Temporal patterns of agitated nursing home residents

Twenty-four highly agitated, cognitively impaired nursing home residents were studied in depth to determine whether they manifested temporal patterns of agitation. Results demonstrated that agitated behaviors were significantly associated with temporal factors. For instance, residents made more requests for attention during lunch than other time periods, and residents screamed most often during the night. Some agitated behaviors (e.g., aggression) were manifested more frequently in the evening than in the day, consistent with the notion of sundowning in the nursing home. Implications of temporal patterns of agitation for caregivers of severely cognitively impaired and agitated nursing home residents are discussed.