45% of N.S. nursing home residents show aggressive behaviour: report

More than two in five nursing home residents demonstrate aggressive behaviour, finds a study of selected nursing homes in Nova Scotia.

The report, Caring for Nursing Home Residents with Behavioural Symptoms: Information to Support a Quality Response, reveals that 45 per cent of residents in the nursing homes studied displayed such behaviour as resistance to care (30 per cent), verbal abuse (16 per cent), socially inappropriate behaviour (14 per cent), and physical abuse (10 per cent).

The study released Thursday was conducted by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, which surveyed 699 residents in five facilities in the province between 2003 and 2007.

It found that the three main causes of aggressive behaviour were delirium, insomnia and depression. The study's authors also found that nursing home residents who had lost their independence and who had myriad health problems were more likely to be aggressive.

"Our data show that a considerable number of residents demonstrate behaviours that can be a source of distress to themselves, to other residents and staff," said Jean-Marie Berthelot, vice-president of programs at CIHI, in a release. "As our population ages and more people will be living in this type of setting, it is important to understand what factors contribute to these behaviours."

The report also found that 20 per cent of nursing home residents wandered, with independent residents more prone to wandering than those who required assistance. Patients suffering from Alzheimer's or dementia were more likely to wander, and women were more prone to wandering than men.

According to the 2005 National Survey of the Work and Health of Nurses, 50 per cent of nurses working in long-term care facilities reported they had been assaulted by a patient in the previous year.