The nurse is assessing an older adult client with a diagnosis of dementia who states, "There is someone in my house pretending to be my spouse." The client's spouse is attending the assessment and tells the nurse that this is not actually true. Which assessment tool should the nurse use to further assess this client?

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The Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) was developed in 1994 to assess behavior problems associated with dementia. The scale assesses 10 behavior problems: delusions, hallucinations, dysphoria, anxiety, agitation or aggression, euphoria, inhibition, irritability or lability, apathy, and aberrant motor behavior. In this scenario, the client is experiencing delusional thinking; therefore, the Neuropsychiatric Inventory would be the best tool to further assess the client. The geriatric depression scale is a 30-item self-report assessment used to identify depression in older adults. The most common tools used to assess functional status are the Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living and the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale. These are not used to assess delusional thinking in dementia.

The Nurse Is Assessing an Older Adult Client with a Diagnosis