Improving emotional well-being for hospital-based patients with dementia

Petty, Stephanie; Griffiths, Amanda; Coleston, Donna Maria; Dening, Tom

Abstract

Purpose: Improving hospital care for people with dementia is a well-established priority. There is limited research evidence to guide nursing staff in delivering person-centred care, particularly under conditions where patients are emotionally distressed. Misunderstood distress has negative implications for patient wellbeing and hospital resources. The purpose of this study is to use the expertise of nurses to recommend ways to care for the emotional wellbeing of patients with dementia that are achievable within the current hospital setting.

Approach: A qualitative study was conducted in two long-stay wards providing dementia care in a UK hospital. Nursing staff (n=12) were asked about facilitators and barriers to providing emotion-focused care. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings: Nursing staff said that resources existed within the ward team, including ways to gather and present personal information about patients, share multidisciplinary and personal approaches, work around routine hospital tasks and agree an ethos of being connected with patients in their experience. Staff said these did not incur financial cost and did not depend upon staffing numbers but did take an emotional toll. Examples are given within each of these broader themes.

Implications: The outcome is a short-list of recommended staff actions that hospital staff say could improve the emotional wellbeing of people with dementia when in hospital. These support and develop previous research.

Originality: In this paper, frontline nurses describe ways to improve person-centred hospital care for people with dementia.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 12, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Dec 18, 2020
• Publication Date: Jul 30, 2021
• Deposit Date: Nov 13, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 18, 2020
• Journal: Quality in Ageing and Older Adults
• Print ISSN: 1471-7794
• Electronic ISSN: 1471-7794
• Publisher: Emerald
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 56-67
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/QAOA-05-2020-0019
• Keywords: dementia; hospitals; emotions; qualitative research; person-centred care; caregiving
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5038631
• Publisher URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/QAOA-05-2020-0019/full/html