OBJECTIVE: Safety net enclosures are used in addition to (non-) pharmacological interventions in patients suffering from neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia. However, no data on effectiveness are available. METHODS: In a prospective observational cohort study of 81 patients diagnosed with dementia, and admitted to a geriatric ward of a psychiatric hospital, available behavioral assessment scores were used to compare 45 patients who used safety net enclosures with 36 patients who never used safety net enclosures. Behavior was evaluated weekly using the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI) and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q) at admission, start of the enclosure, and before discharge. RESULTS: At baseline, the intervention group had a significantly higher CMAI and NPI-Q-score. At follow-up, the intervention group showed a greater improvement in CMAI [median -13.0 (interquartile range: -27.3 to 0.05) vs 0.0 (interquartile range: -6.0 to 2.5)
Mann-Whitney U = 338.5 ( P = 0.005)] compared with the comparison group. Only some NPI-Q subscales showed significantly greater improvement during the intervention than in the comparison group. CONCLUSIONS: Our observational study is the first to present effectiveness data on Neuropsychiatric symptoms in persons suffering from dementia and suggests significantly greater improvement in CMAI scores when using safety net enclosures. However, almost no significant differences were found in other outcomes.