Implementation of person-centered dementia care program in nursing homes and its effects on health care staff's care approaches and psychological well-being of residents

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the effects of Person-Centered Dementia Care (PCDC) Program on health care staff's individualized care approaches and psychological well-being of people with dementia Methods: The research was conducted between February 10, 2020 and March 4, 2021 in two stages. In the first stage of the study, the validity and reliability study of the individualized dementia care scale (IC-Scale) was conducted with the participation of 184 caregivers and the validity and reliability studies of the psychological well-being (PWB) scale in cognitively impaired people were conducted with 70 individuals with dementia and 12 caregivers. In the second stage, the sample of the study, which is a single group pre-test and post-test design type, consisted of caregivers (n = 32) and individuals with dementia (n = 17) working in two private elderly care centers affiliated to the same owner. PCDC program which consists of creating and presenting life history booklets of individuals with dementia for caregivers, person-centered dementia care and communication training with individuals with dementia, hanging 'everything about me' profiles of individuals with dementia in their rooms and posting reminder notes in places that caregivers can see the person-centered care tips. The data were collected before the intervention and 2 months after the intervention, using the introductory information form for caregivers and individuals with dementia, PWB Scale, IC-Scale and post-program evaluation form. Data analysis was conducted using structural equation modelling, descriptive and significance analysis. Results: Turkish version of IC-Scale and PWB Scale were found to be valid and reliable measurement tools. Among individualized care approaches; the dimensions of knowing the residents, autonomy of residents, resident-caregiver communication and communication between caregivers, only resident-caregiver communication showed a statistically significant increase on post-test mean scores compared to the pre-test mean scores. In post-program evaluation, it was determined that caregivers thought to be most useful part was the "sharing life stories". Conclusion: This study showed that PCDC program applied to caregivers in elderly care centers would be beneficial in improving communication between residents and caregivers.