Persons with dementia usually experience Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) during the course of their illness. Management of BPSD, when available, has mostly been fragmented, ad hoc and unsatisfactory.
We propose a 7-tiered model based on severity of symptoms and prevalence of BPSD that may be applicable to many developed countries. This model ranges from no dementia, to dementia with no behavioral complications, through tiers of increasing in severity of behavioral disturbance and decreasing in prevalence to a pinnacle of rarely occurring extreme violence. Persons with dementia can move up and down through tiers depending on their condition, their care and on the intervention provided. Each tier is associated with a different model of intervention and we present examples of these.
In conclusion, there appears to be a lack of rational planning for the management of prevention of BPSD as well as an imbalance between current resources and what is required for good care. Lower level interventions, i.e. prevention of BPSD developing or early treatment, may prevent the need for more intensive interventions required by more severe disturbances.
Back to S012 Current Issues in Psychogeriatric Nursing
Back to The Eleventh International Congress