Simulated presence is a newly developed technique to help patients with dementia who suffer from agitation, depressed feelings, restlessness, etc. In its original form, the patient is offered an audio tape with the voice of a loved family member. The audiotape has the form of a simulated conversation. Effect has been demonstrated on the well-being of the patient, abatement of the agitation, decrease of depressed feelings and, as a whole, better functioning. The tape was offered as a semi-phone call. In our center we started to experiment with video tapes. On this tape, a loved family member speaks to and looks at the patient. It is a well known experience that many patients with dementia will calm down and feel fine when they are with their loved ones. When they are alone they can feel lost and can become depressed and agitated. In many cases a one-to-one contact with a professional carer helps. In daily practice, however, this is mostly not attainable. Besides this, there are patients who only calm down when they have a contact with a member of their own family. This is why we developed our video simulated presence technique. We start with videotaping a spontaneous contact between the patient and a favorite family member. Together with the family member, we look which themes have a good influence on the patient. These themes are used to make a short videotape. On this tape, the family member talks with the patient as if it were a real conversation. We learned that it is useful to mix this with family pictures. When the tape is ready, a professional carer looks at it together with the patient on indicated moments. We have learned that they both enjoy this. It is very stimulating for the nurses to experience that the patient is calming down and comes in to a better mood. The patient feels better and this positive emotion holds up for a longer period during the day. In my lecture, I will describe the way we make our videotapes and show examples of the tapes and the reaction on it by the patients. Simulated presence with videotapes is a nice example of positive intervention to treat BPSD (Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms in Dementia).
Camberg l., Woods, P., Ooi, W.L., Hurley, A., Ashley,J., Odenheimer, G. & McIntyre, K (1999). Evaluation of simulated presence: a personalized approach to enhance well-being of in persons with dementia. American Journal of occupational Therapy, 48, 883-889.
Miller S, Vermeersch PE, Bohan K, Renbarger K, Kruep A, Sacre S. (2001) Audio presence intervention for decreasing agitation in people with dementia. Geriatric Nursing, Volume 22, Issue 2, Pages 66-70
Woods, P., & Ashley,J. (1995) Simulated presence therapy: using selected memories to manage problem behavior in Alzheimer’s disease patients. Geriatric Nursing, 16(1), 9-14.
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