At a glance
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Reducing Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) for Acutely-Ill Persons With Alzheimers Disease and Related Dementias Via Patient Engagement Specialists
In Brief
A clinical study evaluating PES-4-BPSD Model and The attention control condition for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias. Completed, enrolled 54 participants across 2 sites.
Detailed Summary
Persons with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) account for 3.2 million hospital admissions per year and have over three times more hospitalizations than those without cognitive impairment, yet hospital caregivers (HCGs) are ill-prepared to manage patients with ADRD with less than 5% reporting mandatory dementia care training. Three-quarters of hospitalized persons with ADRD display Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) associated with functional and cognitive decline, increased resource consumption, institutionalization, premature death, and caregiver burden. The overall objective is to test the preliminary efficacy of an innovative model of care, PES-4-BPSD, for reducing BPSD by empowering Patient Engagement Specialists (PES) to deliver dementia care for acutely-ill patients with ADRD. Traditionally, mental health assistants with training in crisis-prevention techniques provide care to psychiatric patients. On the intervention unit, these mental health assistants, as PES, purposefully engage patients with BPSD. In the pilot study, investigators found patients with cognitive impairment admitted to the PES unit were significantly less likely to require constant observation, chemical and physical restraints, suggesting improved management of BPSD. The central hypothesis is that PES-4-BPSD will improve the ability of PES to create an "enabling" milieu that addresses factors leading to BPSD and improves the experience of hospital caregivers. Guided by a social-ecological framework, PES-4-BPSD incorporates dementia education and training, environmental modifications-cohorting, increased staffing-PES, and staff support. The investigators' multidisciplinary research team is well-positioned to accomplish the following: Aim 1) Determine the preliminary efficacy of PES-4-BPSD for reducing BPSD during hospitalization (please refer to NCT# 04481568 for more details on this aim), and Aim 2) Evaluate whether dementia care training improves the perceived ability of PES staff (intervention) and nurse assistant staff (control) to care for hospitalized persons with ADRD. For Aim 1, investigators will conduct a non-randomized preliminary efficacy trial of the PES-4-BPSD intervention enrolling N=158 patients (79 control, 79 intervention). The primary outcome will be presence of BPSD during hospitalization using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire (NPI-Q). In Aim 2, investigators will use survey methodology in a repeated measures design to evaluate within and between-group differences in attitudes, experience, and satisfaction toward managing patients with ADRD. Measures will be completed at baseline (T1), immediately following training (T2), and at the end of the intervention period (T3). This proposal will be the first to study an innovative model of care utilizing PES as specialized hospital caregivers for reducing BPSD in the hospital setting. The investigators' findings will lay the essential groundwork for a multi-site trial of PES-4-BPSD and inform the development of a program that can be easily implemented in other hospitals.
Study Details
Timeline
Interventions
Staff Training: Dementia Care Education and Training. The PI, with the support of the research team, will spend 12 weeks training the PES/NA staff. Based on the "Try This: Best Practices in Nursing Care for Persons with Dementia," the PES staff will receive weekly 20 minute sessions. This study aims to capture the impact of dementia care training on the experience of PES (intervention unit) and NA (control unit) staff to care for patients with dementia. Measures will be completed at baseline, prior to dementia training (T1: baseline), immediately after completion of the training program (T2: 3 months post-baseline) and following the completion of the 1-year intervention period (T3: 12 months post-training).
Staff Training: Dementia Care Education and Training. The PI, with the support of the research team, will spend 12 weeks to train the PES/NA staff. Based on the "Try This: Best Practices in Nursing Care for Persons with Dementia," the PES staff will receive weekly 20 minute sessions. This study aims to capture the impact of dementia care training on the experience of PES (intervention unit) and NA (control unit) staff to care for patients with dementia. Measures will be completed at baseline, prior to dementia training (T1: baseline), immediately after completion of the training program (T2: 3 months post-baseline) and following the completion of the 1-year intervention period (T3: 12 months post-training).