Person-centered dementia care in acute hospital wards — the influence of staff knowledge and attitudes

Scerri, A; Innes, A; Scerri, C

Abstract

Person-centered dementia care practices in acute hospital wards are suboptimal and not commonly measured. Although previous research has indicated that the work environment of staff influences their perceptions of person-centeredness, few studies have examined how their personal attributes, such as their level of dementia knowledge and attitudes, influence their person-centered dementia care practices. A questionnaire was distributed to test the relationship between staff perceptions of person-centered dementia care and their dementia knowledge and attitudes in general medical wards. The results showed that staff with better dementia knowledge were significantly more critical about the extent they were using evidence-based guidelines and external expertise. Staff with better attitudes perceived themselves as using more individualized care practices. The findings demonstrate that to enhance person-centered dementia care in acute hospitals, staff training programs should develop both their intellectual and interpersonal skills to improve their knowledge and attitudes.

Citation

Scerri, A., Innes, A., & Scerri, C. (2020). Person-centered dementia care in acute hospital wards — the influence of staff knowledge and attitudes. Geriatric Nursing, 41(3), 215-221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2019.09.001

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 10, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Oct 17, 2019
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2020
• Deposit Date: Oct 28, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 17, 2020
• Journal: Geriatric Nursing
• Print ISSN: 0197-4572
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Volume: 41
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 215-221
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2019.09.001
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2019.09.001
• Related Public URLs: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/geriatric-nursing
• Additional Information: Projects : dementia in acute wards in malta