Demanding behaviours and workload in elderly care in Sweden: occurrence at two time points within a decade

The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of demanding behaviours in persons >= 65 years receiving home care or living in sheltered accommodation at two points in time, 1993 and 2002. Another aim was to investigate whether the perceived workload in staff had changed during this period. All persons >= 65 years living at home and utilizing home care services or those who lived in some form of sheltered housing were included and assessed by staff using a three-part questionnaire, in two cross-sectional studies. The study group comprised 1187 and 1017 participants which equals 77% and 99% respectively. Symptoms and degree of behavioural and psychiatric symptoms common in dementia that were assessed with a subscale in The Gottfries-Brane-Steen Scale, demonstrated an all over increase from 1993 to 2002. Items from The Multi Dimensional Dementia Assessment Scale (MDDAS) measured a decrease in 'daily' occurrences of dementia symptoms but an increase in 'sometimes per week'. A mixed pattern was seen concerning behaviours where increases as well as decreases were found. The behaviours 'constantly seeking attention' and 'shrieking continuously' increased significantly. The number of individuals showing restless, aggressive or shrieking behaviours increased significantly over the decade. Two items from the MDDAS were used to measure the workload. The physical workload increased significantly over the decade whereas the rising tendencies of the psychological workload were not statistically significant. The mean age over the decade had increased from 83 to 86 years, which together with the findings make the recipients of home care and sheltered housing a very vulnerable group. The demanding problems place considerable pressure on staff.