[Effect of snoezelen on the behaviour of demented elderly]

A randomised cross-over trial was carried out at nursing home Bernardus in Amsterdam to investigate the effect of 'snoezelen' in a specially furnished room on the well-being of demented elderly people. The behaviour during the experimental intervention 'snoezelen' was compared with the behaviour during the control intervention, consisting of standard activities in the livingroom. Sixteen elderly persons participated in the study. They were all in a very advanced stage of dementia, requiring a high level of care and nursing. The occurrence of behavioural problems was registered, using video cameras and assessed with four subscales of the Gedragsobservatieschaal voor de Intramurale Psychogeriatrie (GIP) (behavioural observation scale for intramural psychogeriatrics). During the experimental intervention a relatively low level of behavioural problems was observed. This could indicate that snoezelen increases the wellbeing of demented elderly. The outcome of this study indicates the need of a larger-scale study in which additional outcome parameters should be included.