Abstract
Professionals in dementia-care ought to be able to work within a Bio-Psycho-Social model. The objectives were to examine whether dementia-care is delivered in a Bio-Psycho-Social way, to explore the influencing factors and to evaluate the factorial validity of the ‘Bio-Psycho-Social-Dementia-Care scale’. 413 healthcare-professionals completed the ‘Bio-Psycho-Social-Dementia-Care scale’. Differences between groups (settings, professions, years of experience) were calculated with a student's t -test and one-way ANOVA. The facture structure of the scale was evaluated using a confirmatory factor analysis. The factor-analysis confirmed the 5 subscale-structure (1) networking, (2) using the client's expertise, (3) assessment and reporting, (4) professional knowledge and skills and (5) using the environment. (No significant differences were found between professionals in residential care and community care for the subscales ‘networking’ and ‘using the client's expertise’. Professionals in residential care score higher than community care for ‘assessment and reporting’ ( P < 0.05) and ‘professional knowledge and skills’ ( P < 0.01) but lower for ‘using the environment’ ( P < 0.001). The juniors score higher for ‘professional knowledge’ compared to seniors ( P < 0.01) and the seniors score better for ‘professional experience’ ( P < 0.01). The Cure and Care disciplines and the Therapy disciplines had higher values in ‘assessment and reporting’ compared to the Social Support disciplines ( P < 0.001 and P < 0.001). The Therapy disciplines scored higher in ‘using professional knowledge and skills’ compared to the Social Support group ( P = 0.021) and the Cure and Care disciplines ( P < 0.001). The Social Support disciplines scored higher in ‘using the environment’ compared to the Therapy disciplines ( P < 0.001) and the Cure and care disciplines ( P < 0.001). The Bio-Psycho-Social-Dementia-scale is a valid tool and offers opportunities not only to rate, but also to improve Bio-Psycho-Social functioning in dementia-care: increase interdisciplinary collaboration, facilitate assessment, combine the strengths of the different professions and install a heterogeneous team with regard to age and experience.
Highlights
Healthcare provision is changing from a primarily biomedical towards a more bio-psychosocial conception of disability and health [1,2,3,4]
This model focusses on social participation and daily activity performance despite illness and disability [6,7,8] and acknowledges the person as a whole with respect for his subjective experiences and socio-cultural environment [9, 10]
It is known that Bio-Psycho-Social care should is best delivered by a multi-disciplinary approach [11]. This development is apparent in dementia care since the cognizance that a purely biomedical model does not serve and fulfil the contemporary needs of people with dementia (PwD) and their informal caregivers
Summary
Healthcare provision is changing from a primarily biomedical towards a more bio-psychosocial conception of disability and health [1,2,3,4]. A bio-psycho-social model is originally defined as a model including both the person and the illness in the reasoning process of the healthcare professional [5] This model focusses on social participation and daily activity performance despite illness and disability [6,7,8] and acknowledges the person (patient or client) as a whole with respect for his subjective experiences and socio-cultural environment [9, 10]. It is known that Bio-Psycho-Social care should is best delivered by a multi-disciplinary approach [11] This development is apparent in dementia care since the cognizance that a purely biomedical model does not serve and fulfil the contemporary needs of people with dementia (PwD) and their informal caregivers. Healthcare providers should strive to enable PwD in performing meaningful everyday activities and participation in important life roles by implementing a goal oriented, multidisciplinary and client-centered approach
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
