Effects of caring behavior and career identity on dementia care-related health literacy in nurses

Abstract

Objective To explore the status quo of nurses' dementia care-related literacy, caring behavior and career identity, to discuss the effects of caring behavior and career identity on dementia care-related health literacy, and to provide a basis for nursing management and professional training. Methods In this cross-sectional study, totally 650 nurses from 10 Class Ⅲ Grade A hospitals in Beijing who had provided care in departments of geriatrics or neurology were selected by convenient sampling between April and November 2017, and investigated with the General Information Questionnaire, Caring Dimensions Inventory (CDI) , Career Identity Rating Scale and Dementia Care-related Health Literacy Scale. Totally 650 questionnaires were distributed, and 602 valid questionnaires were collected, with a recovery rate of 92.6%. Results The 602 nurses' total scores of dementia care-related health literacy, caring behavior and career identity were (74.79±7.96) , (88.87±5.02) and (84.35±9.14) , respectively. Correlation analysis showed that nurses' caring behavior and career were positively correlated with dementia care-related health literacy, respectively (P<0.01) . Hierarchical regression analysis showed that general information, caring behavior and career identity accounted for 74.5% of total variances of dementia care-related health literacy in which caring behavior could account for 33.2% and career identity 34.2%. Conclusions Nurses' career identity and caring behavior were supplementary to their dementia care-related health literacy, which can enhance their career identity, standardize their caring behavior and improve their dementia care-related health literacy, thus providing better care services for patients with dementia. Key words: Nurses; Dementia; Care; Health literacy; Caring behavior; Career identity