Centre for Dementia Studies, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Falmer, UK.
Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, UK.
Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2023 May;38(5):e5922. doi: 10.1002/gps.5922.
The future healthcare workforce needs the skills, attitudes, and empathy to better meet the needs of those with dementia. Time for Dementia (TFD) is an educational programme in which healthcare students from a range of professional groups visit a person with dementia and their family carer over a two-year period. The aim of this study was to evaluate its impact on student attitudes, knowledge and empathy towards dementia.
Measures of dementia knowledge, attitudes and empathy were administered to healthcare students at five universities in the south of England before and after (24 months) they completed the TFD programme. Data were also collected at equivalent time points for a control group of students who had not taken part in the programme. Outcomes were modelled using multilevel linear regression models.
2,700 intervention group students, and 562 control group students consented to participate. Students undertaking the TFD programme had higher levels of knowledge and positive attitudes at follow-up compared to equivalent students who did not undertake the programme. Our findings indicate a positive relationship between the number of visits undertaken and increasing dementia knowledge and attitudes. No substantial differences in the development of empathy was observed between groups.
Our findings suggest that TFD may be effective across professional training programmes and universities. Further research into the mechanisms of action is needed.
未来的医疗保健劳动力需要具备技能、态度和同理心，以更好地满足痴呆症患者的需求。时间为痴呆症（TFD）是一项教育计划，其中来自不同专业群体的医疗保健学生在两年的时间内访问一名痴呆症患者及其家庭照顾者。本研究的目的是评估其对学生对痴呆症的态度、知识和同理心的影响。
在完成 TFD 计划之前和之后（24 个月），对英格兰南部五所大学的医疗保健学生进行了痴呆症知识、态度和同理心的测量。在等效时间点还为未参加该计划的对照组学生收集了数据。使用多层线性回归模型对结果进行建模。
2700 名干预组学生和 562 名对照组学生同意参与。与未参加该计划的同等学生相比，参加 TFD 计划的学生在随访时具有更高的知识水平和积极的态度。我们的研究结果表明，访问次数与痴呆症知识和态度的增加之间存在正相关关系。两组之间在同理心的发展方面没有观察到实质性差异。
我们的研究结果表明，TFD 可能在专业培训计划和大学中都有效。需要进一步研究其作用机制。
