www.nursing.psu.edu/directory/paudel/">Anju Paudel, assistant professor at the Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, received a two-year, $424,925 grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Aging to study how positive interaction strategies may impact daily interactions and communication between staff and residents with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias in assisted living facilities. Such strategies include role modeling, step-by-step approach, gesturing, speaking in short clear statements and tone management of care staff.
With aims to understand if the intervention will impact staff-resident relationships and the quality of life for residents, Paudel is pilot testing the feasibility of using positive interaction strategies in assisted living settings. While many of the strategies are intended to optimize staff-resident interactions and enhance overall experience during everyday care, Paudel said much of that depends on acceptance by the staff and how the facility operates.
"This study is promising because positive care interactions can help to minimize reactive behaviors of residents, minimize staff stress, improve staff-resident relationships, and enhance the quality of care and quality of life of residents," Paudel said.
To measure the preliminary efficacy of the strategies and the intervention as a whole, Paudel is using well-tested and reliable assessment tools, such as a scoring method for residents and staff where higher scores indicate a positive interaction. One of the key assessments involves scoring the interactions where higher scores correlate to a better and more positive interaction, indicating the success of the interaction strategies.
Paudel said she believes the research will give a better understanding of how she can support the quality of care and quality of life for residents living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
"[The research] can benefit residential care settings such as assisted living by preventing staff-resident injuries during care, which often stems from negative interactions and promoting quality of care," Paudel said. "Quality care could prevent unnecessary emergency visits and hospitalizations further resulting in cost savings in the health care system."
