Impact of an interdisciplinary intervention for distress behaviors in dementia on psychotropic drug use in Veterans Health Administration Community Living Centers

STAR-VA is an interdisciplinary behavioral approach for managing distress behaviors in residents with dementia, implemented at Veterans Health Administration nursing homes. This study evaluated the impact of STAR-VA implementation on psychotropic drug use. The study design is a retrospective, quasi -experimental cohort analysis of residents enrolled as STAR-VA training cases compared with eligible residents at untrained sites to evaluate treatment effects on psychotropic medication use. We matched 229 STAR-VA cases with 1,163 comparisons. STAR-VA cases experienced an average reduction of 0.92 "as-needed" doses per month (95% confidence interval [CI]-1.82,-0.02) compared with controls. No significant effect on non STAR-VA cases in trained facilities was detected. STAR-VA programs are an important option for reducing potentially inappropriate psychotropic use. (c) 2021 Published by Elsevier Inc.