ADVANCING RESEARCH ON PERSON-CENTERED COMMUNICATION IN DEMENTIA CARE

Abstract

Abstract Communication is an essential component to achieving person-centered care. However, few measures exist for measuring person-centered communication and methods vary widely on measuring communication. The purpose of this symposium is to provide an overview of methods and recent findings related to research on person-centered communication. Four presentations will highlight a variety of methods and a variety of populations. Presentation one compares the congruence of communication by hospital nurses in a simulated care setting to communication during actual care encounters with hospitalized patients with dementia. Presentation two evaluates the impact of validation by family caregivers to persons living with dementia (PLWD) using a time sequential analysis of second-by-second coding of the caregiver’s communication and the PLWD behavioral response. Presentation three introduces the Changing Talk Scale (CHATS) as a tool to measure gains in knowledge of person-centered communication in the nursing home setting. Presentation four determines the impact of person-centered care versus task-centered care on mealtime behaviors in nursing home residents with dementia using a psychometrically established behavioral coding scheme and time-sequential approaches. Communication strategies to use with PLWD frequently lack sufficient evidence to be deemed effective or person-centered. Advanced methods are needed to understand what constitutes person-centered communication based on behavioral responses and other health outcomes off PLWD. This symposium provides an overview of these methods with formal and informal caregivers and PLWD in varied care settings including the community, hospitals, and nursing homes.