Promoting Movement in Hospitalized Older Adults With Dementia.

You may have heard the statement recently that sitting too much and for too long is as bad as smoking. Conversely, simple movement such as a mere 5-minute walk offers significant benefits for both physical and mental health. Keeping moving is especially valuable for hospitalized older adults, particularly for those living with dementia. Bed rest and the accompanying low levels of physical activity lead to deconditioning and overall functional decline within as little as 48 hours. Deconditioning then often results in increased risk of falls, longer hospital stays, need for new nursing home placement, and death according to the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing.In this issue of AJCC, Resnick et al used this knowledge to focus their attention on ways that the health care team can support and promote physical activity among hospitalized older adults with dementia. Their research shows that the best way to support movement in hospitalized older adults with dementia is to create an environment that is conducive to movement. If nurses create this movement-friendly environment by treating pain, preventing delirium, and reducing use of common tethers such as catheters, we can greatly increase the chance of promoting successful movement in older adults with dementia. These interventions are well within every nurse’s sphere of control.