Educational benefits for nurses and nursing students of the dementia supporter training program in Japan

Abstract

In Japan, which is thought to be a rapidly growing super-aging society, a national campaign named “the Dementia Supporter Caravan” has been deployed. The aim of this study was to assess the educational benefits of the dementia supporter training program for nurses and nursing students. We conducted dementia supporter training, and measured knowledge and attitudes regarding people with dementia as educational benefits pre- and post-training. Data sets of 134 nursing students and 63 nurses were analyzed. The results indicated that the two groups gained knowledge, understanding, and the confidence to care for people with dementia after attending the dementia supporter training program. Moreover, the two groups derived different benefits from the program. Nursing students gained substantial knowledge and learnt the importance of early detection and treatment, to levels similar to those of nurses prior to training. The training program reduced the difficulties of nurses to interact with and care for people with dementia. We can conclude that the dementia supporter training program has considerable educational benefits for nurses and nursing students.

Dementia knowledge and its demographic correlates amongst informal dementia caregivers in Singapore

“…This suggests that being informed about symptoms of dementia does not necessitate better understanding of the needs of dementia patients nor alleviates the misconceptions that one may have towards dementia. Furthermore, it implies that interventions targeted at dementia caregivers should place more emphasis on the caregiving considerations and needs of dementia patients, in order to improve quality of care provided by caregivers (Chodosh et al, 2007;Gibbons et al, 2005;Matsuda et al, 2018). These interventions should also seek to inform caregivers on the non-symptomatic traits of dementia so as to alleviate caregivers subjective burden which may arise from mismatched expectations (Chiu et al, 2013;S€ orensen & Conwell, 2011).…”

“…Due to the debilitating symptoms of dementia and the progressive nature of the disease, persons with dementia typically require considerable care as their condition deteriorates (Ag€ uero-Torres et al, 1998). In this context, it has been reported that knowledge of dementia is important in facilitating the care management of persons with dementia (Chodosh et al, 2007;Gibbons, Teri, Logsdon, & McCurry, 2005;Matsuda et al, 2018).…”

“…Early detection and treatment of the disease provides several benefits such as slowing down patient's cognitive decline (Gauthier, 2005;Rodakowski, Saghafi, Butters, & Skidmore, 2015), helping family or informal caregivers to better transit into the role of caregiving with early interventions (de Vugt & Verhey, 2013), thereby possibly improving the overall well-being of caregivers (Chiu, Wesson, & Sadavoy, 2013;Signe & Elmståhl, 2008). In addition, it has been reported that having higher levels of knowledge pertaining to dementia care positively influenced the quality of care provided to patients (Chodosh et al, 2007;Gibbons et al, 2005;Matsuda et al, 2018). A study by Graham, Ballard, and Sham (1997) demonstrated that while higher caregiver's level of knowledge on dementia correlates to higher level of anxiety, it is also positively associated with their feelings of competency, reduction of expectations and increased use of positive comparisons, which consequently results in lower levels of depression (Graham, Ballard, & Sham, 1997).…”

Dementia education is the first step for cooperation: An observational study of the cooperation between convenience stores and community general support centers

“…10 Based on interviews of owners/managers and staff members of CVSs, a previous research indicated that the CVS staff do not contact CGSCs due to lack of knowledge and relationship with CGSCs. 17 In Japan, the dementia friend initiatives to build dementiafriendly communities mainly provide the dementia supporter training program; 18,19 the purpose of this program is to increase dementia awareness. The program is typically a 90-min face-to-face lecture with video material, which teaches the epidemiology and symptoms of dementia and the appropriate way to interact with people with dementia.…”

“…20 Because healthcare professionals working for CGSCs provide the dementia supporter training program in many cases, the program may contribute to promoting cooperation through building relationships between CVSs and CGSCs, in addition to deepening the understanding of dementia. Although previous studies have examined the effects of the dementia education programs on knowledge and attitudes about dementia, 3,18,19,21 the effects of cooperation with healthcare professionals have not been examined. In this study we aimed to examine whether participation in the dementia supporter training programs promote the cooperation between CVSs and CGSCs.…”