MOTOR SKILLS MEASUREMENT AMONG ELDERLY ALZHEIMER'S PATIENTS Accidents involving elderly patients in institutional health care settings, including nursing homes, may be classified in two general groups. First, there are those accidents that may be considered to be patient-initiated. An example of a patient-initiated accident is a fall by an elderly patient when that patient is walking unattended. Second, there are those accidents that occur when a patient is under the direct care of a member of the institutional staff. This second group of accidents may include physical mishaps, such as falls, but this accident group is more inclusive that the first group, and also includes such actions as the administration of non-prescribed medication, the incorrect dosage of prescribed medication, and similar actions (Zuckerman, 1994).
Patient-initiated accidents, such as falls, as an example, may occur because of inadequacies in the physical facilities of the institution, or because of diminished physical and mental capacities of the elderly patients. Sensory deprivation, or loss, is a form of diminished physical capacity that may contribute directly to the occurrence of patient-initiated accidents, and which may exacerbate a patient's mental condition to an extent that accident occurrence becomes more probable (Cefalu, 1995).
An increasing number of elderly patients residing in institutional settings are afflicted by Alzheimer's Disease. Alzheimer's patients exhibit
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