Effectiveness of staff training programs for behavioral problems among older people with dementia

Abstract

This paper reviewed studies on staff training programs to address the behavioral problems associated with dementia among older people in residential care. The papers were classified according to whether or not the studies included a control group in the research design. The results of the review demonstrate that there has been a wide range of psychosocial and educational interventions to reduce behavioral problems among older people with dementia, with inconsistent results being obtained. However, many of these studies suffer from problems in their research design that make it difficult to evaluate their effectiveness. Problems in conducting research in the nursing home setting are highlighted, and suggestions for future research in this area are discussed.