New Educational Video Series Demonstrates Symptoms of Agitation in Alzheimer’s Dementia
The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) has released a new educational video series on Agitation in Alzheimer’s dementia (AAD), one of the most common and disturbing behavioral symptoms of Alzheimer’s dementia.
AAD affects millions of older adults, their families, and caregivers, and contributes to emotional strain, reduced quality of life, and negative health outcomes. AAD disrupts independence, communication, and daily functioning and the individual with AAD and their family require informed, compassionate care. In response, GSA, with support from Otsuka and Lundbeck, has developed this series of videos to illustrate the challenges for those navigating the complexities of AAD.
The video series examines AAD in eight video vignettes that illustrate a person with AAD. Four specific examples of the AAD symptoms are illustrated in these vignettes: asking repeated questions, pacing or restlessness, verbal aggression, and resistance to assistance or care.
Each pair of videos shows a person with AAD and their family members. One video illustrates someone with a poorly managed symptom of AAD attempting an activity, and a second companion video illustrates the same person with well-managed AAD engaging in the same activity. Viewers will notice that in both videos, the family members attempt nonpharmacological strategies to address behavior, yet these are not as successful in the poorly managed AAD examples. An infographic developed in conjunction with the videos summaries key aspects of detecting and treating AAD.
“We have learned that providers, caregivers, and others may not fully understand the term agitation,” said GSA Director of Strategic Alliances Jen Pettis, who led the development of the video series. “In fact, it would be difficult for them to actually illustrate what agitation looks like.”
Pettis noted that “there is a vital need to educate multiple communities of interest about how agitation presents. Likewise, it is essential to advance the conversation about treating agitation beyond ensuring the lack of symptoms to how the lack of symptoms translates to improved function, for example, an individual can better engage in self-care and improved quality of life, for example, an individual can sit long enough to enjoy a meal or visit with their family member.”
This new series shows that treating AAD is not only about reducing troubling behavior; it’s about how that reduction leads to better functioning and improved quality of life for the person with AAD and their family. The GSA KAER Toolkit for Brain Health and a variety of other brain health resources are available to support care teams in enhancing care for people with dementia, including those with AAD.
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The Gerontological Society of America (GSA), founded in 1945, is the nation’s oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization focused on aging. It serves more than 6,000 members in over 50 countries. GSA’s vision, meaningful lives as we age, is supported by its mission to foster excellence, innovation, and collaboration to advance aging research, education, practice, and policy. GSA is home to the National Academy on an Aging Society (a nonpartisan public policy institute) and the National Center to Reframe Aging.