Aged Care Services Australia Group Pty Ltd., Australia; School of Nursing and Midwifery, La Trobe University, Australia
National Ageing Research Institute, Australia; Australian Catholic University and Catholic Homes, Australia.
Dementia (London). 2016 Jul;15(4):494-509. doi: 10.1177/1471301214527300. Epub 2014 Mar 25.
Apathy is one of the most frequent and early symptoms of dementia. Because apathy is characterised by lack of initiative and motivation, it leads to considerable burden being placed on carers to ensure that the person living with dementia has a reasonable quality of life. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between apathy and participation in therapeutic activities for older people with dementia living in nursing homes. Ninety residents were recruited into the study, and apathy was measured by nursing home staff using the Apathy Evaluation Scale Clinician version. Staff also compiled data on each resident's involvement in therapeutic activities. Among this sample, the mean age was 84.8 years, and mean length of stay in the nursing home was 1.8 years. The mean apathy score was 50.4, indicating that on average the residents had a moderate level of apathy. Overall, residents participated in six activities per week and those residents who were involved in the most activities had the lowest levels of apathy. This paper provides evidence that residents involved in therapeutic activities have lower levels of apathy. Further research should be conducted on the direction of causality, whether apathy levels can be changed through participation in therapeutic activities, the relationship between dementia severity and modifiability of apathy, and the intensity of therapeutic activities required to maintain functioning.
冷漠是痴呆症最常见和最早的症状之一。由于冷漠的特点是缺乏主动性和动力，这导致护理人员承担了相当大的负担，以确保患有痴呆症的人享有合理的生活质量。本研究旨在调查养老院中患有痴呆症的老年人冷漠与参与治疗活动之间的关系。90 名居民被招募参与该研究，护理人员使用临床冷漠评估量表来衡量冷漠程度。工作人员还收集了每位居民参与治疗活动的数据。在这个样本中，平均年龄为 84.8 岁，平均在养老院的居住时间为 1.8 年。平均冷漠得分为 50.4，表明居民平均存在中度冷漠。总体而言，居民每周参与六次活动，参与活动最多的居民的冷漠程度最低。本文提供了证据表明，参与治疗活动的居民的冷漠程度较低。应进一步研究因果关系的方向、通过参与治疗活动是否可以改变冷漠程度、痴呆症严重程度与冷漠可修饰性之间的关系，以及维持功能所需的治疗活动的强度。
