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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Dementia and use of psychotropic medication in non "Elderly Mentally Infirm" nursing homes in South East England | | Author(s) | Alastair J D Macdonald, G Iain Carpenter, Owen Box |
| Journal title | Age and Ageing, vol 31, no 1, January 2002 |
| Pages | pp 58-64 |
| Keywords | Dementia ; Cognitive impairment ; Behaviour disorders ; Drugs ; Nursing homes ; South East England. |
| Annotation | Nursing home residents in places not designated for the care of dementia in six south-east England health authorities (HAs) were assessed for cognitive impairment using the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). The Behave-AD was used to assess behavioural problems, and the Cornell Scale, depression. Of 445 residents randomly sampled, 74% assessed had probable clinical dementia. Of all 4,243 residents in non-elderly mentally infirm (non-EMI) places, 38% had severe cognitive impairment, with a 3-fold higher rate of disturbance than others. Psychotropic medication was strongly associated with cognitive impairment. Antipsychotic drugs were prescribed for only 15% of all residents. If nearly three-quarters of non-EMI nursing home residents have dementia, many with behavioural disturbance, then dementia care is not a "specialist" area of nursing home care. The study offers no support for the hypothesis that antipsychotic drug use in nursing homes is excessive. However, the study raises questions about policy, staffing and training in nursing homes. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-020313210 A |
| Classmark | EA: E4: EP: LLD: LHB: 82Z |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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