MOMENTARY ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT AND AGITATION IN PERSONS WITH DEMENTIA AT HOME SETTINGS - A TIME-SERIES ANALYSIS

Q: What data sources were used to study agitation in home settings?

The study used room-level environmental sensors (light level, temperature, humidity, air pressure, noise/audio) and wrist-worn accelerometers to capture agitation, alongside timestamped caregiver agitation reports and contextual surveys.

Q: Which environmental factors were associated with increased agitation likelihood?

Elevated noise levels and abrupt light changes significantly increased agitation odds (p < 0.05), with stronger effects noted in the bedroom and kitchen.

Q: How did Phase III caregiver-targeted interventions affect agitation sensitivity?

In Phase III deployments, caregiver-targeted interventions reduced agitation sensitivity to environmental volatility, indicating that contextual feedback improved caregiver responsiveness and behavior management.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by CatatanPagi

Dementia-related agitation often arises in unpredictable daily episodes, increasing caregiver stress and the likelihood of early nursing home placement. A secondary time-series analysis of the Behavioral and Environmental Sensing and Intervention (BESI) dataset examined how momentary home environmental conditions relate to agitation episodes reported by caregivers of persons with dementia living at home. Room-level sensors captured light, temperature, humidity, pressure, and noise/audio; agitation was measured with wrist-worn accelerometers. Generalized linear mixed models indicated higher noise and abrupt light changes significantly elevated agitation odds (p<0.05), with bedroom and kitchen effects. Phase III caregiver-targeted interventions reduced agitation sensitivity to environmental volatility, suggesting real-time contextual feedback improves responsiveness.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Methods

Data sources and sensing modalities

Data harmonization and labeling

Results

Environmental predictors of agitation

Impact of caregiver-targeted interventions

Implications

Context-aware just-in-time support for home dementia care

1078 Innovation in Aging, 2025, Vol. 9, No. S2 13 BESI deployments (Phase II: eight 30-day, Phase III: five 60-day). Environmental features, including light level, temperature, humidity, air pressure, and noise/audio features, were collected via room-level sensors. Agitation was captured using wrist-worn accelerometers. Caregivers provided timestamped agitation reports and contextual surveys. Data were harmonized across modalities using UNIX (a standardized digital timestamp format) and relative time formats. Agitation windows (±5 minutes) were labeled, and environmental features were normalized. Generalized linear mixed models were used to estimate agitation likelihood based on environmental fluctuations, controlling household-level clustering. Preliminary modeling revealed that elevated noise levels and abrupt light changes significantly increased agitation odds (p < 0.05), especially bedroom and kitchen. Caregiver-targeted interventions in Phase III deployments demonstrated reduced agitation sensitivity to environmental volatility. This suggests that real-time contextual feedback enhanced caregiver responsiveness and behavior management. Momentary environmental context plays a critical role in dementia-related agitation. Time-series data offer a novel lens for understanding agitation triggers in dementia care. Findings support the development of context-aware, just-in-time interventions to empower caregivers and improve dementia care in home settings. Abstract citation ID: igaf122.3625 MOMENTARY ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT AND AGITATION IN PERSONS WITH DEMENTIA AT HOME SETTINGS: A TIME-SERIES ANALYSIS Chunhong Xiao1, Azziza O. Bankole2, Rita Jablonski3, Frank Puga4, Arie Nakhmani3, Roberto Fernandez-Romero5, Tami Wyatt5, and Robert Davis5, 1. The University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, 2. Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech /Carilion School of Medicine, Virginia, United States, 3. UAB, Birmingham/University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 4. University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 5. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville/ University of Tennessee, Tennessee, United States Dementia-related agitation often occurs in unpredictable episodes throughout the day, contributing to increased caregiver stress and early nursing home placement. There is a lack of knowledge about the dynamics of momentary agitation influenced by home environment triggers. We conducted a secondary time-series analysis of the Behavioral and Environmental Sensing and Intervention (BESI) dataset to examine how home environmental conditions relate to agitation episodes reported by caregivers of PWD at home. The time-series analysis used data from

FAQs

What data sources were used to study agitation in home settings?

The study used room-level environmental sensors (light level, temperature, humidity, air pressure, noise/audio) and wrist-worn accelerometers to capture agitation, alongside timestamped caregiver agitation reports and contextual surveys.

Which environmental factors were associated with increased agitation likelihood?

Elevated noise levels and abrupt light changes significantly increased agitation odds (p < 0.05), with stronger effects noted in the bedroom and kitchen.

How did Phase III caregiver-targeted interventions affect agitation sensitivity?

In Phase III deployments, caregiver-targeted interventions reduced agitation sensitivity to environmental volatility, indicating that contextual feedback improved caregiver responsiveness and behavior management.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by CatatanPagi