Impact of settings and culture on nurses’ knowledge of and attitudes and perceptions towards people with dementia: An integrative literature review

Abstract

Background Well‐trained nurses are required to support dementia patients; however, the quality of the provided dementia nursing care can be impacted by nurses’ knowledge, attitudes and perceptions towards people with dementia. Aim To obtain an overview of the current nursing practice towards people with dementia around the world. Design An integrated literature review was conducted based on Whittemore and Knafl's method. Results A total of 72 articles met the inclusion criteria. Three main themes were identified: (1) nurses’ knowledge, attitudes and perceptions towards dementia; (2) nursing experience of caring for people with dementia in acute and community care settings; and (3) dementia nursing care across health regions. Conclusion Nurses play the role of facilitators in the efficient delivery of quality care for dementia patients. A variety of attitudes and perceptions towards people with dementia were found to be triggered by the severity of dementia, religion, ethnicity and gender. Implications for practice Healthcare organisations and educational settings need to coordinate and function together to improve nurses’ knowledge and encourage positive attitudes towards people with dementia.

A profile of students in a university‐based distance dementia education program: Implications for policy and practice

“…Recent work documents limited dementia education for GP registrars 11 and nurses, 23 and lack of confidence in working with people with dementia by allied health professionals 24 . All studies conclude that dementia education needs to be coordinated and integrated across healthcare settings for the optimal care of people with dementia.…”

“…To provide better care for family members/friends with dementia 134 (28) To extend my dementia knowledge after completing the Preventing Dementia MOOC 107 (23) Other 0 (0) a All applicable response options could be selected; 81% of students selected multiple options. No student selected 'other'.…”

Dementia Knowledge, Attitude toward Dementia, and Confidence in Dementia Care: Impact of a Dementia Training on German Nursing Students

“…The total score can range from 20 to 140, with higher scores indicating a more positive attitude toward PwD. Six items (2,6,8,9,16,17) are reverse scored and need, therefore, to be recoded. The English version was also translated into German and validated with the general population [22].…”

“…This makes it difficult for people with dementia (PwD) to perform everyday tasks and to interact with others [ 1 ]. In the efficient delivery of quality care for people with dementia, nurses play a facilitating role [ 2 ]. In addition to all professionals who work closely with PwD in hospitals, nursing students face certain challenges in interaction with PwD during their practical phase.…”

“…Sample directly before and after the intervention 2. Subgroup after four weeks for the follow up, here without measurements about Experiences with PWD, Participation in dementia course and Frequency of participation in dementia course.…”