Culture‐sensitive dementia diagnostics and care: a best practice for a diverse patient population

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundThe elderly population in Europe is becoming more diverse. In order to provide effective dementia diagnostics and care, healthcare professionals need to cater more to diversity in terms of culture, language, educational attainment or (health) literacy. Therefore, the implementation of culture‐sensitive diagnostic instruments and a shift in approach to adapt to this group is necessary within memory clinics. We preformed semi‐structured interviews to gather the knowledge and experience of healthcare professionals on the topic of culture‐sensitive dementia diagnostics and care. The findings are summarized in a best practice.MethodFor the best practice we used qualitative methods and preformed 14 semi‐structured interviews. We interviewed healthcare professionals that work with a diverse patient population within different memory clinics in the Netherlands. We investigated their definition of culture‐sensitive care, the specific adjustments made in the diagnostic trajectory and discussed organizational aspects related to culture‐sensitive care. These interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Atlas.ti.ResultSeveral requirements for effective dementia diagnostics have been mentioned, such as working with experienced translators, the use of culture‐sensitive diagnostic instruments, and language specific information material. Other adjustments consider communication between healthcare professionals and patients. First, healthcare professionals put extra effort into estimating the level of (abstract) reasoning of patients. In this way the language used by the healthcare professional is adapted in order to optimize the communication. Second, there is more attention for nonverbal communication if patients have a different cultural background. Lastly, healthcare professionals take more time to provide care for a multicultural patient group.ConclusionLearnings and experiences from healthcare professionals working at memory clinics across the Netherlands give valuable insights. A best practice for culture‐sensitive dementia diagnostics and care may help with accurate dementia diagnosis and provide tools for healthcare professionals to cater to a diverse patient population.