Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing: The experience of hospital staff in applying GPA to dementia care. – AGE

Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing: The experience of hospital staff in applying GPA to dementia care.

Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing
Original Article

Wiley Online Library.

Link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jpm.12504

First published: 18 November 2018

 

This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1111/jpm.12504

_______________

Abstract

Introduction

Hospital staff lacks knowledge and skills in dementia care. There is a need to understand how person‐centered care theory can be operationalized in staff’s practices to improve dementia care.

Aims

To describe the staff’s experiences of learning and applying the Gentle Persuasive Approaches (GPA) to enact person‐centered care in a hospital.

Methods

Mixed methods, including post-education survey and focus groups, were used. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify themes that describe participants’ experiences.

Results

310 staff and leaders in a hospital participated in the GPA education and completed a posteducation survey (n=297). After one year, two follow‐up focus groups were conducted with interdisciplinary staff (n=24) across medicine and mental health programs. Our analysis identified three themes to enable person‐centered care: (1) changing attitudes, (2) changing practices, and (3) changing conditions.

Discussion

This study contributes to the literature by providing evidence of how an education program was implemented in a large Canadian hospital to build capacity for dementia care. Joint education for interprofessional staff offers value in enabling person‐centered care.

Implication

Mental health nurses are in position to lead dementia education and advocate for person‐centered care in hospitals. Staff need structural support to engage in team learning for practice improvement.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

 

 

-->