313 Caring for Older Persons with Dementia in an Acute Medical Care Setting: An Exploration of Nurses’ Experiences and Perceptions

Abstract

Abstract Background Presently in Ireland there are 55,000 people with dementia, with figures projected to rise to 130,000 by 2041. In acute hospitals, ensuring the provision of high standard, person-centred care for people with dementia is an essential part of policy and practice development. While nurses are key in implementing safe, effective and evidenced based care it is unclear at this moment what their experiences are, when caring for patients with dementia. It is twelve years since the last study was conducted in Ireland in a purpose-built unit for older patients so will not be reflective of an acute care setting. Therefore, it is timely to gather a current description of nurses’ experiences and perceptions in caring for patients with dementia in an acute care setting. Methods A purposeful sample of nine nurses working in an acute medical ward caring for patients with dementia participated in the study. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews, transcribed verbatim and analysed using content analysis. Results The findings are current and highlight that nurse’s display immense respect and empathy to patients with dementia and see beyond the dementia to the individuality of the person. This demonstrates positive attitudes towards these patients, despite organisational and environmental constraints. The findings further identify that staffing levels are inadequate and that nurses require specific education on dementia. Furthermore, the organisational culture and environmental design are not conducive for patients with dementia and changes need implementing in line with the Irish National Dementia Strategy and the Dementia Friendly Hospital Design Guideline. Conclusion These findings have provided a current view of nurses’ experiences and perceptions of caring for patients with dementia in an acute medical ward and support previous study findings. Strategies are now required to address these issues, with a focus on the six priority action areas from The Irish National Dementia Strategy.