Prescribing patterns for psychotic and behavioural symptoms in dementia: a national survey

Off-label prescribing in psychiatric practice

Drug treatment is an essential part of much of psychiatric practice, in patients from a wide age range, across many diagnostic groups and in a variety of settings. Despite the availability of many classes of psychotropic drug, significant numbers of patients remain troubled by distressing and disabling symptoms even after a succession of licensed pharmacological treatments. Psychiatrists may then consider the prescription of a psychotropic outside the narrow terms of its licence, as part of an overall management plan. This article reviews the nature and extent of this aspect of prescribing, outlines when it may be appropriate and makes recommendations for a suggested procedure when prescribing medication ‘off-label’.

"Behind Closed Doors with open minds?": A qualitative study exploring nursing home staff's narratives towards their roles and duties within the context of sexuality in dementia

BACKGROUND

Despite sexual expression being recognised as a fundamental human need, sexuality in old age is often ignored and frequently misunderstood, with residents with dementia in a nursing home often viewed as asexual or incapable of being sexually active.

OBJECTIVES

The current study aims to understand the views held by nursing care home staff towards dementia and sexuality and explore the roles they may adopt whilst responding and managing sexual needs and expression for residents with dementia.

METHODS

Face to face, in-depth, semi structured interviews were conducted with eight staff members working in two nursing homes in Greater London, United Kingdom. Data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

RESULTS

The findings suggest that representations of sexuality in dementia held by nursing home staff ranged from the perception that sexual expression in old age was part of human nature and a basic human right to others that proposed that with the loss of memory, people with dementia may also experience loss of interest in sexuality and intimacy. Based on the representation of sexuality held (personhood versus biomedical model), nursing home staff adopted a role or a combination of roles (a facilitator, an informant, a distractor, an empathiser, a safeguarder) that legitimised past and anticipated responses in managing sexual expression in the nursing home setting. Nursing home staff's responses varied depending on the severity of the condition, level of involvement of the resident's family and their own personal views on their duty of care, old age, sexuality and dementia.

CONCLUSION

The simplified binary labelling and classification of sexual behaviour in dementia as appropriate or inappropriate often applied in institutional settings, fails to account for complex factors that may influence staff's decisions on the ethical dilemmas raised by dementia. A role based continuum approach could help staff move away from rigid binary judgments and train them to adopt formal carer roles that promote a more contextualised rights based approach in the provision of dementia care.

‘Inappropriate’ sexual behaviours in dementia

Human sexuality is a complex interaction of biological, social and emotional factors. When any or all of these factors are disrupted by a progressive dementia it is unsurprising that sexual ‘problems’ are identified. Most sexual behaviour ‘problems’ relate to expressions of normal sexuality complicated by changes in relationships, care needs and cognitive function, and complex ethical and legal considerations emerge. Rarely, new and severe hypersexual or paraphilic behaviours arise de novo, usually due to damage to certain brain areas, and sometimes due to medication side-effects, psychiatric disorder or delirium. Evidence and approaches to assess and to manage sexual behaviour problems in dementia are discussed.

Inappropriate sexual behaviour and dementia: An exploration of staff experiences

Research assessing the impact of inappropriate sexual behaviour (ISB) on staff working in dementia care is circumscribed, yet studies from comparable settings indicate that ISB appears uniquely challenging, particularly to personal and cultural values. This study explored staff experiences of ISB exhibited by older adults with a dementia. Fourteen staff working within an in-patient setting were interviewed. Participants’ experiences of ISB appeared underpinned by complex social and psychological processes. Shock, embarrassment and incomprehension were prominent when ISB was initially encountered. Knowledge of dementia, familiarity with patients and social norms were important in contextualising ISB and staff often minimised its impact by construing a lack of capacity. Feelings about ISB appeared equivocal and findings suggest that the effect of ISB should be routinely considered in preparing staff who work within dementia care.