Handling Aggressive Residents and Patients with Dementia for Home Health Care

Course overview

Patient care often goes beyond general medical support to include caring for both psychological and emotional needs. When a patient becomes emotionally upset, displaying aggressive physical behavior, it is not only disruptive but can be harmful to healthcare workers, family members, and other patients and interfere with necessary medical care. Aggressive physical behavior occurs in 30% to 50% of those people who suffer from dementia, and aggressive behaviors might include punching, kicking, biting, grabbing, pushing, throwing objects, or spitting. Healthcare providers working in home care agencies often have to care for patients who exhibit aggressive behaviors. This course will discuss the causes behind these behaviors, how to identify triggers that cause the behaviors, and how to interact effectively with an aggressive patient to increase safety for all around and improve overall patient care.