A Delphi Study for Developing a Person-centered Dementia Care Online Education Program in Long-term Care Facilities

Abstract

Purpose: There has been a growing recognition that person-centered care enhances the quality of life of nursing home residents with dementia. This study was conducted to develop a person-centered dementia care online education program for direct care staff in long-term care facilities. Methods: Delphi method with expert group was used to validate contents. We developed 61 draft items based on literature review. Twenty experts participated in consecutive three round surveys including 5-point Likert scale questions and open-ended questions. Based on experts’ opinions, the content validity ratio for content validity and the coefficient of variation for stability were calculated. Results: Three-round Delphi surveys and additional feedback from the expert panel established a consensus of core contents: 1) dementia (7 categories), 2) person-centered care (6 categories), 3) communication (8 categories), and 4) behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (6 categories). Specific sub-categories in each category were differentiated according to the job qualifications (65 sub-categories for registered nurses, 64 sub-categories for nursing aids, and 41 sub-categories for personal care workers). Conclusion: This delphi study identified person-centered dementia education curricula, in which the person-centered approach should be a key policy priority in Korean long-term care system. Now it is urgently needed to develop education programs utilizing online platforms that enable efficient and continuous learning for long-term care staff, which can contribute to behavior changes in the person-centered dementia care approach and improvement of care quality in long-term care facilities.