Dementia intervention team, Active Ageing and Community Care, Qormi, Malta.
Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta, Msida, Malta.
Nurs Older People. 2020 Jun 1;32(3):25-31. doi: 10.7748/nop.2020.e1225. Epub 2020 Feb 5.
An appropriate level of knowledge, a positive attitude and awareness of learning needs are essential to provide high-quality care to people living with dementia.
To explore the knowledge, attitudes and perceived learning needs of formal carers of residents living with dementia in one long-term care facility.
Questionnaires were sent to nurses and nursing assistants working in one long-term care facility in Malta. A total of 207 completed responses were received from these formal carers. The questionnaire comprised scales: the Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Scale, the Dementia Attitude Scale and the Dementia Learning Needs Assessment tool.
Formal carers' knowledge about dementia was satisfactory. Increased knowledge was associated with being a nurse and working on a specialist dementia unit. Overall, formal carers' attitudes towards people with dementia were positive. Nurses identified managing behaviour that challenges as the most important learning need, while for nursing assistants it was how to assist family caregivers in coping with Alzheimer's disease. Nurses and nursing assistants considered learning about the use of technology to be the least important learning need. Being a nurse and working in a specialist dementia unit were predictors of better knowledge. Working in specialist dementia units was also a predictor of positive attitudes towards people with dementia.
Policymakers should be aware that continued investment in specialist dementia units should be an intermediate and long-term goal because of the projected increase in the number of people living with dementia and the need to ensure these individuals receive optimum care.
为了为患有痴呆症的人提供高质量的护理，拥有适当的知识水平、积极的态度和对学习需求的认识至关重要。
探讨一家长期护理机构中居住的痴呆症患者的正式护理人员的知识、态度和感知学习需求。
向马耳他一家长期护理机构的护士和护理助理发放问卷。共收到 207 名正式护理人员的 207 份完整回复。问卷包括量表：阿尔茨海默病知识量表、痴呆症态度量表和痴呆症学习需求评估工具。
正式护理人员对痴呆症的知识水平令人满意。增加知识与护士身份和在专门的痴呆症病房工作有关。总体而言，正式护理人员对痴呆症患者的态度是积极的。护士认为管理具有挑战性的行为是最重要的学习需求，而对于护理助理来说，如何帮助家庭照顾者应对阿尔茨海默病是最重要的学习需求。护士和护理助理认为学习使用技术是最不重要的学习需求。护士身份和在专门的痴呆症病房工作是知识水平更好的预测因素。在专门的痴呆症病房工作也是对痴呆症患者持积极态度的预测因素。
政策制定者应该意识到，由于预计患有痴呆症的人数会增加，并且需要确保这些人得到最佳护理，因此继续投资于专门的痴呆症病房应该是中期和长期目标。
