Sources of Discomfort in Persons with Dementia: Scale and Initial Results

Abstract

The Sources of Discomfort Scale (SODS) assesses discomfort manifestations based on source of discomfort, thus making it both distinct from and complementary to pain assessments for persons with dementia. Sources were categorized as pertaining to physical discomfort, to body position, and to environmental sources. Body position sources of discomfort were related to poor functional status and to pain. The SODS scores were not related to cognitive functioning, and sources of discomfort other than those pertaining to body position were not correlated with pain. This paper demonstrates a direct and enhanced method to detect the manifestations of discomfort separately from pain indicators in a population with advanced dementia. The determination of the source of discomfort has direct implications for intervention.

The Effects of Hand Massage on Stress and Agitation Among People with Dementia in a Hospital Setting: A Pilot Study

“…Agitation is a frequent symptom of dementia, affecting up to 85% of people with dementia over a 5-year period (Steinberg et al 2008 ). It is a particularly unpleasant symptom for the patient and is strongly related to discomfort (Cohen-Mansfield et al 2015 ). Agitation can also cause physical and emotional strain and even feelings of helplessness among nurses caring for patients with dementia (Cerejeira et al 2012 ).…”

Time Investment for Program Implementation to Manage Neuropsychiatric Symptoms: An Observational Longitudinal Study in In-Home and Residential Care Settings

“…Unmet needs, contents of the action plan, and type of caregivers involved in the meeting were categorized and recorded in the web-based tool (Supplementary Table 1). The categories of unmet needs were developed in reference to the findings on associations between neuropsychiatric symptoms and basic physical needs [33] and environmental sources of discomfort [34,35].…”

Demographics, Clinical Characteristics, and Therapeutic Approaches among Older Adults Referred to Mobile Psychiatric Crisis Intervention Teams: A Retrospective Study

“…We developed a new tool for documenting the subjective and objective psychiatric signs and symptoms based on literature review in the absence of an existing tool demonstrating onset, signs, and symptoms of acute psychiatric crises among home- and nursing home-dwelling OA patients [ 16 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. The tool is filled in by the requesting healthcare providers (family practitioner, specialist physician, and/or nursing staff) and attached to the form requesting a crisis-oriented intervention.…”