Linda L. Buettner

Lin Buettner is a professor of gerontology and therapeutic recreation. Her main research for the past 15 years has been the examination of therapeutic programs for older adults with secondary symptoms of dementia, depression, delirium and evaluating non-pharmacological interventions. **Current research underway: Alzheimer’s Association Investigator Initiated Research Grant (2009-2012) Award: IIRG-09-131429 Project Title: Mentally stimulating activities (MSAs) to treat apathy in early stage AD

There are 21 included publications by Linda L. Buettner :

TitleDateViewsBrief Description
Activity calendars for older adults with dementia: What you see is not what you get 2003 24890 This paper reports on a two-part study of nursing home recreation. In part one, a retrospective activity calendar and chart review was used in this comparative study of 107 long-term care residents with dementia. Data were collected and documented re...
Cognitive Training for Early-Stage Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia 2009 16926 The purpose of this article is to critically review and synthesize the literature on the effects of nonpharmacological cognitive training on dementia symptoms in early-stage Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementia. Electronic databases MEDLINE ...
Culture change and activities: Learning the lingo and making yourself invaluable 2009 1639 Cultures, by their very nature, can either embrace or resist change. Culture change can arise from an improved environment, due to inventions and other influences like regulations, or as a result of contact with other cultures. In its attempt to b...
Effectiveness of Community-Based, Nonpharmacological Interventions for Early-Stage Dementia Conclusions and Recommendations 2009 4786 In 2007, a comprehensive review of the extant research on nonpharmacological interventions for persons with early-stage dementia was conducted. More than 150 research reports, centered on six major domains, were included: early-stage support groups, ...
Efficacy of theory-based activities for behavioral symptoms of dementia 2005 7207 Background: Agitation and passivity are behavioral symptoms exhibited by 90% of nursing home residents with dementia. They account for many poor health outcomes, caregiver burden, and increased costs of long-term care. Objectives: This study tested ...
Evidence supporting exercise interventions for persons in early stage Alzheimer’s disease. 2008 1235 The purpose of this paper is to grade research evidence supporting nutritional interventions for persons with early stage dementias and to report the recommendations of a consensus panel. Thirty four studies were reviewed in the areas of dietary re...
Factors that relate to activity engagement in nursing home residents 2006 4028 Many nursing home residents are unoccupied and at risk for poor health outcomes because of inactivity. The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics of residents with dementia that predict engagement in activities when activities are impl...
Frailty and dementia: How activities professionals can help through water-based activities 2009 1839 The medical literature defines frailty as older persons experiencing low physical activity levels, muscle weakness, slowed physical and cognitive performance, fatigue, and unlntentional weight loss.1 A person with three or more of these...
Get your ACTivities together: New CMS regulations in long-term care. 2006 4705 Revised surveyor guidelines for ac- activities requirements in long-term care facilities became effective in June 2006. These guidelines have important programmatic, clinical, staff, and cost implications for gerontological nurses, administrators, an...
Health Promotion for the Mind, Body, and Spirit: A college course for older adults with dementia 2003 4849 This article describes a pilot study of an experimental college course for individuals with newly diagnosed dementia, with a focus on teaching methods for promoting and maintaining optimal health. Community involvement included recruitment by the loc...
Impact of Underlying Depression on Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Older Adults with Dementia 2010 3290 This article examines the moderating effect of depression on interdisciplinary treatment approaches for behaviors in dementia. A secondary analysis of data collected on tailored treatment of 105 long-term care residents with dementia found a signific...
Importance of interdisciplinary perspective in recognizing and treating depression 2010 2596 Depression in older people is an important clinical and public health problem that is commonly overlooked by health care providers. As people age, social support systems may be lost due to the death of significant others, retirement, cognitive and ph...
Mixed Behaviors in Dementia: The Need for a Paradigm Shift 2006 3757 This research was an examination of two specific types of behaviors, apathy and agitation, that commonly occur in older adults with dementia. In a retrospective analysis of existing data from two intervention projects, the authors explored the times ...
Practice Guidelines for Recreation Therapy in the Care of People with Dementia (CE) 2003 12472 Activity is a basic human need expressed in work and leisure pursuits. Unfortunately, people with dementia have a low rate of activity participation because of associated physical and cognitive constraints. Recently, the American Therapeutic Recreati...
Predicting Outcomes of Therapeutic Recreation Interventions for Older Adults with Dementia and Behavioral Symptoms 2006 7288 The purpose of this study was to examine the ability to predict outcomes of prescribed therapeutic recreation interventions (TRIs) for the treatment of the two major categories of disturbing behaviors in institutionalized older adults with dementia. ...
Prescribing Activities that Engage Passive Residents: An Innovative Method 2008 2671 Individuals with dementia are often passive, which places them at risk for further cognitive and functional decline. Recreational activities have been used in research to reduce passive behaviors, but systematic reviews of these studies have found mo...
Promoting Health in Early-Stage Dementia Evaluation of a 12-Week Course 2009 6340 This project tested a 12-week health promotion course for older adults with early- stage dementia. In a quasi-experimental design, participants were assigned by site to intervention group or control group and evaluated at two time points. Mini- Menta...
Review of Exemplar Programs for Adults with Early-Stage Alzheimer’s Disease 2008 2358 In response to the need to develop evidence-based best practices interventions and services for individuals in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the authors conducted an interdisciplinary literature review of exemplar programs, defined as...
A therapeutic cooking program for older adults with dementia: Effects on agitation and apathy 2003 55166 This study describes a clinical trial of a recreational therapy cooking program for older adults with dementia and disturbing behaviors living in an assisted living center. After two weeks of daily participation, results indicated a significant impro...
Therapeutic recreation as an intervention for persons with dementia and agitation: An efficacy study 1996 15451 Thirty-six long term care residents with dementia and agitation were selected for participation in this eight week study. During the eight week period, the participants received two different four week therapeutic recreation interventions in a clinic...
Treatment Fidelity Plan for an Activity Intervention Designed for Persons with Dementia 2006 1615 The testing of psychosocial interventions in a clinical trial poses many challenges to maintaining a rigorous experimental protocol and to delivering the interventions uniformly throughout the project. These challenges directly affect the reported ef...