[Disruptive behavior; what is it, how prevalent is it and how much nursing care does it require in geriatric departments?].

The purpose of the study was to examine disruptive behaviors in elderly patients, to find out the prevalence of disruptive behaviors and the most disruptive behavior for staff and to examine nursing interventions in these situations. The data were collected with a questionnaire. The respondents on the survey were special nurses, nurses, mental health nurses and licensed nurses (N = 287). This type of study cannot be generalized to a larger population of geriatric care facilities without bearing in mind that the population studied was not representative of the general population of all geriatric care facilities. Our results show that problems of mobility, incontinence, dressing, language and passivity were among the top five most frequently occurring on geriatric wards. Nursing personnel identified physical aggression as the most disruptive behavior for them. The results of this study suggest that disruptive behaviors occur at rates which are clinically significant in a geriatric care setting. Research into the etiology and treatment of disruptive behaviors is in a most preliminary stage. Research is also needed on the potential for training nursing staff in the use of simple and positive behavioral procedures.