Jones Danielle, Capstick Andrea, Faisal Muhammad, Frankland Joe
University of Bradford.
Br Paramed J. 2023 Jun 1;8(1):9-17. doi: 10.29045/14784726.2023.6.8.1.9.
Paramedics play a vital role in the emergency healthcare of people living with dementia. People with dementia often have complex needs, posing challenges for paramedics. Paramedics often lack the confidence and skills to assess people with dementia appropriately, and receive little, if any, dementia education.
To evaluate the impact of dementia education on student paramedics' preparedness to care, knowledge, confidence and attitudes towards dementia.
A 6-hour education programme on dementia was developed, implemented and evaluated. A pre-test-post-test design using self-completion validated questionnaires was used, to evaluate first-year undergraduate student paramedics' knowledge, confidence and attitudes towards dementia, as well as their preparedness to care for people with dementia.
A total of 43 paramedic students attended the education programme, with 41 fully completed questionnaires being collected pre-training and 32 post-training. Students reported feeling significantly more preparedness to care for people with dementia after the education session (p < 0.001). They felt their knowledge (100%), confidence (87.5%) and attitudes (87.5%) towards dementia had significantly increased following the education session. Using validated measures, the impact of education was found to be the highest on dementia knowledge (13.8 vs 17.5; p < 0.001) and on confidence (29.14 vs 34.06; p = 0.001), with only a minimal effect on attitudes (101.5 vs 103.4; p = 0.485). The education programme itself was well-evaluated.
As paramedics are central to the emergency healthcare of people living with dementia, it is essential that the emerging paramedic workforce is equipped with the knowledge, attitudes and confidence to provide quality care for this population. We need to ensure dementia education is embedded in undergraduate curricula, and that consideration is given to the subjects, level and pedagogic approach taken to ensure positive outcomes are maximised.
护理人员在痴呆症患者的紧急医疗保健中发挥着至关重要的作用。痴呆症患者通常有复杂的需求，这给护理人员带来了挑战。护理人员往往缺乏对痴呆症患者进行适当评估的信心和技能，并且很少接受痴呆症教育，如果有接受过的话。
评估痴呆症教育对学生护理人员在护理准备、知识、对痴呆症的信心和态度方面的影响。
制定、实施并评估了一个为期6小时的痴呆症教育项目。采用前后测试设计，使用自我完成的有效问卷，以评估本科一年级学生护理人员对痴呆症的知识、信心和态度，以及他们对痴呆症患者的护理准备情况。
共有43名护理专业学生参加了该教育项目，培训前收集到41份完整问卷，培训后收集到32份。学生们报告说，在参加教育课程后，他们对护理痴呆症患者的准备程度明显提高（p <0.001）。他们觉得在参加教育课程后，他们对痴呆症的知识（100%）、信心（87.5%）和态度（87.5%）都有了显著提高。使用有效测量方法发现，教育对痴呆症知识（13.8对17.5；p <0.001）和信心（29.14对34.06；p =0.001）的影响最大，对态度的影响最小（101.5对103.4；p =0.485）。该教育项目本身得到了良好评价。
由于护理人员是痴呆症患者紧急医疗保健的核心，因此至关重要的是，新出现的护理人员队伍要具备为这一人群提供优质护理的知识、态度和信心。我们需要确保痴呆症教育融入本科课程，并考虑所采用的主题、水平和教学方法，以确保最大限度地取得积极成果。
