementia Simulation Experience On Attitudes Towards People With Dementia, Micah Huckabee

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Introduction: The neurodegenerative effects of dementia resulting in cognitive and behavioral impairments is plausibly one of the reasons for a societal stigma towards individuals with dementia. Societal stigmas are associated with decreased life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, and decreased psychological well-being for stigmatized individuals. In an effort to improve attitudes towards individuals with dementia, this study utilized a dementia simulation to measure attitudinal changes after a dementia simulation. Methods: There were 33 participants in this study (13 male and 20 female) between the ages of 18 and 25. Participants completed a Dementia Attitudes Scale (DAS) survey, and then they dressed in …

Socio-Spatial Disparities In Dementia Mortality In The United States, Wei Xu

Theses and Dissertations

Mainly due to the expansion of the geriatric population, the number of deaths attributable to dementia in the United States is likely to increase rapidly in the coming decades. In the hope of offering some valuable insights into discovering disease risk factors linked to geography, advocating place-based prevention and intervention strategies and supporting equitable access to end-of-life care, this study examines three aspects of socio-spatial disparities in dementia mortality in the U.S.: (i) small area spatial and temporal variations in dementia mortality risk; (ii) “place effects” on the differentials in individual dementia mortality risk; and (iii) disparities in place of …

Sleep And Circadian Rhythm Dysfunction In Alzheimer’S Disease, Sarah G Bridgeman

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Validity And Reliability Of A 5-Minute Web-Camera Based Eye Tracking Test To Assess Visual Memory And Cognition, Emily Bates

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are approximately 5.7 million Americans currently living with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Early detection of cognitive impairment allows for earlier treatment, potentially slowing or halting cognitive decline. A 30-min web-camera eye tracking assessment (30-min VPC) has been validated as a tool to predict AD risk. However, a shorter version would allow for greater scalability and improve user experience. The purpose of this study was to: 1) determine the validity of the 5-minute web-camera based VPC test with the 30-min test, 2) determine the test-retest reliability of the 5-min test, 3) compare the 5-minute test scores of cognitively intact adults (18-39 …