Table 2.
Exposure and Reaction of Health Care Proxies to Distressing Symptoms Experienced by Nursing Home Residents with Advanced Dementiaa
| Item on SCAREDb Scale | No. (%) Exposed to Symptomc | No. (%) Reporting Feard | No. (%) Reporting Helplessnessd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feeling resident has had enough | 259/779 (33.2) | 57/259 (22.0) | 151/259 (58.3) |
| Unable to eat or swallow/choking | 164/779 (21.1) | 77/164 (47.0) | 110/164 (67.1) |
| Severe pain or discomfort | 147/779 (18.9) | 58/147 (39.5) | 101/147 (68.7) |
| Confusion, delirium | 103/779 (13.2) | 36/103 (35.0) | 58/103 (56.3) |
| Dehydration | 76/779 (9.8) | 29/76 (38.2) | 38/76 (50.0) |
| Other event | 63/779 (8.9) | 18/63 (28.6) | 34/63 (54.0) |
| Insomnia/sleeplessness | 42/779 (5.4) | 6/42 (14.3) | 20/42 (47.6) |
| Vomiting | 38/779 (4.9) | 18/38 (47.4) | 19/38 (50.0) |
| Thought resident was dead | 26/779 (3.3) | 15/26 (57.7) | 16/26 (61.5) |
| Falling, collapsing, passing-out | 21/779 (2.7) | 7/21 (33.3) | 7/21 (33.3) |
Based on 779 SCARED scale scores collected quarterly over 18 months
Stressful Caregiving Adult Reactions to Experiences of Dying (SCARED) scale
Frequency of symptom exposure over prior month reported as never, once or twice a month, every week, or every day. The data describe the proportion of assessments in which health care proxies reported having had at least some symptom exposure
The degree to which the HCP experienced fear or helplessness was reported as: none, somewhat, or very. The data describe the proportion of assessments in which the health care proxies reported being somewhat or very frightened/helpless (vs. none) among those exposed to each symptom