The Content and Adequacy of Dementia Care Training for Registered Dietitians: A Focus Group Study

Abstract Research supports the need for healthcare providers who are trained in providing care to older adults with dementia. However, few training options exist for Registered Dietitians (RDs) seeking dementia care training that is specific to nutrition. The purpose of this project was to adapt an existing dementia care training curriculum to meet the learning needs of RDs. The development team included two experts in dementia training and two RDs with expertise in gerontological nutrition. The new training module was based on the existing Positive Approach to Care™ (PAC) curriculum, which incorporates Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory and the Adult Experiential Learning Cycle. The development team first identified learning objectives for content that would be relevant to RDs who work with persons living with dementia, and modified components of the existing PAC curriculum to meet these objectives. After a preliminary pilot, the 2-hour program was presented to 20 RDs using a combination of lecture presentation, experiential learning, and skill-building techniques. Participants were provided written materials to reinforce the concepts presented. Participants answered five dementia-specific questions before and after the training, and overall, the average percentage of correct answers improved following the training. Two weeks following the training, participants completed an open-ended survey to provide feedback on the training. Participants responded favorably to the mixed learning formats in the training. When asked to rank their preferred learning methods, participants indicated lecture-based learning and experiential learning as their top preferred methods. These findings indicate that the adapted curriculum may improve dementia knowledge among RDs.

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Barriers and facilitators to the access to and use of formal dementia care: findings of a focus group study with people with dementia, informal carers and health and social care professionals in eight European countries

BMC Geriatrics ◽

10.1186/s12877-018-0816-1 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 46

Author(s):

Astrid Stephan ◽

◽

Anja Bieber ◽

Louise Hopper ◽

Rachael Joyce ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Focus Group ◽

Social Care ◽

Dementia Care ◽

European Countries ◽

Barriers And Facilitators ◽

Focus Group Study ◽

People With Dementia ◽

Health And Social Care ◽

Informal Carers

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Overcoming barriers to the adoption of locating technologies in dementia care: a multi-stakeholder focus group study

BMC Geriatrics ◽

10.1186/s12877-021-02323-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Silka Dawn Freiesleben ◽

Herlind Megges ◽

Christina Herrmann ◽

Lauri Wessel ◽

Oliver Peters

Keyword(s):

Focus Group ◽

Autonomy Support ◽

Capital Investment ◽

Information Dissemination ◽

Dementia Care ◽

Assistive Technologies ◽

Business Professionals ◽

Focus Group Study ◽

Professional Perspective ◽

Multi Stakeholder

Abstract Background Locating technologies are a subtype of assistive technology that aim to support persons with dementia by helping manage spatial orientation impairments and provide aid to care partners by intervening when necessary. Although a variety of locating devices are commercially available, their adoption has remained low in the past years. Several studies have explored barriers to the adoption of assistive technologies from the perspective of professional stakeholders, but in-depth explorations for locating technologies are sparse. Additionally, the inputs of business professionals are lacking. The aim of this study was to expand knowledge on barriers to the adoption of locating technologies from a multi-stakeholder professional perspective, and to explore strategies to optimize adoption. Methods In total, 22 professionals working in business (n = 7), healthcare (n = 6) and research (n = 9) fields related to gerontology and gerontechnology participated in our focus group study. Perceptions on the value of using locating technologies for dementia care, barriers to their adoption, as well as salient services and information dissemination strategies were explored. After verbatim transcription, transcripts were analysed following an inductive data-driven content analysis approach in MAXQDA. Results Six key adoption barriers centering on: (1) awareness-, (2) technological-, (3) product characteristic- and (4) capital investment-based limitations, (5) unclear benefits, as well as (6) ethical concerns emerged. The interplay between barriers was high. Five core themes on services and information dissemination strategies centering on: (1) digital autonomy support, (2) emergency support, (3) information dissemination actors, (4) product acquisition, and (5) product advertising were extracted. Conclusions Our study with interdisciplinary stakeholders expands knowledge on barriers to the adoption of locating technologies for dementia care, and reinforces recommendations that an interdisciplinary strategy is needed to optimize adoption. Also, our findings show that focusing on services to increase digital autonomy and on information dissemination strategies has been largely overlooked and may be particularly effective.

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Overcoming Barriers to the Adoption of Locating Technologies in Dementia Care: A Multi-stakeholder Focus Group Study

10.21203/rs.3.rs-283981/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Silka Dawn Freiesleben ◽

Herlind Megges ◽

Christina Herrmann ◽

Lauri Wessel ◽

Oliver Peters

Keyword(s):

Focus Group ◽

Autonomy Support ◽

Capital Investment ◽

Information Dissemination ◽

Dementia Care ◽

Assistive Technologies ◽

Business Professionals ◽

Focus Group Study ◽

Professional Perspective ◽

Multi Stakeholder

Abstract Background: Locating technologies are a subtype of assistive technology that aim to support persons with dementia by helping manage spatial orientation impairments and provide aid to caregivers by intervening when necessary. Although a variety of locating devices are commercially available, their adoption has remained low in the past years. Several studies have explored barriers to the adoption of assistive technologies from the perspective of professional stakeholders, but in-depth explorations for locating technologies are sparse. Additionally, the inputs of business professionals are lacking. The aim of this study was to expand knowledge on barriers to the adoption of locating technologies from a multi-stakeholder professional perspective, and to explore strategies to optimize adoption.Methods: In total, 22 professionals working in business (n = 7), healthcare (n = 6) and research (n = 9) fields related to gerontology and gerontechnology participated in our focus group study. Perceptions on the value of using locating technologies for dementia care, barriers to their adoption, as well as salient services and information dissemination strategies were explored. After verbatim transcription, transcripts were analysed following an inductive data-driven content analysis approach in MAXQDA.Results: Six key adoption barriers centering on: (1) awareness-, (2) technological-, (3) product characteristic- and (4) capital investment-based limitations, (5) unclear benefits, as well as (6) ethical concerns emerged. The interplay between barriers was high. Five core themes on services and information dissemination strategies centering on: (1) digital autonomy support, (2) emergency support, (3) information dissemination actors, (4) product acquisition, and (5) product advertising were extracted.Conclusions: Our study with interdisciplinary stakeholders expands knowledge on barriers to the adoption of locating technologies for dementia care, and reinforces recommendations that an interdisciplinary strategy is needed to optimize adoption. Also, our findings show that focusing on services to increase digital autonomy and on information dissemination strategies has been largely overlooked and may be particularly effective.

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