Doll use in care homes for people with dementia

Dolls and teddy bears were introduced into an Elderly Mentally Ill (EMI) home as part of a non-pharmacological intervention. Thirteen residents from a population of 33 chose to use a doll and one chose a teddy bear. The impact of the toys was assessed on five domains over a 12-week period and the findings were generally positive, which was consistent with previous observations (Mackenzie et al., in press). The investigation also attempted to determine whether staff were able to predict which residents would chose a toy. In terms of the dolls, out of the 16 residents predicted to use a doll, nine did so (56% accuracy). Despite the benefits outlined in this largely descriptive study, a number of problems were observed and some of these difficulties are outlined below.