Author:
Cohen-Mansfield Jiska,Juravel-Jaffe Atarah,Cohen Aaron,Rasooly Iris,Golander Hava
Abstract
ABSTRACTBackground: To clarify physicians’ actual practice in treating agitation in the nursing home and to elucidate the relationship between background factors, familiarity with interventions, and practice.Methods: A survey of actual practice for agitation in persons with dementia was administered to 67 physicians aged 31–70+ working in nursing homes in Israel. Questionnaires were administered by personal interview, self-completed, or a combination of the two.Results: Psychotropic medications are prescribed by 92.5% of physicians for treating agitation, most notably, Haloperidol (39%). Non-pharmacological treatment was also reported to be common, though to a lesser extent, with environmental change being the most prevalent non-pharmacological intervention. Generally, physicians showed low familiarity levels with non-pharmacological interventions, with higher levels noted for physicians with a specialty in geriatrics compared to those who were non-specialized. Physicians who were non-Israeli and younger also reported higher familiarity levels compared to their respective counterparts (i.e. Israeli and older) but this difference did not reach significance.Conclusion: The findings indicate that, despite current guidelines, psychotropic medications are the treatment of choice among nursing home physicians in Israel. While rates of use of non-pharmacological interventions are substantial, their in-practice application may be hindered by lack of familiarity as well as system barriers. The results have implications for system and education changes.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Subject
Psychiatry and Mental health,Geriatrics and Gerontology,Gerontology,Clinical Psychology
Cited by
19 articles.
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