‘You’ve got to keep account of heads all the time’: staff perceptions of caring for people with dementia

Abstract

Research Aim: Little is known regarding the pressures of working within dementia care units as the majority of literature has focused broadly on long-term care (LTC) rather than the provision of specialised dementia care. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of staff in relation to their capacity to manage behaviour and care needs of people with dementia living within the dementia-specific environment. Individual interviews were conducted with 35 care staff from three dementia care units in Brisbane, Australia. Major Findings: Four themes were identified: role definition, relationships, workplace environment and workforce issues. Although the findings highlight the importance of Page 2 peer support for staff when managing difficult situations, questions regarding the quality of peer support and its impact on care provision were raised. Conclusions: Dementia units are complex systems with well-motivated and educated staff contributing to the effectiveness of the care. An understanding of care staff perceptions of their role and its effects on care practices can help to identify appropriate support structures and training strategies thereby improving job satisfaction for staff and quality of life for the residents with dementia.

Staff perspectives of relationships in aged care: A qualitative approach

“…Participating staff adopted a task‐oriented approach to care and task completion overrode their desire for development of therapeutic relationships. This finding is supported by other research that found that the psychosocial or emotional needs of clients are not acknowledged or allowed to hinder staff members' ability to complete their allocated tasks . However, relationships between older people, staff and families can evolve over time if staff are educated and trained to work within a relationship‐centred model.…”

Caring for older people with dementia: An exploratory study of staff knowledge and perception of training in three Australian dementia care facilities

“…The full findings of the interviews are reported in the original published paper that examined care staff's perceived ability to manage and care for older people living in dementiaspecific facilities [12]. The findings reported within the published paper identified that the majority of the care staff not only acknowledged but also were firmly committed to the importance of dementia education and training, particularly in the management of common challenging behaviours.…”

“…Audio-taped recordings of the interviews were deleted once verbatim transcription of all interviews was completed. As outlined in the original published paper [12], interview data were analysed using an interpretive approach.…”

Do physical environmental changes make a difference? Supporting person-centered care at mealtimes in nursing homes

“…Care provided by frontline staff is generally underappreciated and their perceptions of quality of care are often overlooked (Chung, 2013;Lee, Chaudhury, & Hung, 2014;Stockwell-Smith, Jones, & Moyle, 2011). Direct engagement of the nursing and kitchen staff provides a more focused approach to investigate the complexity of mealtime practice.…”