Assessments of institutionalized dementia patients' competencies to participate in intimate relationships.

Although sexual interests in institutionalized elderly patients have long been recognized (Comfort, 1974; Wasow & Loeb, 1974), guidelines to help determine patients' competencies to participate in intimate relationships are not delineated in the literature. This paper describes the assessment technique used by an interdisciplinary staff on a coed Alzheimer's disease unit. Two case studies are presented to highlight how the assessment led to the treatment decisions.