Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) is the most prominent and distressing manifestation for older persons with dementia (PWD) and caregivers. Aromatherapy was a potentially safe and effective non-pharmacological strategy in BPSD management and could provide benefits to PWD and caregivers. In Hong Kong, some Residential Care Homes for the Elderly and day care centres have provided aromatherapy service to the PWD receiving service from them. However, no such service was provided to the community-dwelling PWD living at home, which constitute a larger proportion of dementia population in HK. In addition, there is no clear implementation protocol, or formal training to the family caregivers to deliver aromatherapy to PWD in home-based setting. Therefore, this study aims to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a home-based family caregiver-delivered aromatherapy programme for the management of BPSD. PWD ≥ 60-year-old, with BPSD symptoms, and living at home, as well as their family caregivers will be recruited. Participants who pass the screening are randomly allocated to intervention or control group. Those in the intervention group receive home-based aromatherapy programme. Those in the control group receive no intervention for 3-week control period, and then receive home-based aromatherapy programme. The outcome measures will be conducted at baseline and after the 3-week intervention/control period by using Chinese versions of Neuropsychiatric Inventory (CNPI), Chinese version of Dementia QoL Measure-Proxy (C-DEMQoL-Proxy), and Chinese version of Zarit Burden Interview (CZBI).
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Change of older persons with dementia (PWD)'s severity of BPSD as assessed by CNPI
Timeframe: baseline, after 3-week intervention/ control period