Communication strategies for residents in long-term care with dementia

Dementia is a common occurrence among aging individuals in long-term care (LTC) facilities. Persons with dementia experience many barriers to communicating with others. The purpose of this study is to describe the effect of nurses' interactions with residents with dementia on patient interactions in LTC. This is a modified replication of Perry et al.'s study (2005) based on a Taxonomy of Nurse Interactions with persons who have dementia. The anticipated sample (N=20) will be drawn from four different LTC facilities with Alzheimer's care units, located in a small city in northern Indiana. The criteria for inclusion will be a clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, Mini-Mental State Exam score of 20 or less, 65 years of age or more, and residence of at least 1 year. A socialization group of residents will be held twice per week for 10 weeks and conducted by expert nurses. Discussions will be recorded and data will be analyzed based on a Taxonomy of Nurse Interactions with Residents Who Have Dementia and a Taxonomy of Residents' Interaction with Nurses (Perry et al., 2005.) The study will be conducted after approval from the institutional review board of Ball State University and participating institutions. The findings will provide information for nurses working in LTC facilities on communication strategies.School of NursingThesis (M.S.