Combining behavior management and mutual goal setting to reduce physical dependency in nursing home residents.

The effectiveness of three nursing approaches in fostering self-care behaviors in elderly nursing home residents was compared. The study was conducted in three intermediate care nursing homes. Each home was randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a combination of behavior modification and mutual goal setting (Condition 1), mutual goal setting only (Condition 2), and routine nursing care (Condition 3). Seventy-nine subjects completed the study. In-service training was provided to nursing staff in Conditions 1 and 2 but not in Condition 3. Over a period of 22 weeks, nursing staff encouraged subjects to do parts of their morning activities of daily living (ADLs) independently. When the groups were compared on self-care behaviors at the end of the 22 weeks, subjects who received the combination treatment performed significantly more self-care behaviors than those in the other two groups.