The purpose of this study was to identify family caregivers' experiences in managing the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) with particular focus on their interpersonal interactions with patient with dementia. Data were collected through focus-group interviews with 15 family caregivers from three local dementia-support centers located in Seoul. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Three main themes were identified through data analysis: triggers of BPSD, family caregiver's actions in response to BPSD and patient's reactions, and the effect of BPSD on family caregivers. Findings demonstrated that BPSD depended on the complex interplay of family caregivers and patients, including their interaction style. This information could help nurses when counseling and educating family caregivers to improve or modify their attitudes and approaches to behavioral symptoms of patients.

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Aim: This study aimed to identify the attributes of "family caregiver competence in managing behavioral psychological symptoms of dementia". Methods: Six electronic databases were searched for studies published between January 1990 and June 2017 with the key words "dementia", "behavioral psychological symptoms of dementia", "caregiver", "coping (managing)", and "competence". From the final fully reviewed 26 articles, descriptions related to family caregiver's dealing with behavioral psychological symptoms of dementia were extracted first. Then, based on Walker and Avant's concept synthesis, the concept of "family caregiver competence in managing behavioral psychological symptoms of dementia" was explored.Results: Four attributes, namely "Judging", "Empathizing", "Adjusting", and "Reflecting", comprised of ten categories were identified as constituting the concept of family caregiver competence in managing the behavioral psychological symptoms of dementia. As a meta competence, "reflecting" may play a significant role in improving family caregiver competence by interacting with the other dimensions of competence in managing symptoms.Conclusions: Based on the suggested conceptual model, education or training programs could be developed to improve family caregiver competence in managing behavioral psychological symptoms of dementia. To refine the attributes found in this study, field studies including observations of and interviews with family caregivers need to be conducted. Studies exploring the associations between these attributes are also of value.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify characteristics and preferences related to the use of virtual reality(VR) devices for the education of families of persons with dementia.Methods: Using a descriptive study design, an online survey was conducted for families of persons with dementia (N=136, mean age=48.14±10.4 years). Descriptive statistics, Pearson's <i>x</i>² test, and Fisher's exact test were calculated using SPSS 25.0.Results: Most families of persons with dementia used electronic devices proficiently at least to some extent (n=117, 86%). It was found that they were willing to use the VR-based education program with a certain degree of inconvenience (n=133, 97.8%). When participating in VR-based education programs, the most preferred device was open VR (n=77, 56.6%) followed by closed VR (n=42, 30.9%). The preferred training time for all four devices was around 20 minutes. There was a statistically significant difference between proficiency in electronic device use and gender (<i>x</i>²=9.11, <i>p</i>=.045), age (<i>x</i>²=19.83, <i>p</i>=.004), and educational background (<i>x</i>²=18.46, <i>p</i>=.007), whereas only gender (<i>x</i>²=12.17, <i>p</i>=.006) was a significant factor for a willingness to be inconvenienced to get educated using VR devices. In the case of the preferred interaction method, only gender (<i>x</i>²=10.08, <i>p</i>=.033) had a statistically significant difference.Conclusion: Families of persons with dementia had a positive intention to use VR-based education programs, regardless of age and educational background, even with the inconvenience. The results of this study are expected to be used as basic data for the production of VR-based education programs in the future.

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