Understanding and Preventing Harmful Interactions Between Residents with Dementia

For the first time, those at the front lines of care have access to a single source for a comprehensive set of practical tools to effectively address distressing and harmful interactions between residents with dementia. This prevalent but under-recognized public health problem in long-term care homes results in serious consequences, including psychological harm, physical injuries, and even death. After examining the potential consequences and manifestations of these behavioral expressions, readers learn how to identify the contributing factors, causes, unmet needs, and triggering events that commonly lead to these episodes. With an emphasis on person-directed care practices, this book describes numerous psychosocial strategies to use for prevention and de-escalation prior to, during, and after episodes of harmful resident-to-resident incidents.

This valuable resource will help inform training programs for direct care staff, interdisciplinary teams, and LTC administrators. In addition to cost savings from reduced resident-to-resident incidents, care providers will see significant improvements in resident and staff well-being.