Background: Understanding and interpreting the complexity of agitation in people with dementia is challenging.
Objective: To explore whether a sensor measuring electrodermal activity (EDA) can improve the identification of agitation in individuals with dementia.
Methods: Nine individuals with dementia wore a sensor that measured EDA. During the same time, assistant nurses annotated the observed behavior of the person with dementia. A binary logistic regression model was applied to assess the relationship between the sensor and the assistant nurses' structured observations of agitation.
Results: The sensor values correlated with the assistant nurses' observations both at the time of the observation and 1 and 2 h prior to the observation.
Conclusion: A sensor measuring EDA can support early detection of agitation in persons with dementia.
Keywords: Agitation; Behavioral psychological symptoms in dementia; Dementia; Electrodermal activity.