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Title / Demonstrate knowledge of behaviour presented by people living with dementia in a health or wellbeing setting
Level / 4 / Credits / 4
Purpose / This unit standard is for people providing services in a health or wellbeing setting.
People credited with this unit standard are able to demonstrate knowledge of behaviour presented by people living with dementia in a health or wellbeing setting.
Classification / Health, Disability, and Aged Support > Older Persons' Health and Wellbeing
Available grade / Achieved
Explanatory notes
1Legislation and standards relevant to this unit standard include:
Health and Disability Commissioner (Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights) Regulations 1996 (the Code of Rights);
Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001;
Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992;
Human Rights Act 1993;
Privacy Act 1993;
Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988;
NZS 8134.0:2008 Health and disability services Standards – Health and disability services (general) Standard;
NZS 8134.1:2008 Health and disability services Standards – Health and disability services (core) Standards;
NZS 8134.2:2008 Health and disability services Standards – Health and disability services (restraint minimisation and safe practice) Standards;
NZS 8158:2012 Home and Community Support Sector Standard;
SNZ HB 8134.5:2005Health and Disability Sector Standards – Proposed Audit Workbook and Guidance for Residential Services for People with Dementia;
SNZ HB 8134.6:2006 Best Practice Guidance for Community Services for People with Dementia and Proposed Audit Workbook;
SNZ HB 8163:2005 Indicators for Safe Aged-care and Dementia-care for Consumers;available at
2Candidates’ practice must reflect appropriate values, processes, and protocols in relation to working with Māori and Pacific peoples and/or people from other cultures, in a range of settings and environments.
3Definitions
A communication partner is a person who the person living with dementia prefers to communicate with. This person may be a spouse, family/whānau member, staff member, or friend.
Dementia is a term that covers a group of different illnesses with a progressive and irreversible loss of mental functioning resulting in a decline in the person’s ability to think, reason, and remember. A feature of dementia is the individual and changing nature of the cognitive, functional, behavioural, and psychological effects that occur.
Health or wellbeing setting includes but is not limited to the –aged care, acute care, community support, disability, mental health, and social services sectors.
National standard refers to NZS 8134.2:2008 Health and disability services Standards – Health and disability services (restraint minimisation and safe practice) Standards.
Organisational policies and procedures – policies, procedures, and methodologies of an organisation. They include legislative and regulatory requirements which may apply across a company, a specific site, or a workplace. Requirements are documented in the company’s health and safety plans, contract work programmes, quality assurance programmes, policies, and procedural documents.
Person – a person accessing services. Other terms used for the person may include client, consumer, customer, patient, individual, resident, service user, tūroro,or tangata whai ora.
Personal plan – a generic term that covers the individual or group plans (which may also be referred to by other names) that are developed for people receiving support (and may include their family/whānau as appropriate).
Person-centred approach – an approach which places the person being supported at the centre by encouraging participation and choice, and viewing them as an individual with unique qualities, abilities, interests, preferences, and needs. A person-centred approach for a person living with dementia focuses on relationships, communication, and the individuality of the person living with dementia. It also focuses on the needs, feelings, and abilities that are retained by the person living with dementia.
Restraint is the use of any intervention by a service provider that limits a consumer’s normal freedom of movement, and can be personal, physical, environmental, or seclusion (NZS 8134.0:2008).
Service delivery models or approaches to support refer to philosophies of consumer support that may be applied within a health or disability setting. A service delivery model or approach provides an over-arching set of underlying principles, aims and objectives, operational parameters, and reviewable outcomes which direct the nature of consumer care and the manner in which it is provided.
Outcomes and evidence requirements
Outcome 1
Demonstrate knowledge of behaviour presented by people living with dementia in a health or wellbeing setting.
Evidence requirements
1.1Behaviour presented by people living with dementiais described in relation to common examples.
Rangecommon examples mayinclude – wandering, sundowning, aggressive behaviour, rummaging, hoarding, catastrophic reactions, disinhibitions, sexually inappropriate behaviour;
evidence is required of four examples.
1.2Behaviour presented by people living with dementia is described in relation to factors that may trigger and influencebehaviour.
Rangefactors may include but are not limited to – changes in the brain, environment, approach by otherpeople, dealing with losses, dealing with loss and grief, physical needs, cultural factors, sensory issues, anxiety, service limitations, medication, challenges to self esteem and dignity, infection, life experiences, premorbid personality;
evidence is required of six factors.
1.3Strategies to positively manage behaviour are applied when supporting people living with dementia.
Rangestrategies may include but are not limited to – behavioural strategies (diversion), individualised personalplans, safe social and physical environment, avoidance of triggers, timeout, communication techniques, staff education and training, debriefing, stress management, keeping a behaviour log to identify trends and patterns, complementary therapies;
evidence is required for six strategies each for two different people.
Planned review date / 31 December 2020Status information and last date for assessment for superseded versions
Process / Version / Date / Last Date for AssessmentRegistration / 1 / 20 March 2008 / 31 December 2012
Revision / 2 / 21 January 2011 / 31 December 2012
Revision / 3 / 21 July 2011 / 31 December 2017
Revision / 4 / 16 February 2012 / 31 December 2017
Review / 5 / 18 June 2015 / 31 December 2017
Review / 6 / 19 November 2015 / N/A
Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMR) reference / 0024
This CMR can be accessed at
Please note
Providers must be granted consent to assess against standards (accredited) by NZQA, before they can report credits from assessment against unit standards or deliver courses of study leading to that assessment.
Industry Training Organisations must be granted consent to assess against standards by NZQA before they can register credits from assessment against unit standards.
Providers and Industry Training Organisations, which have been granted consent and which are assessing against unit standards must engage with the moderation system that applies to those standards.
Requirements for consent to assess and an outline of the moderation system that applies to this standard are outlined in the Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMRs). The CMR also includes useful information about special requirements for organisations wishing to develop education and training programmes, such as minimum qualifications for tutors and assessors, and special resource requirements.
Comments on this unit standard
Please contact the Community Support Services ITO Limited you wish to suggest changes to the content of this unit standard.
Community Support Services ITO LimitedSSB Code 101814 / New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2019