Research Summary
The research project aims to investigate nurses’ experiences with patients with dementia. The nurses’ feedback on their familiarity will inform evidence-based policies to deliver top-notch care in Australian hospitals. The study will be conducted over two weeks and involve nurses from major hospitals that provide the specified care in the country.
There have been increasing cases of dementia in recent times, and the facilities offering the care must be reformed to increase the quality of service and maintain high job satisfaction. Therefore, this research is relevant because it shares nurses’ experiences in shaping policy to improve care.
Research Question: What are nurses’ experiences attending to people with dementia in an acute care hospital environment?
Background
Problem Identification
Dementia is an emerging problem in public health with a higher prevalence among the elderly. Although the disease may take different forms, Alzheimer’s disease is the primary manifestation of the problem. An increasing number of adults in Australia are admitted to acute care facilities with comorbidities. Australia had over 401,300 people living with dementia in 2022 and admitted to various acute care facilities (Harrison et al., 2020). Dementia is the second largest cause of death in Australia, and it has been debated on the best method to contain the healthcare condition.
The disease is likely to follow a positive trajectory and is projected to rise to over 800,000 people by 2050 (Harrison et al., 2020). One method of containing the disease is to empower nurses and ensure they have the necessary equipment and expertise to address the problem (Reilly & Houghton, 2019). Negative nurse experiences may jeopardize the quality of care, potentially lowering a patient’s life expectancy. Dementia affects not only the patients but also their families and society.
Existing Knowledge
Nurses play a crucial role in caring for individuals with dementia by assisting them with daily activities. Because the patients have cognitive challenges, nurses take control of all their activities to reduce the risk of injury from confusion or disorientation. Dealing with memory loss and caring for patients requires nurses to have a manageable workload and specialized training in managing the disease.
However, due to limited facilities, nurses often experience burnout, fear, anxiety, and frustration because of the uncertainty in their jobs. Ineffective coping strategies and the increasing number of dementia patients in hospitals lead to challenges in the long run (Harrison et al., 2020). There is a national dementia support program in Australia that supports patients and their families by ensuring that they have the highest level of care. Level five hospitals in the country offer specialized services and care facilities.
Knowledge Gaps
Effective care for dementia patients will only improve when nurses’ experience is enhanced for better outcomes. However, care and nursing experience can only improve when the knowledge gaps are addressed. Most issues related to caring for dementia patients, such as tools and specialized training, are still missing in most healthcare facilities (Reilly & Houghton, 2019).
The four tenets of dementia care include early signs, diagnosis, communication, and promotion, which do not specify the nurse’s role in these areas. The challenges faced by nurses in facilities caring for people with dementia stem from a lack of clear guidelines on how to effectively fulfill their mandate. Furthermore, most hospitals need to categorize the expertise required to care for patients. The critical knowledge gaps are the specialized facilities, the level of expertise, and the associated workload.
Methodology
The appropriate methodology for the research is a qualitative approach. It is selected because it offers a deeper understanding of the experiences, as the affected nurses have a chance to explain their situations.
Study Setting
The research will be conducted at three major acute dementia centers in Sydney: Nurse Next Door, homecare disability services, and Pearl Home Care. It will involve nurses who have worked with dementia patients for over one year in any given facility. The nurses will be able to share their challenges, worst experiences, and proposals on what needs improvement to achieve better outcomes in the hospital setting. The nurse’s practices and beliefs will be considered to ensure they are comfortable with the research. The study will be conducted to understand nurses’ experiences in improving the quality of care for dementia patients.
Participants and Recruitment Strategy
The key participants in this research are registered nurses and practitioners who work with patients with dementia. Nurse leaders who allocate duties and follow up on performance will also be included in the study to ensure holistic data collection. The recruitment strategy will be multifaceted, using various platforms to solicit and recruit nurses for the activity.
Social media platforms will be the primary source for selecting participants. A poster on the study and its significance will be posted on social media, and nurses from the facilities will be encouraged to share or provide links. Secondly, official phone calls will be made to the facilities to encourage the target participants to participate in the study.
Data Collection Procedures
Once the participants have been successfully recruited, two leading data collection procedures will be applied. Survey and face-to-face interviews will be conducted at the participant’s convenience. During the surveys, the questionnaire link will be sent to them via their communication channels, and they will be given a timeframe to complete the data entry and submit it.
The interviews will be conducted via online platforms, such as Zoom and Skype, to allow participants to share their experiences and offer their conditions. Both the filled questionnaires and the recorded videos from the interviews will serve as the primary data sources for the study.
Data Analysis and Presentation
The collected data will be analyzed and presented to hospital management and policymakers to inform the development of strategies to enhance care. The data will be analyzed through four-pronged strategies: data organization, review and exploration, preparation of initial codes, and organization into themes. The themes, including the proposals, are presented cohesively to ensure that the intended audience receives the required information. Graphical formats will be used to present the findings clearly and concisely.
Ethical Considerations
Ethical concerns are significant in the research outcomes because participants may not provide accurate data if they feel threatened. Therefore, the study will align with ethical principles by ensuring informed consent, voluntary participation, confidentiality, and effective communication. When a researcher assures participants that the research will not negatively impact their careers, they are likely to provide better-quality data (Castillo Goncalves, 2020). Therefore, all participants in this research will be accorded all the necessary ethical considerations to ensure they perform better in the long run.
References
Castillo Goncalves, D. (2020). Distinctive ethical challenges in qualitative research with migrant children. Qualitative Research Journal, 20(3), 293-303.
Harrison, S. L., Lang, C., Whitehead, C., Crotty, M., Ratcliffe, J., Wesselingh, S., & Inacio, M. C. (2020). Trends in prevalence of dementia for people accessing aged care services in Australia. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 75(2), 318–325.
Reilly, J. C., & Houghton, C. (2019). The experiences and perceptions of care in acute settings for patients living with dementia: a qualitative evidence synthesis. International Journal of Nursing Studies, pp. 96, 82–90.