Holistic Interventions to address pain, anxiety, and distressing behaviours in long-term care residents

Hovde, Janet C., Geisler, Carol C., Marinelli, Janet M. and Hale, Briley (2023) Holistic Interventions to address pain, anxiety, and distressing behaviours in long-term care residents. Journal of Long-Term Care. pp. 12-22. ISSN 2516-9122

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Abstract

Context: Residents experiencing pain, anxiety, and distressing behaviours, often in conjunction with mental health diagnoses and dementia, can be challenging for staff in long-term care facilities and may result in jeopardising resident and staff safety, quality of life, staff delivery of care, and overuse of psychotropic medications. Objective: Describe the effects of three holistic interventions (hand portion of the ‘M’ Technique®, aromatherapy, and energy healing) to reduce pain, anxiety, and distressing behaviours in long-term care residents. Method: Pragmatic secondary analysis of pre- and post-intervention quantitative and qualitative data. Findings: Staff administered a total of 363 individual sessions using the ‘M’ Technique® for hands, aromatherapy, and/or energy healing to 75 residents who were able to indicate their pain and/or anxiety levels before and after a session. Results indicate significant differences in decreased pain by session, decreased anxiety by session, decreased pain by person, and decreased anxiety by person. Qualitative results, primarily gathered from an additional 1,024 sessions in which residents were unable to use pain and anxiety scales, indicate a decrease in distressing behaviours and overall improvement of milieu. Limitations: We collected data as part of a quality improvement programme without the intent of being published as a research study. It is difficult to assess the reliability and validity of self-reported quantitative pain and anxiety scales for people with dementia. Implications: Holistic interventions, including the ‘M’ Technique for hands, aromatherapy, and/or energy healing, show promise in reducing pain, anxiety, and distressing behaviours in residents of long-term care facilities, along with improvements in the facilities’ environment.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2023 The Author(s)
Divisions:	LSE
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Date Deposited:	16 Jun 2023 12:03
Last Modified:	25 Apr 2024 22:18
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/119440

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