PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S Agar

Publications and source records attributed to S Agar.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

The Challenging Behaviour Scale (CBS): development of a scale for staff caring for older people in residential and nursing homes.

OBJECTIVES: A review of behavioural rating scales identified the need for a measure of resident behaviours that staff in care homes for older people find difficult to manage. A 25-item, broad-based rating scale, the Challenging Behaviour Scale (CBS), was developed to meet this need and its psychometric properties were examined. DESIGN: Cross-sectional surveys. METHODS: Ratings of 484 residents, living in 16 homes across England, were used to examine four methods of collecting inter-rater reliability data. Ratings of 382 residents living in 13 homes were used to evaluate criterion validity and to establish norms. Six further homes were used to explore qualitatively the validity of the suggested norms. Ratings of 98 residents living in four further homes were used to examine concurrent validity. The predictive validity of the CBS 'challenge' score was evaluated, using time-sampled direct observation of challenging behaviour in 237 residents, living in 11 homes. RESULTS: The scale records staff reports of the incidence, frequency and 'management difficulty' of resident behaviour and it can also identify 'challenging residents' through a computed score. It has good internal consistency, good test-retest reliability and adequate validity. Inter-rater reliability is good when staff receive training or when staff groups of at least three, of mixed qualifications, complete the scale. Norms are suggested for prospective studies of the prevalence of challenging behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: The CBS is quick to complete and may have potential for the evaluation of psychosocial interventions in care settings. It is, as far as we know, the first staff observational rating scale that is based on the reports of care staff, who constitute the backbone of residential care provision. Suggestions for improvements in criterion and content validity are outlined.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Can staff training reduce behavioural problems in residential care for the elderly mentally ill?

The effect of a brief in-service training programme on the psychosocial management of behavioural disturbance in residential care is described. Although the incidence of problematic behaviour did not change 3 months after training, staff in the experimental homes reported a significant improvement in their management of problematic behaviour, as compared to the control home. However, these effects were not maintained a year later. The importance of post-training supervision and the sociocultural context of the home in the maintenance of psychosocial intervention in residential settings is discussed.

Aged↗