Positive Approaches to Care: a new look at dementia education

Abstract

This article provides an overview of relevant factors in dementia care. The number of people experiencing dementia is increasing and dementia is at the forefront of health policy. The evidence base for personcentred approaches and interventions in dementia is expanding and nurses are central to implementing these across care settings. This is a challenging time for dementia care and nursing has a major role in leading and developing these changes in practice. The article discusses the Positive Approaches to Care (PAC) philosophy as a training approach in caring for people with dementia.

Psychosocial care in dementia in European higher education: Evidence from the SiDECar (“Skills in DEmentia Care”) project

“…Moreover, at the content level, the competencies appeared heterogeneous and not eligible to prepare professionals to face the complexity of dementia care (Traynor et al, 2011). Similar scenarios emerge in other reports (Downs et al, 2009;Murphy, 2017;Pulsford et al, 2007). In the UK, Pulsford et al (2007) found that the topics concerning dementia were usually taught indirectly, incorporated within broader teaching content, encapsulated in short modules, or delivered through seminars.…”

“…However, within the Second cycle of studies, masters of various natures are hosted: ISCED includes masters offered to full-time students alongside masters for working professionals and study programs that do not provide accreditations to spend in the labour market (UNESCO, 2012(UNESCO, , 2015. As observed elsewhere (Pulsford et al, 2007;Downs et al, 2009;Murphy, 2017;Hvalič-Touzery et al, 2018), skills on dementia care are very often provided in courses that organized outside the universities, i.e., CPD learning programs, once people already got a degree (Hvalič-Touzery et al, 2018). Such heterogeneity can confound students, academic officers, professionals and their agencies, the world of work, and the general audience.…”

“…At that time, the number of diplomas and the degree level courses addressing dementia care were scarce. Ten years later, the number of teaching courses increases, but it was still sub-optimal (Murphy, 2017).…”