A study protocol to investigate the management of depression and challenging behaviors associated with dementia in aged care settings

BMC Geriatrics

Research Article

Tanya E Davison¹  Daniel W O’Connor¹  Marita P McCabe²  Gery Karantzas²  Kathryn von Treuer²  David Mellor² 

[1] School of Psychology and Psychiatry, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia;School of Psychology, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, 3125, Burwood, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia;

关键词: Challenging behaviors;    Depression;    Aged care;    Organizational barriers;    Staff training;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2318-13-95

 received in 2013-07-02, accepted in 2013-09-13,  发布年份 2013

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe high occurrence and under-treatment of clinical depression and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) within aged care settings is concerning, yet training programs aimed at improving the detection and management of these problems have generally been ineffective. This article presents a study protocol to evaluate a training intervention for facility managers/registered nurses working in aged care facilities that focuses on organisational processes and culture as well as knowledge, skills and self-efficacy.MethodsA Randomised Control Trial (RCT) will be implemented across 18 aged care facilities (divided into three conditions). Participants will be senior registered nurses and personal care attendants employed in the aged care facility. The first condition will receive the training program (Staff as Change Agents – Enhancing and Sustaining Mental Health in Aged Care), the second condition will receive the training program and clinical support, and the third condition will receive no intervention.ResultsPre-, post-, 6-month and 12-month follow-up measures of staff and residents will be used to demonstrate how upskilling clinical leaders using our transformational training approach, as well as the use of a structured screening, referral and monitoring protocol, can address the mental health needs of older people in residential care.ConclusionsThe expected outcome of this study is the validation of an evidence-based training program to improve the management of depression and BPSD among older people in residential care settings by establishing routine practices related to mental health. This relatively brief but highly focussed training package will be readily rolled out to a larger number of residential care facilities at a relatively low cost.Trial registrationAustralia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register (ANZCTR): The Universal Trial Number (UTN) is U1111-1141-0109.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© McCabe et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013