Use of Body Sensors to Examine Nocturnal Agitation, Sleep, and Urinary Incontinence in Individuals With Alzheimer's Disease.

Nighttime agitation, sleep disturbances, and urinary incontinence (UI) occur frequently in individuals with dementia and can add additional burden to family caregivers, although the co-occurrence of these symptoms is not well understood. The purpose of the current study was to determine the feasibility and acceptability of using passive body sensors in community-dwelling individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) by family caregivers and the correlates among these distressing symptoms. A single-group, descriptive design with convenience sampling of participants with AD and their family caregivers was undertaken to address the study aims. Results showed that using body sensors was feasible and acceptable and that patterns of nocturnal agitation, sleep, and UI could be determined and were correlated in study participants. Using data from body sensors may be useful to develop and implement targeted, individualized interventions to lessen these distressing symptoms and decrease caregiver burden. Further study in this field is warranted. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 44(8), 19-26.].