Interventions for decreasing agitation behaviors in persons with dementia.

1. High stress is one of the possible causes of agitation behaviors in persons with dementia; use of stress management interventions may be helpful in reducing the stress level. 2. Two nursing interventions, hand massage and therapeutic touch, were effective in producing a relaxation response in persons with dementia who had a history of agitation behaviors; they did not, however, decrease agitation behavior. 3. Hand massage was more effective in producing relaxation than was therapeutic touch.