Centre for Policy on Ageing



Understanding the behaviour of people in Special Dementia Units — the contribution of rating scales
Author(s)	R B Lefroy, P McHale, J Hyndman
Journal title	Australian Journal on Ageing, vol 15, no 3, 1996
Pages	pp 105-110
Keywords	Dementia ; Behaviour disorders ; Hostels ; Psychogeriatric units ; Assessment procedures for mental patients ; Australia.
Annotation	In this Australian study, residents in a Special Dementia Unit (SDU) organised as a hostel, were assessed for behaviour using these scales: Crichton Royal Behavioural Rating Scale (CRBRS), Confusion Rating (CR), Barthel Index (BI), Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI), and the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). It was found that CRBRS and the CR provided a useful reference to mental and physical disabilities. Scores for the CMAI recorded the type, frequency and numbers of agitated behaviours displayed by individual residents. Most agitated behaviours belonged to the physically non-aggressive category. Information from these scores was combined to construct residents' profiles. The authors conclude that the CRBRS, the CR and CMAI can provide information about residents, both as individuals and as a group, which can assist in understanding the behaviour and in the evaluation of the function of an SDU.
Accession Number	CPA-971014202 A
Classmark	EA: EP: KVA: LDM: DA:4C: 7YA
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing

...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.