Managing agitated behaviour in older people.

Older people diagnosed with dementia can have complex needs, especially when they exhibit agitated behaviour. Patients with agitated behaviour challenge the delivery of health care. Often the behaviour is a symptom of unmet needs in this population (Dewing 2010). It is important for nurses to understand the underlying causes and apply evidence-based interventions in their nursing practice to promote health, safety and the highest quality of life possible. This article defines and classifies agitated behaviours, discusses implications for their management and then presents evidence-based interventions nurses can use. The interventions are categorised according to each of the five senses.

Reinventando práticas de enfermagem na educação em saúde: teatro com idosos / Reinventing nursing practice in health education: theater with elderly / Reinventando las prácticas de enfermería en la educación para la salud: el teatro con ancianos

O estudo apresenta como objetivo elaborar uma intervenção de enfermagem em educação em saúde, com enfoque na promoção à saúde de um grupo de idosos, utilizando como ferramenta as artes cênicas. Trata-se de uma pesquisa-ação, realizada a partir de encontros semanais, definidos previamente, em espaço reservado. Nos encontros, foram trabalhadas as seguintes temáticas: acolhimento; Construção das histórias de vida; Retirando máscaras; Viajando na imaginação/diversidade dos cenários; Trabalhando a emoção - comunicação não verbal; Trabalho corporal - movimentação no palco; Fazendo caras e bocas; Oficina de personagens; Ensaiando uma peça teatral - "O que a vida me ensinou e o que posso lhe adiantar". O teatro se mostrou um excelente instrumento de empoderamento da população idosa, a partir da valorização de suas experiências de vida.

The study has as a goal, elaborate a nursing intervention in health education, focusing on health promotion from a group of elderly people using arts as tool. This is an action research, conducted through weekly meetings, previously defined in placeholder. In the meetings the following themes were explored: Reception; construction of life histories; Removing masks; Traveling in imagination/ diversity of scenarios; Working the emotion: nonverbal communication; Body work: moving on the stage; Making faces; Shop characters; Rehearsing a theater play - what life has taught me and what you can anticipate. The theatre showed an excellent way in the empowerment of the elderly population from the recovery and their life experiences.

El estudio tiene como objetivo elaborar una intervención de enfermería en educación para la salud, centrándose en la promoción de la salud de un grupo de personas mayores, utilizando como herramienta el arte escénico. Se trata de una investigación-acción, llevada a cabo a través de reuniones semanales, establecidas previamente en un espacio reservado. En las reuniones fueron explorados los siguientes temas: Acogida; La construcción de historias de vida; Extracción de máscaras; Viaje en la imaginación/diversidad de los escenarios; Trabajando las emociones - comunicación no verbal; Trabajo del cuerpo - movimiento en el escenario; haciendo caras y bocas; talleres de los personajes; Ensayando un acto teatral - Lo que la vida me enseñó y lo que le puedo ayudar. El teatro resultó en una excelente herramienta para el empoderamiento de la población anciana, con base en el valor de sus experiencias de vida.

A comparison of multisensory and traditional interventions on inpatient psychiatry and geriatric neuropsychiatry units.

Sensory rooms and the use of multisensory interventions are becoming popular in inpatient psychiatry. The empirical data supporting their use are limited, and there is only anecdotal evidence indicating effectiveness in psychiatric populations. The specific aims of this observational pilot study were to determine whether multisensory-based therapies were effective in managing psychiatric symptoms and to evaluate how these interventions compared to traditional ones used in the milieu. The study found that multisensory interventions were as effective as traditional ones in managing symptoms, and participants' Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale scores significantly improved following both kinds of intervention. Medication administration did not affect symptom reduction. This article explores how multisensory interventions offer choice in symptom management. Education regarding multisensory strategies should become integral to inpatient and outpatient group programs, in that additional symptom management strategies can only be an asset.

Transformação da sucata hospitalar em sessões de arteterapia na internação pediátrica / Transformation of hospital junk in sessions of art-therapy within pediatric hospitalizations / Transformación de la chatarra hospitalaria mediante el proceso de la arteterapia en la internación pediátrica

A hospitalização pediátrica constitui uma experiência estressante e traumática, podendo determinar distúrbios comportamentais diversos na criança, que vão da agressividade à apatia. Para amenizar estes fatores, pode-se estimular a criação de trabalhos artísticos por meio da transformação da "sucata". Essa criação dá nova forma e sentido a algo que, muitas vezes, tem um significado negativo na vida da criança hospitalizada. São materiais que aparentemente geram dor e sofrimento, mas servem para brincar, desenvolver os sentidos e estímulos psicomotores. O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar, em sessões de arteterapia, a transformação e manipulação da sucata hospitalar, tendo como participantes 20 crianças internadas. Trata-se de um estudo do tipo exploratório-descritivo com abordagem qualitativa, fundamentado na transformação da sucata hospitalar pelas crianças internadas. A análise dos dados mostrou que a manipulação e transformação da sucata hospitalar facilitaram o processo criativo, como também a comunicação e a expressão das crianças internadas. Concluiu-se que a sucata hospitalar utilizada em sessões de arteterapia, além de ser um material de fácil acesso, contribui para melhorar a qualidade do atendimento às crianças enfermas. Ademais, amplia o conhecimento do profissional de enfermagem que pode usufruir desta prática na assistência a seus clientes.

Pediatric hospitalization constitutes a stressful and traumatic experience. It allows to determine several behavioral disturbances in the children that range from aggressiveness to apathy. In order to soothe these factors, it is possible to encourage the creation of artistic projects through the transformation of hospital junk. These creations give new forms and meanings to things that oftentimes have a negative connotation in the life of hospitalized children. These materials apparently generate pain and suffering, but are also useful to play, and develop the senses and psychomotor stimuli. The objective of this study was to begin the transformation and manipulation of hospital junk, within sessions of art-therapy, with 20 hospitalized children. This is an exploratory-descriptive study with a qualitative approach, founded in the transformation of hospital junk by the children. The data analysis showed that the manipulation and transformation of the hospital junk facilitated the creative process, as well as the communication and the expression of the children. In conclusion, the hospital junk utilized in sessions of art-therapy, besides being of easy access, contributes to improving the quality of the care given to the sick children. Furthermore, it broadens the knowledge of the nursing professionals, who can take advantage of this practice in assisting their clients.

La hospitalización pediátrica constituye una experiencia estresante y traumática que puede determinar diversos disturbios comportamentales en el niño, que van desde la agresividad hasta la apatía. Para amenizar estos factores, es posible estimular la creación de trabajos artísticos por medio de la transformación de la chatarra hospitalaria a través del proceso de arteterapia. Esa creación da una nueva forma y sentido a algo que, muchas veces, posee un significado negativo en la vida del niño hospitalizado. Son materiales que aparentemente generam dolor y sufrimiento, pero sirven para jugar, desarrollar los sentidos y estímulos psicomotores. La finalidad de este trabajo fue efectuar, en sesiones de arteterapia, la transformación y el manejo de la chatarra hospitalaria, con la participación de 20 niños internados. Se trata de un estudio exploratorio y descriptivo con aproximación cualitativa, basado en la transformación de la chatarra hospitalaria por los niños internados. El análisis de los datos reveló que el manejo y la transformación de la chatarra hospitalaria facilitaron el proceso creativo, la comunicación y la expresión de los niños internados, así como posibilitó la transformación de materiales con aspecto representativamente negativo en algo lúdico. Se concluye que la chatarra hospitalaria utilizada en sesiones de arteterapia, además de ser un material de fácil acceso, contribuye para mejorar la cualidad de la atención a los niños enfermos. También amplia el conocimiento del profesional de enfermería que puede disfrutar de esta práctica en la atención a sus clientes.

Arts in health care: a new paradigm for holistic nursing practice.

Bringing creativity into health care has opened up a new dimension in nursing. Creative interventions have been shown to shorten hospital stays and reduce the patient's need for pain medication. In response to these benefits, many major medical centers around the world have instituted arts in health care programs. Arts in Medicine is one such program that serves hundreds of patients. It was established by a nurse at the University of Florida and is directly tied to nursing care. Programs like this provide clinical models for nurses who want to integrate the arts into their health care practice. This article presents these models and discusses ways that nurses can easily implement creative interventions into their practice.

Creativity and spirituality in nursing: implementing art in healing.

Creative modalities offer nurses a new perspective on how to care for patients. The link between creativity and healing is well documented. In response to this, many hospitals have instituted programs that include arts and creativity. Because of their unique bonds with patients, nurses play a crucial role in bringing creative arts into patient care. Several recommendations are given for implementing specific art media (eg, music, drawing, dance, writing) in the clinical setting.