2018 Volume 21 Issue 1 Pages 28-35
Purpose: The present study aimed to determine factors associated with changes in neuropsychiatric symptoms （NPS） among frail elderly persons before and after a short-term stay in a geriatric health care facility. Methods: Fifty frail elderly individuals receiving short-term residential respite care at a single geriatric healthcare facility in southeast Hyogo Prefecture participated in the present study. We assessed NPS using a modified neuropsychiatric inventory （NPI） scale with twoday observational periods before and after a short-term stay in the facility. Time spent away from bed at the facility was compared with that at home. Frail elderly persons were divided into groups according to the presence or absence of changes in the modified NPI scale. We investigated factors associated with changes in NPS and cut-off values. Results: Logistic regression analysis selected an increased amount of time spent away from bed compared with that at home as an independent factor associated with improved NPS （odds ratio, 1.297; 95％ CI, 1.004-1.676; p ＜ 0.05）. An increase of 2.5 hours in the amount of time spent away from bed in the facility was identified as an optimal cut-off for improvements in NPS（ sensitivity, 0.647; specificity, 0.879）. Conclusion: Improved NPS among frail elderly persons after a short stay in a care facility was associated with an increase in the amount of time spent away from bed.
