Optimising care and the patient experience for people livingwith dementia: the perceptions of radiography practitioners

Higgins, RN; Spacey, A; Innes, A

Abstract

Introduction: Despite abundant literature on the diagnosis of dementia, limited research has explored
the lived experiences by radiography practitioners when delivering care to people living with dementia
(PLWD). This study explored the perceptions and compatibility of current professional guidance by both
radiography practitioners and key stakeholders involved in developing the Society and College of
Radiographers clinical practice guideline document for caring for people with dementia.
Methods: This was a two-stage qualitative multi-method study. Fifteen diagnostic and two therapeutic
radiography practitioners from across the UK participated with three asynchronous online discussion
forums. One core member and three members from the key stakeholder group participated with individual
semi-structured interviews. Data analysis included narrative and thematic analysis.
Results: Participants from both stages identified enablers and barriers to providing person-centred care
(PCC) to PLWD. Three superordinate themes were identified linked to (1) Challenges in delivering
person-centred care to people living with dementia, (2) The need for role specific education and training,
and (3) Partnership working with carers. Challenges in delivering care included time and resource
pressures. The lack of dementia specific education compounded these difficulties. Care partners were
seen as an asset to providing care.
Conclusion: Providing PCC to meet the individual needs of PLWD can be challenging in practice. This is
often due to time and resource implications. There were also issues with the identification of PLWD prior
to their attendance in the department. Carers could help to alleviate some challenges. There is a need for
profession specific education and dementia awareness training to support the provision of PCC to PLWD.
Implications for practice: Dementia training needs to be specifically tailored for radiography practitioners
to bridge the gap between guidelines and clinical practice rather than being generalised from other
disciplines

Citation

Higgins, R., Spacey, A., & Innes, A. (2023). Optimising care and the patient experience for people livingwith dementia: the perceptions of radiography practitioners. Radiography, 29, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radi.2023.01.016

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 20, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Feb 7, 2023
• Publication Date: Feb 7, 2023
• Deposit Date: Feb 14, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 8, 2024
• Journal: Radiography
• Print ISSN: 1078-8174
• Electronic ISSN: 1532-2831
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 29
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radi.2023.01.016