The number of Canadians with dementia is expected to rise to 674,000 in the years to come. Finding ways to monitor behavioural disturbance in patients with dementia (PwDs) is crucial. PwDs can unintentionally behave in ways that are harmful to them and the people around them, such as other residents or care providers. Current practice does not involve technology to monitor PwD behaviours. Events are reported randomly by nonstaff members or when a staff member notices the absence of a PwD from a scheduled event. This study aims to explore the potential of implementing a novel detector of behavioural disturbances (DBD) in long-term care homes by mapping the perceptions of healthcare professionals and family members about this technology. Qualitative information was gathered from a focus group involving eight healthcare professionals working in a tertiary care facility and a partner of a resident admitted in the same facility. Thematic analysis resulted in three themes: (A) the ability of the DBD to detect relevant dementia-related behavioural disturbances that are typical of PwD; (B) the characteristics of the DBD and clinical needs and preferences; (C) the integration of the DBD into daily routines. The results tend to confirm the adequacy of the DBD to the day-to-day needs for the detection of behavioural disturbances and hazardous behaviours. The DBD was considered to be useful and easy to use in the tertiary care facility examined in this study. The participants intend to use the DBD in the future, which means that it has a high degree of acceptance.
BACKGROUND The number of Canadians with dementia is expected to rise to nearly 1 million individuals in the next decade. It is more than urgent to find a solution to monitor any unsafe behaviour that could be harmful to patients with dementia and the people around them such as other patients, professionals, or visitors. Current practice does not utilize systems to monitor behaviours of the patients with dementia (PwD) and send alerts when potential dangerous events occur. Events are reported randomly by non-professionals or when a professional notices an absence to a scheduled event. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the potential of implementing a detector of behavioural disturbances (DBD) in long-term care homes through a mapping of the perceptions of clinicians and staff members towards this technology. METHODS A focus group was conducted with 8 clinicians and staff members and 1 partner of a PwD. RESULTS Three themes emerged from a thematic analysis of the perspectives of the stakeholders: (A) capability of the DBD to detect relevant dementia-related behavioural disturbances, (B) characteristics of the DBD and clinical needs and (C) DBD modalities of use. CONCLUSIONS The results confirmed the adequacy of the DBD for their daily needs in terms of detecting hazardous behaviours or personal and interpersonal behavioural disturbances. The DBD has been considered useful and easy to use by the focus group participants, meaning that the DBD has a high level of usability. CLINICALTRIAL NA
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