Kudos to PhD student Bada Kang and her mentor Eleanor McConnell for the submission of two proposals to the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association Foundation, Inc. (GAPNA) entitled “Impact of PTSD on Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms among Veterans with Dementia: a Mixed Method Study." The first proposal was submitted to the GAPNA Center for Clinician Advancement call and the second was to the GAPNA Research Award call. Each proposal requests funding for a one-year period with a start date of September 1.

Abstract: Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at about a two times higher risk of the incidence of dementia than veterans without PTSD. The stress threshold of individuals with both dementia and PTSD is relatively low. Trauma-related interpersonal and environmental triggers may predispose them to exhibit behavioral and psychological symptoms (BPS), which cause tremendous distress for individuals with dementia and caregivers and contribute to high healthcare costs. The interaction of individual characteristics (e.g., socio-demographics, comorbidities, and functional status) and interpersonal and environmental triggers produces differing dementia-related BPS. Yet, there is little research about how comorbid PTSD influences BPS among veterans with dementia. The purpose of this study is to examine the variation in changes in BPS by the presence of comorbid PTSD, during a behavioral intervention provided to veterans with dementia residing in the Veterans Affairs Medical Center Community Living Centers (CLCs), and how comorbid PTSD moderates the effects of interpersonal and environmental triggers on BPS. The proposed study is a secondary analysis of data from Staff Training in Assisted Living Residences-Veterans Affairs (STAR-VA) program. Existing text data and quantitative assessment of BPS contained in a de-identified dataset derived from program evaluations of the STAR-VA program will be analyzed using a mixed-methods approach. The influence of PTSD on responses to the STAR-VA program will provide evidence needed to develop targeted interventions for veterans with dementia and PTSD to improve care outcomes.