Toward holistic theory-based intervention for dementia behavior

Four million Americans suffer from some form of dementia. Over 50% of these individuals exhibit behaviors that are perceived as "disturbing" by family and caregivers. The Need-driven Dementia-compromised Behavior Model was developed by a group of nurse researchers to study and understand these behaviors. The model changes the view of dementia behaviors as "disturbing" to that of behavior as signifying potentially understandable needs. This article reviews the model and demonstrates how interventions derived from the model can be used to respond to dementia behaviors in a holistic fashion.