Cross-sectional study of prevalence of dementia, behavioural symptoms, mobility, pain and other health parameters in nursing homes in Austria and the Czech Republic: results from the DEMDATA project

BACKGROUND: This paper provides a first comparative exploratory analysis of our findings from DEMDATA, a collaborative project between Austria and the Czech Republic. Analysed here are data from the residents and the environment assessment protocol. METHODS: In a cross sectional study design, residents from randomly drawn and stratified nursing homes were investigated using a common study protocol. RESULTS: From a total resident pool of 1666 persons, 1085 (571 in Austria, 514 in the Czech Republic) persons signed a consent form and participated in the data collection. More than 70% of residents assessed were female and the population was on average 85 years old. A discrepancy between the presence of a medical diagnosis in the charts of the residents and the results of cognitive testing was found. In Austria, 85.2%, in the Czech Republic 53.0% of residents had cognitive impairment. In Austria 80.0%, and in the Czech Republic 56.7% had behavioural problems. With respect to pain, 44.8% in Austria, and 51.5% in the Czech Republic had mild to severe pain. 78.4% of Austrian and 74.5% of the residents had problems with mobility and both populations were in danger of malnutrition. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the prevalence rates are comparable with previous studies also using direct resident assessment. Variations in prevalence rates seem to result mainly from the assessment technique (direct cognitive testing vs. medical chart review). The high prevalence rates for dementia, behavioural symptoms, pain and malnutrition indicate an immediate call for attention to further research and practice development.