PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify premorbid personality, depression and disturbing behaviors to provide information for developing nursing interventions for the pre-demented and mild demented elderly living as residents of their community. METHOD: The survey was conducted through direct interviews using a structured questionnaire in J city. Among the subjects contacted, 89 made appropriate replies to the survey. RESULT: The subjects' disturbing behaviors were significantly related to premorbid personality and depression. The predictors to disturbing behaviors of the pre-demented elderly were sex, extroversion, neuroticism and conscientiousness. The predictors to disturbing behaviors of the mild demented elderly were agreeableness, depression, sex, conscientiousness, and extroversion. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, disturbing behaviors of pre-demented elderly and mild demented elderly are affected not only by their premorbid personality but also by their depression. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage and respond to them with understanding their disturbing, behaviors in relation to their premorbid personality. In addition. it is important to maintain positive emotion in order to reduce their disturbing behaviors.
Aged* ; Dementia ; Depression* ; Extraversion (Psychology) ; Humans ; Nursing ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Along with the aging of population, dementia became a social problem disturbing our life. Western researches focused on caregivers found that, the more severe the dementiais, the more burdens on caregivers. Furthermore, considening the different relationship to the patient, different culture background and different types of dementia, there are different problems in care. Based on comprehensive assessments on the demented and the caregiver, specific health education and other assistant services may improve both the mental and physical health of the caregivers, and reduce the disease burden due to dementia.
Caregivers ; psychology ; Dementia ; nursing ; Health Education ; Humans ; Stress, Psychological

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to understand and describe the overcoming experiences of family members caring for elderly patients with dementia at home. METHODS: Data came from autobiographies on the overcoming experiences of caregiving from 31 participants, who had submitted the autobiographies to a public contest held by the Seoul Metropolitan Center for Dementia in 2012. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: Four overcoming stages emerged from the analysis: confronting stage; challenging stage; integrating stage; and transcendental stage, representing transformation of experiences from frustration and suffering to happiness and new hope in life. The confronting stage illustrates severe negative feelings and exhaustion occurring after the diagnosis of dementia. The challenging stage signifies major driving forces in taking good care of their patients. It includes tender loving memories about the patients as well as family and social supports. The integrating stage shows genuine empathy for the patients' situation and the happiness of 'here and now', while the transcendental stage represents new hope in the future. CONCLUSION: Health professionals need to support caregivers to find true meaning of caring and happiness in everyday life, while providing specific information on dementia care and relieving various negative feelings.
*Adaptation, Psychological ; Caregivers/*psychology ; Dementia/*nursing ; Family Relations ; Female ; Home Nursing ; Humans ; Male ; Stress, Psychological ; Writing

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore women caregivers' lived experiences in caring at home for a family member with dementia and to identify conditions that oppress women in the context of family caregiving. METHOD: This study was conducted within the feminist perspectives using qualitative secondary data. Ten secondary data conveying self reflective contents were selected from the 25 original data obtained in 1999 to 2000. RESULT: Six themes that emerged from the qualitative thematic content analysis were; androcentric view of family caregiving, undervalued family caregiving by the family members, Self rationalization in the context of family caregiving, family-centric care mechanism, exemplary caring within the family context, and inter-familial relationships among women. CONCLUSION: The main focus of feminist research is to provide empowerment for the women research participants and to bring about social change of oppressive constraint through some actions. On the basis of the research findings, therefore, action strategies from feminist perspectives were suggested in some aspects of health care delivery sectors, nursing education and research sectors, and administrative sectors.
Adult ; Attitude ; Caregivers/*psychology ; Dementia/*nursing/psychology ; *Family ; Family Relations ; Female ; Home Nursing ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Stress, Psychological

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore women caregivers' lived experiences in caring at home for a family member with dementia and to identify conditions that oppress women in the context of family caregiving. METHOD: This study was conducted within the feminist perspectives using qualitative secondary data. Ten secondary data conveying self reflective contents were selected from the 25 original data obtained in 1999 to 2000. RESULT: Six themes that emerged from the qualitative thematic content analysis were; androcentric view of family caregiving, undervalued family caregiving by the family members, Self rationalization in the context of family caregiving, family-centric care mechanism, exemplary caring within the family context, and inter-familial relationships among women. CONCLUSION: The main focus of feminist research is to provide empowerment for the women research participants and to bring about social change of oppressive constraint through some actions. On the basis of the research findings, therefore, action strategies from feminist perspectives were suggested in some aspects of health care delivery sectors, nursing education and research sectors, and administrative sectors.
Adult ; Attitude ; Caregivers/*psychology ; Dementia/*nursing/psychology ; *Family ; Family Relations ; Female ; Home Nursing ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Stress, Psychological

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to understand conversations and to identify typical conversational problems between nurses and patients with dementia. METHOD: A conversation analysis method was used. The data was collected in a geriatric institutional setting, using a videotape recorder, and transcribed. The transcribed data was analyzed in terms of expressions, contents, and relationships to identify communicative problems and their resolutions. RESULTS: Among a total of 532 episodes, 440(82.7%) were identified as nurse-involved episodes. In addition, 66 of the 440 episodes were selected based on the significance of the conversation. The communicative problems between nurses and patients in terms of expressions were identified as "directive and authoritative expressions", "emotional and competitive expressions", "evasive and on-looking expressions", and "excessive use of title only", such as calling them granny or grandpa without proper names. In terms of content and relationships, "lack of themes in psychosocial areas" and "nurse-led relations" were identified respectively as communicative problems. CONCLUSION: The results of this study will provide substantial guidelines for nurses in caring for elderly patients with dementia by deeply understanding linguistic structures and problems of everyday conversations between nurses and patients with dementia.
Aged ; Attitude of Health Personnel ; *Communication ; Dementia/*nursing/psychology ; Female ; Geriatric Nursing ; Guidelines as Topic ; Humans ; Male ; Nurse-Patient Relations ; Nursing Staff/*psychology ; Tape Recording

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to analyze the concept of self-care in elders with dementia through a review of nursing literature and to provide more understanding of the definition and perspectives of the concept of self-care notion in elders with dementia. METHODS: The technique developed by Walker and Avant was used as a guide in analyzing the concept of selfcare. RESULTS: Attributes of self-care in dementia may include a single or group of actions needed for sustaining life, a personal effort to maintain functional independence while minimizing other's assistance, an outcome behavior from the person's interaction with inter-personal and/or contextual environment, and a functional ability that may decline in parallel to cognitive impairment. Antecedents of self-care in dementia may include at least presence of a certain degree of cognitive appraisal for the self-care needs, self-willingness for the selfcare action, spatial and visual orientation, cultural pre-conception of the self-care behavior, presence of environmental context/equipment available for self-care, and sufficient time available. The consequences may include sustaining of life, feel of satisfaction, achieving independence, extended life expectancy, increased self-confidence, decreased caregiver distress and/or burden, savings in health care costs. DISCUSSION: Defining attributes and antecedents and consequences of self-care in dementia identified in this study provided empirical ground of a middle-range theory of self-care for a clinical population with dementia and generated possible hypotheses to be tested in future studies.
Activities of Daily Living ; *Aged/physiology/psychology ; Aged, 80 and over ; Continuity of Patient Care ; *Dementia/nursing/physiopathology/psychology ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Geriatric Assessment ; Humans ; Male ; *Models, Nursing ; Nursing Assessment ; Nursing Evaluation Research ; Nursing Theory ; *Self Care/methods/psychology ; Severity of Illness Index

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to 1) describe the type and frequency of aggressive behavior of cognitively impaired nursing home resident, 2) develop a caregiver training program on prevention and management of aggressive behavior, 3) examine the effects of caregiver training program on the incidence of aggressive behavior of cognitively impaired nursing home resident, and 4) examine the effects of caregiver training program on nursing staff's aggressive behavior management skills. METHODS: One-group, time series, quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and two post-tests was used. Data were collected from cognitively impaired home residents (N=32) and nursing staff (N=36) in a proprietary nursing home using Ryden Aggression Scale I, II, and Aggressive Behavior Management Scale. Data were entered and analyzed by descriptive statistics and repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS: Incidence of aggressive behavior was high with a mean score of 3.09 (SD=3.11) at baseline. Caregiver training program was developed based on Progressively Lowered Stress Threshold (PLST) model and gerontological and psychiatric literature. The mean scores of aggressive behavior at baseline, Post I, and II did not differ significantly although the difference approached to the significant level (F=2.925, p=.066). Nursing staff's aggressive behavior management skills increased at Post I, and at Post II when compared to baseline, and the difference was significant (F=12.736, p=<.001). CONCLUSION: Caregiver training program showed potential impact on reduction of aggressive behavior in elders with cognitive impairment and was effective in increasing nursing staff's aggressive behavior management skills.
Nursing Staff/*education ; *Nursing Homes ; Middle Aged ; Male ; Korea ; *Inservice Training ; Humans ; Female ; Dementia/*nursing/psychology ; Cognition Disorders/*nursing/psychology ; Analysis of Variance ; *Aggression/psychology ; Aged, 80 and over ; Aged ; Adult

PURPOSE: This study was a qualitative research study in which focus group interviews were used to collect data on the meaning of respite for family caregivers who are taking care of elders with dementia. METHODS: The focus group interviews and participants consisted of 2 family caregiver groups, for a total of 8 people taking care of their elders and 5 professional caregivers working in a geriatrics hospital or social welfare institutions. Content analysis was used and debriefing notes were referred in order to analyze the data. RESULTS: The meaning of respite in this research was measured using 4 main categories: 'Temporary break from routine', 'direct help', 'psychological comfort', 'valuables which cannot be taken easily' and 9 subcategories: 'Temporary diversion of attention', 'temporarily free from my duty', 'taking care of oneself', 'receiving economic help', 'empathize with others', 'comfort based on trust', 'resting together with the elder', 'no time to rest', 'cannot get out of one's obligatory duty'. CONCLUSION: The findings of the study show that rest means not only a temporary relief from caretaking, but also a real respite based on the patients' stable state and comfort. These results indicate a new meaning for respite, that the first step of respite program has to begin even when the caregivers do not recognize the need for respite.
Adult ; Aged ; Caregivers/*psychology ; Dementia/*nursing ; Family ; Female ; Geriatric Nursing ; Home Nursing ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nurse-Patient Relations ; *Respite Care

Dementia is the most disabling neuropsychiatric disorder of adulthood. Typical dementia-Alzheimer disease (AD) is progressive and irreversible dementia syndrome characterized by loss of intellectual capacity in many domains, altered behavior, inability to care for oneself, and altimately, neurologic abnormalities. But, unfortunately, the exact cause of dementia is still unknown and in the treatment of dementia, the focus is limited to relieve the cognitive and behavioral symptoms. Among treatment modalities of dementia, biomedical intervention has been emphasized on organic cause, individual pathology and cognitive symptomatology. But, for effective management of dementia, both biomedical and psychosocial factors must be included. Because the most fruitful apporach to developing a clinical response to dementia is an interplay between neurologic impairment and the psychosocial experiences of the dementia patients. However, until recently, little attention has been given to the psychosocial implications of the dementia. Psychosocial intervention enable to quality of human interaction and maintain personal identity. Psychosocial intervention should be a guiding principle in the development and implementation of menagement srtategies. Through the psychosocial intervention, problem behaviors might be understood as evidence of promorbid coping styles, searches for security, or activity patterns associated with previous work roles. In fact, psychosocial intervention based on integrated community services because treatment plan of dementia cannot be conducted in isolation. Psychosocial intervention mainly composed of psychotherapy, day care, nursing home, case management and social care. So, to understand and treatment the dementia, all biomedical factors must be examined and simultaneously psychosocial intervention must be considered for patient and family members and other caregivers.
Behavioral Symptoms ; Caregivers ; Case Management ; Day Care, Medical ; Dementia* ; Fruit ; Humans ; Nursing Homes ; Pathology ; Psychology ; Psychotherapy ; Social Welfare