Abnormal behavior of residents in a long-term care facility and the associated stress of care staff members

Abstract

To survey the factors associated with abnormal behavior in 99 elderly residing in a special nursing home, we investigated the relationships between abnormal behavior and depression as well as impairments in cognition and activities of daily living (ADL), and the stress level of 28 care staff members. The clinical criteria for grading of dementia (intellectual level), the Cornell scale for depression in dementia (CSDD), the dementia behavior disturbance (DBD) scale, and rating of performance of ADL were used to assess behavioral and psychiatric symptoms in the elderly patients. Stress levels of care staff members were assessed using the ‘burnout’ scale. The DBD scale score correlated with the intellectual level, CSDD score, and three categories of ADL (urinary continence, faecal continence, and comprehension of conversation). The DBD scale score correlated negatively with one category of ADL (eating) in men, but did not correlate with ADL in women. No correlation was found between the burnout scale scores of care staff and either their age or work schedules. Present results showed that abnormal behavior in special nursing home residents correlated with depression as well as cognitive impairment. It is believed that the treatment and management of depression will decrease abnormal behaviors and improve their quality of life in special nursing home residents.