Improving Dressing Behavior in Cognitively Impaired Nursing Home Residents

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Abstract
This study tested the extent to which a behavioral intervention, Strategies to Promote Independence in Dressing (SPID), improved dressing independence among 90 cognitively impaired nursing home residents (average score on Mini Mental Status Exam = 7.35 ± .69). The effect of SPID on caregiving efficiency, the time required for nursing assistants to use the strategies, was also examined. The results showed improved independence(decrease in assistance) from 6.08 ± .12 at baseline to 4.93 ±.19 following 6 intervention weeks. This significant improvement in dressing independence occurred without a clinically relevant increase in caregiver time (less than 1 min). Seventy-five percent of the subjects improved one or more levels of dressing independence, and more than 20% achieved their maximum intervention effect during the first week of treatment.