Centre for Policy on Ageing



High versus low density special care units — impact on the behaviour of elderly residents with dementia
Author(s)	Debra G Morgan, Norma J Stewart
Journal title	Canadian Journal on Aging, vol 17, no 2, Summer 1998
Pages	pp 143-165
Keywords	Dementia ; Patients [nursing homes] ; Space needs ; Behaviour ; Behaviour disorders ; Social surveys ; Canada.
Annotation	In the last decade, there has been increasing recognition of the role of physical and social environments in reducing disruptive behaviour and increasing functional ability in people with dementia, which has led to the development of special care units (SCUs) within long-term care (LTC) facilities in Canada. The opening of a new SCU at one of two LTC facilities in a mid-western Canadian city provided the opportunity to study the effect of reduced social density (fewer residents) and spatial density (more area per person) on the behaviour of residents with dementia. Two groups (N=64) were observed at three periods spaced six months apart. As hypothesised, there was a greater improvement in disruptive and non-disruptive behaviour in the experimental group (move from high to low density) compared to the control group (constant high density). Findings suggest that unit density is an important determinant of behaviour in older residents with dementia. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-980903223 A
Classmark	EA: LHB:LF: R5: DM: EP: 3F: 7S
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.