Piers Dawes1, Iracema Leroi2, Nisha Chauhan3, Woojae Han4, Vijaykumar Harbishettar5, Dona M P Jayakody6, Louise Jones7, Adamos Konstantinou8, Asri Maharani9, Angelita Martini10, Antonios Politis11, Suhan Prabhakar5, Sandra Prew12, Costis Prouskas13, Gregor Russell14, Angus Sturrock15, Sri Sunarti16, Joanne Taylor17, Theofanis Vorvolakos18, Mark Worthington19. 1. Department of Linguistics, Macquarie University Sydney Australia, Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. 2. Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin Ireland, Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. 3. Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, UK. 4. Division of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Hallym University, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea. 5. Nightingales Medical Trust, Bengaluru, India. 6. Ear Science Institute, Perth, Australia. 7. Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, UK. 8. Department of Psychiatry, Larissa University General Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, Larisa, Greece. 9. Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. 10. Brightwater Research Centre, Brightwater Care Group, Perth, Australia. 11. Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Eginition Hospital Athens Greece, Department of Psychiatry, Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry, John' s Hopkins Medical School, Baltimore, USA. 12. ENRICH National Coordinator, ENRICH Lead WM, NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) West Midlands, Birmingham, UK. 13. Chairman and CEO of Aktios care home units. 14. Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist, Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford, UK. 15. Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford, UK. 16. Division of Geriatric and Medical Gerontology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical Faculty, Brawijaya University, Malang, Indonesia. 17. Solent NHS Trust, Southampton, UK. 18. Department of Psychiatry, Alexandroupolis University General Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece. 19. Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, Medical Directorate, Sceptre Point, Sceptre Way, Preston, UK.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Up to 90% of people with dementia in long term care (LTC) have hearing and/or vision impairment. Hearing/vision difficulties are frequently under-recognised or incompletely managed. The impacts of hearing/vision impairment include more rapid cognitive decline, behavioural disturbances, reduced quality of life, and greater care burden. This research investigated LTC staff knowledge, attitudes and practice regarding hearing/vision care needs for residents with dementia. METHODS: A survey of staff in LTC facilities in England, South Korea, India, Greece, Indonesia and Australia. Respondents used a five-point scale to indicate agreement or YES/NO response to questions regarding sensory-cognitive care knowledge (what is known); attitudes (what is thought); practice (what is done). RESULTS: Respondents reported high awareness of hearing/vision care needs, although awareness of how to identify hearing/vison difficulties or refer for assessment was low. Most felt that residents were not able to use hearing/vision devices effectively due to poor fit, being poorly tolerated or lost or broken devices. A substantial minority of respondents reported low confidence in supporting use of assistive hearing/vision devices, with lack of training the main reason. Most staff did not undertake routine checking of hearing/vision devices, and it was rare for facilities to have designated staff responsible for sensory needs. Variation among countries was not significant after accounting for staff experience and having received dementia training. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to improve sensory support for people with dementia in LTC facilities internationally. Practice guidelines and training to enhance sensory-cognitive knowledge, attitudes and practice in professional care teams is called for. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
OBJECTIVES: Up to 90% of people with dementia in long term care (LTC) have hearing and/or vision impairment. Hearing/vision difficulties are frequently under-recognised or incompletely managed. The impacts of hearing/vision impairment include more rapid cognitive decline, behavioural disturbances, reduced quality of life, and greater care burden. This research investigated LTC staff knowledge, attitudes and practice regarding hearing/vision care needs for residents with dementia. METHODS: A survey of staff in LTC facilities in England, South Korea, India, Greece, Indonesia and Australia. Respondents used a five-point scale to indicate agreement or YES/NO response to questions regarding sensory-cognitive care knowledge (what is known); attitudes (what is thought); practice (what is done). RESULTS: Respondents reported high awareness of hearing/vision care needs, although awareness of how to identify hearing/vison difficulties or refer for assessment was low. Most felt that residents were not able to use hearing/vision devices effectively due to poor fit, being poorly tolerated or lost or broken devices. A substantial minority of respondents reported low confidence in supporting use of assistive hearing/vision devices, with lack of training the main reason. Most staff did not undertake routine checking of hearing/vision devices, and it was rare for facilities to have designated staff responsible for sensory needs. Variation among countries was not significant after accounting for staff experience and having received dementia training. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to improve sensory support for people with dementia in LTC facilities internationally. Practice guidelines and training to enhance sensory-cognitive knowledge, attitudes and practice in professional care teams is called for. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Entities:
Keywords:
KAP survey; LTC; dementia; nursing home; shearing care; staff training; vision care