Social Workers’ and Nurses’ Illness Representations About Alzheimer Disease

Abstract

Professionals' perceptions of patients' diseases (illness representations) are a major factor influencing the quality of treatment they provide. The aim of the study was to examine and compare Alzheimer disease (AD) illness representations among 2 main professional groups involved in the care of Alzheimer patients. A total of 327 nurses and social workers in Israel were asked to report their cognitive representations (dimensions of identity, cause, timeline, consequences, control, coherence, timeline cycle) and emotional representations. Knowledge about AD, demographic, and occupational characteristics were also obtained. Participants perceived AD as a chronic disease associated with severe consequences. Statistically significant differences were found between the groups, as nurses attributed psychological reasons to AD more than the social workers. Nevertheless, social workers perceived AD as more chronic with severe consequences compared with the nurses. Despite some resemblance, there were differences between the social workers and nurses regarding AD illness representations. Therefore, continuing to distribute materials to professionals regarding AD is recommended, with attention to the unique characteristics of each professional group. Furthermore, the findings encourage the development of training and support programs that will not only deal with the organizational and instrumental levels of treating AD patients but also with the assessment and consequences of professionals' illness representations.

Is there an association between help‐seeking for early detection of Alzheimer's disease and illness representations of this disease among the lay public?

“…Similar to past research conducted among professionals (Shinan‐Altman et al, ), we found that the healthy people in our study characterized AD as a chronic disease, with more cognitive symptoms than any other symptoms. Additionally, they perceived AD as being caused mainly by risk factors, with serious consequences for patients and their families, as well as with a moderate sense of control.…”

Nurses’ knowledge and attitudes about dementia care: Systematic literature review

“…Sixteen studies were quantitative, one study was qualitative, and two studies utilized mixed methods . The qualitative study used content analysis to assess perspectives after implementing a training video.…”

“…The qualitative study used content analysis to assess perspectives after implementing a training video. Among the quantitative studies, seven were interventional, seven were descriptive, one was a randomized controlled trial, and one was cross‐sectional …”

“…Furthermore, nurses were found to face ethical dilemmas while attending to the physical needs of PwD, especially concerning to what extent independence, choice, and dignity should be maintained . Other findings showed that nurses attributed psychological causes to Alzheimer's disease prevalence . Additionally, poor employer financial contributions to continuing education and insufficient organizational support for competence development were described as reasons of ineffective dementia care.…”

“…Nurses’ conceptions of their role within the context of dementia may additionally affect their attitudes. Additionally, education, age, level of communication skills, ethical dilemmas, and psychological factors in the provision of care (such as fear or frustration) have been identified as potential influences on nurses’ attitudes toward PwD …”