Can staff education reduce the occupational deprivation of people with dementia?

Introduction: In recent years dementia care has been on the crest of Government agenda in the United Kingdom (UK)(Great Britain Department of Health, 2013). Just this week the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority, Northern Ireland, called for new standards to provide activity in care homes (Miller, 2015). Occupational Therapists are proven to be well placed to help multidisciplinary teams meet the occupational needs of their clients (Brian et al, 2015). The following case analysis considers the impact a dementia training course had on the occupational engagement of people with dementia.
Method: The eight week course was developed by a multidisciplinary team, and facilitate by an OT. The person centered content was heavily influenced by Kitwood, (1997) and 50% of the delivery was ‘modelled’ by facilitators working alongside care home residents and staff. For example, the Pool Activity Level instrument, (Pool, 2011), was presented, and then utilised to help carers plan appropriate activities. One participant gave consent to be interviewed following the course to determine how the training had influenced her practice. Consent was gained to publish the findings. The interview was recorded to collate qualitative data for analysis, then the recording destroyed. The anonymity of the staff member and the care home will be observed at all times to maintain confidentiality.
Conclusion: The carer reported an increase in meaningful occupation taking place laying the table, leisure activities, socialising, and singing. It had also improved the carer’s confidence, work satisfaction and influenced day service culture. Impact on service users. In this case, the education of one person increased the occupational engagement of several people with dementia. The training also appeared to break down the wider socio-environmental barriers that had restricted meaningful occupation in the day service.