Barriers and Facilitators to Implementing a Longitudinal Dementia Education Programme into Undergraduate Healthcare Curricula: A Qualitative Study.

Abstract

BackgroundAs worldwide prevalence of dementia rises, there are international calls for improved knowledge and awareness about the condition across the healthcare workforce. There are concerns that traditional models of healthcare education, which focus on short-term episodes of care limits student understanding of long-term conditions. This has led to the introduction of the Time for Dementia programme at five Universities in the UK. Through longitudinal contact with families living with dementia, healthcare students gain increased understanding about the experiences of living with dementia. However, implementing new educational models brings challenges. To enable implementation of similar models by other educational institutions, this study aimed to identify the common barriers and facilitators of implementing a longitudinal programme at scale. MethodsTwelve in-depth semi-structured interviews were completed between October and December 2018 with participants that had experience implementing the Time for Dementia programme. Interviews were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.ResultsThe analysis identified five key themes important to implementation. These were: 1) leadership, 2) organisational buy-in, 3) perceived value, 4) team coalition, and 5) time and fit. Implementation of the programme was enhanced by resilient leaders managing the challenges of curricular change. Their belief in the value of the programme, stakeholder buy-in, and supportive team working enabled challenges to be overcome. Workload reduced and student buy-in increased as time progressed and as more resources became available. A flexible approach to implementation was recommended to ensure the programme fits within the established curriculum. Conclusion Curricular change is a challenging task, yet a necessary endeavour to meet high quality educational standards. This study highlights the common barriers and facilitators experienced when implementing a longitudinal educational programme at scale. The findings presented in this study can be used by other educational institutions to manage curricular change efforts.