The proposed study aims to examine the factors affecting engagement of demented, elderly nursing home residents with a range of stimuli. While apathy, boredom, depression, and loneliness frequently accompany the progression of dementia, engagement of the demented nursing home residents in constructive, meaningful activities creates a possibility for enhancing the level of their daily functioning, and preventing the manifestation of problem behaviors associated with dementia. The study will clarify how elderly nursing home residents that suffer from dementia become engaged in appropriate activities, ascertain different kinds of responses of older demented persons to various objects/stimuli, and compare the engagement value of different stimuli used during stimulation session. The study will involve a repeated-measures design in which 158 nursing home residents will be presented with 22 stimuli, which vary along dimensions specified below, in different, random orders. Attention, attitude, and length of engagement will be measured, as well as background variables that capture the person, the stimulus and the environment. The stimuli will vary on several dimensions: life-like vs. not life-like, social vs. non-social, requiring manipulative vs. passive interaction, and eliciting past meaningful work or leisure roles vs. general stimuli not eliciting those roles. The proposed study opens a new field of systematic exploration of the engagement of nursing home residents suffering from dementia in appropriate activities. The strategy chosen provides a basic body of knowledge necessary for the development of engagement theory in persons with cognitive disabilities. This will also help to elaborate interventions to reduce inappropriate behaviors, boredom and depression in this population. It involves a complex yet replicable manner for analyzing engagement, and thereby identifies straightforward plans for tailoring appropriate activities to individuals. In that way, it presents an exciting prospect for improving the quality of life in demented persons, thereby reducing their caregivers' burden.
| Cohen-Mansfield, Jiska; Marx, Marcia S; Freedman, Laurence S et al. (2012) What affects pleasure in persons with advanced stage dementia? J Psychiatr Res 46:402-6 |
| Cohen-Mansfield, Jiska; Thein, Khin; Marx, Marcia S et al. (2012) The relationships of environment and personal characteristics to agitated behaviors in nursing home residents with dementia. J Clin Psychiatry 73:392-9 |
| Cohen-Mansfield, Jiska; Dakheel-Ali, Maha; Jensen, Barbara et al. (2012) An analysis of the relationships among engagement, agitated behavior, and affect in nursing home residents with dementia. Int Psychogeriatr 24:742-52 |
| Cohen-Mansfield, Jiska; Marx, Marcia S; Freedman, Laurence S et al. (2011) The comprehensive process model of engagement. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 19:859-70 |
| Cohen-Mansfield, Jiska; Marx, Marcia S; Thein, Khin et al. (2011) The impact of stimuli on affect in persons with dementia. J Clin Psychiatry 72:480-6 |
| Cohen-Mansfield, Jiska; Marx, Marcia S; Dakheel-Ali, Maha et al. (2010) Can persons with dementia be engaged with stimuli? Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 18:351-62 |
| Cohen-Mansfield, Jiska; Thein, Khin; Dakheel-Ali, Maha et al. (2010) The value of social attributes of stimuli for promoting engagement in persons with dementia. J Nerv Ment Dis 198:586-92 |
| Marx, Marcia S; Cohen-Mansfield, Jiska; Regier, Natalie G et al. (2010) The impact of different dog-related stimuli on engagement of persons with dementia. Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen 25:37-45 |
| Cohen-Mansfield, Jiska; Thein, Khin; Dakheel-Ali, Maha et al. (2010) The underlying meaning of stimuli: Impact on engagement of persons with dementia. Psychiatry Res 177:216-22 |
| Cohen-Mansfield, Jiska; Marx, Marcia S; Dakheel-Ali, Maha et al. (2010) Can agitated behavior of nursing home residents with dementia be prevented with the use of standardized stimuli? J Am Geriatr Soc 58:1459-64 |
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