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Observational Study
. 2022 Sep;36(3):650-662.
doi: 10.1111/scs.13017. Epub 2021 Jul 21.

Engagement in purposeful activities and social interactions amongst persons with dementia in special care units compared to traditional nursing homes: An observational study

Laura Adlbrecht  1   2 , Tamara Nemeth  1 , Florian Frommlet  3 , Sabine Bartholomeyczik  4 , Hanna Mayer  1
Affiliations
Observational Study

Engagement in purposeful activities and social interactions amongst persons with dementia in special care units compared to traditional nursing homes: An observational study

Laura Adlbrecht et al. Scand J Caring Sci. 2022 Sep.

Abstract

Background: Persons with dementia spend most time of their day not engaging in activities or social interactions. A care concept of a dementia special care unit that promotes activities and social interaction through a household-like design and individualised stimuli is studied.

Aim: To evaluate the main outcomes of the care concept of a dementia special care unit, namely, engagement in activities and social interactions.

Methods: We conducted an observational study as part of a theory-driven evaluation. The Maastricht Daily Life Observation Tool was used to collect momentary assessments multiple times per participant, including engagement in activity, type of activity, engagement in social interaction, interaction partners, location, agitation and mood. Thirty-three residents of the dementia special care units that implemented the care concept and 54 residents with dementia of two traditional nursing homes participated in the study, resulting in 2989 momentary assessments.

Results: Residents of both settings did not engage in activities or social interaction in approximately half of the observations. Compared to residents of traditional nursing homes, residents of special care units had a significantly higher chance for engagement in activities and social interaction in the afternoon but not in the morning or evening.

Conclusion: The care concept of the special care unit facilitated engagement but had its limitations. Further research is needed to develop and evaluate appropriate interventions to enhance engagement of persons with dementia.

Keywords: activities; dementia; nursing homes; programme evaluation; social interaction; special care unit.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that even though the study was supported by SeneCura, the funder did not influence the study or its outcomes, and the authors are free to report any unfavourable results. The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Distribution of engagement in purposeful activities in the morning, afternoon, and evening as well as by MMSE scores in SCU and TNH. SCU, special care unit; TNH, traditional nursing home. † shows the distribution of the aggregated data (=mean) per resident of engagement in purposeful activities; 0 = engagement in purposeless activities, resting or sleeping at all momentary assessments, 1 = engagement in purposeful activities at all momentary assessments
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Distribution of engagement in social interactions in the morning, afternoon, and evening as well as by MMSE scores in SCU and TNH. SCU, special care unit; TNH, traditional nursing home. † shows the distribution of the aggregated data (=mean) per resident of engagement in social interactions; 0 = no engagement in social interaction at all momentary assessments, 1 = engagement in social interactions at all momentary assessments
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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