Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Concept Of Missing Incidents In Persons With Dementia, Meredeth Rowe, Amy M. Houston, Victor A. Molinari, Tatjana Bulat, Mary E. Bowen, Heather Spring, Sandra Mutolo, Barbara Mckenzie

Nursing Faculty Publications

Behavioral symptoms of dementia often present the greatest challenge for informal caregivers. One behavior, that is a constant concern for caregivers, is the person with dementia leaving a designated area such that their whereabouts become unknown to the caregiver or a missing incident. Based on an extensive literature review and published findings of their own research, members of the International Consortium on Wandering and Missing Incidents constructed a preliminary missing incidents model. Examining the evidence base, specific factors within each category of the model were further described, reviewed and modified until consensus was reached regarding the final model. The model …

Missing Drivers With Dementia: Antecedents And Recovery, Meredeth Rowe, Catherine Greenblum, Marie Boltz, James E. Galvin

Nursing Faculty Publications

Objectives: To determine the circumstances under which persons with dementia become lost while driving, how missing drivers are found, and how Silver Alert notifications are instrumental in those discoveries.

Design: A retrospective, descriptive study.

Setting: Retrospective record review.

Participants: Conducted using 156 records from the Florida Silver Alert program for October 2008 through May 2010. These alerts were issued in Florida for missing drivers with dementia.

Measurements: Information derived from the reports on characteristics of the missing driver, antecedents to missing event, and discovery of a missing driver.

Results: The majority of missing drivers were men aged 58 to 94 …

Day-To-Day Variability In Nap Duration Predicts Medical Morbidity In Older Adults, Natalie D. Dautovich, Daniel B. Kay, Michael L. Perlis, Joseph M. Dzierzewski, Meredeth Rowe, Christina S. Mccrae

Nursing Faculty Publications

Objective: The objectives for the present study were to (a) examine within-person variability of nap duration and (b) assess how variability in nap duration is related to the number of health conditions in a sample of older adults. For highly variable behaviors such as sleep, it is important to consider fluctuations within the person instead of solely comparing averages of behaviors across persons. Method: Data were drawn from a previous study examining sleep in 103 community-dwelling older adults. Subjective estimates of napping behavior were obtained from sleep diaries and objective estimates of napping behavior were obtained using actigraphy. Both measures …

Development Of A Communication Intervention To Assist Hospitalized Suddenly Speechless Patients, Carmen S. Rodriguez, Meredeth A. Rowe, Brent Koeppel, Loris A. Thomas, Michelle S. Troche, Glenna Paguio

Nursing Faculty Publications

Healthcare staff face significant challenges while caring for hospitalized patients experiencing sudden inability to verbalize their needs (sudden speechlessness). Familiar methods of communication such as non-verbal strategies are limited and often fail to assist suddenly speechless patients (SS) communicate their needs. Consequently, strategies tailored to the needs of hospitalized speechless patients are necessary, and must consider factors intrinsic to the patients and the complexities of the acute care environment. The feasibility and usability of a multi-functional prototype communication system (speech-generating device) tailored to the needs of hospitalized SS patients was evaluated in this pilot study. Adult SS patients admitted to …

Persons With Dementia Missing In The Community: Is It Wandering Or Something Unique?, Meredeth Rowe, Sydney S. Vandeveer, Catherine Greenblum, Cassandra N. List, Rachael M. Fernandez, Natalie E. Mixson, Hyo C. Ahn

Nursing Faculty Publications

Background: At some point in the disease process many persons with dementia (PWD) will have a missing incident and be unable to safely return to their care setting. In previous research studies, researchers have begun to question whether this phenomenon should continue to be called wandering since the antecedents and characteristics of a missing incident are dissimilar to accepted definitions of wandering in dementia. The purpose of this study was to confirm previous findings regarding the antecedents and characteristics of missing incidents, understand the differences between those found dead and alive, and compare the characteristics of a missing incident to …

Reducing Dangerous Nighttime Events In Persons With Dementia Using A Nighttime Monitoring System, Meredeth A. Rowe, Annette Kelly, Claydell Horne, Steve Lane, Judy Campbell, Brandy Lehman, Chad Phipps, Meredith Keller, Andrea Pe Benito

Nursing Faculty Publications

Background: Nighttime activity, a common occurrence in persons with dementia, increases the risk for injury and unattended home exits, and impairs the sleep patterns of caregivers. Technology is needed that will alert caregivers of nighttime activity in persons with dementia to help prevent injuries and unattended exits. Methods: As part of a product development grant, a randomized pilot study was conducted to test the effectiveness of a new night monitoring system designed for informal caregivers to use in the home. Data from 53 subjects were collected at 9 points in time over a 12-month period regarding injuries and unattended home …

Subjective And Objective Napping And Sleep In Older Adults: Are Evening Naps “Bad” For Nighttime Sleep?, Natalie D. Dautovich, Christina S. Mccrae, Meredeth A. Rowe

Nursing Faculty Publications

Objectives: To compare objective and subjective measurements of napping, and to examine the relationship between evening napping and nocturnal sleep in older adults.

Design: For twelve days, participants wore actigraphs and completed sleep diaries.

Setting: Community

Participants: 100 individuals who napped, 60–89 years (including good and poor sleepers with typical age-related medical comorbidities).

Measurements: Twelve days of sleep diary and actigraphy provided subjective and objective napping and sleep data.

Results: Evening naps (within 2 hours of bedtime) were characteristic of the sample with peak nap time occurring between 20:30–21:00 (average nap time occurred between 14:30–15:00). Two categories of nappers were …

Sleep And Affect In Older Adults: Using Multilevel Modeling To Examine Daily Associations, Christina S. Mccrae, Joseph P. H. Mcnamara, Meredeth Rowe, Joseph M. Dzierzewski, Judith Dirk, Michael Marsiske, Jason G. Craggs

Nursing Faculty Publications

The main objective of the present study was to examine daily associations (intraindividual variability or IIV) between sleep and affect in older adults. Greater understanding of these associations is important, because both sleep and affect represent modifiable behaviors that can have a major influence on older adults’ health and well-being. We collected sleep diaries, actigraphy, and affect data concurrently for 14 days in 103 community-dwelling older adults. Multilevel modeling was used to assess the sleep–affect relationship at both the group (between-persons) and individual (within-person or IIV) levels. We hypothesized that nights characterized by better sleep would be associated with days …