Application of the Progressively Lowered Stress Threshold Model across the continuum of care

Over the last two decades, increasing attention has been paid to the nature of behavioral symptoms in dementia. Early notions that all behaviors were an inevitable component of cognitive impairment have all but disappeared in the face of evidence that diverse personal, social, and environmental factors regularly act as antecedents to behavioral and psychologic symptoms of dementia (BPSD). The quality of care provided to persons with dementia has been advanced through nursing care conceptual models that explain antecedents to BPSD and, in turn, offer specific interventions to promote comfort and optimal function.