The View from Here: Skills in Dementia Care for Acute Settings

About this Course

Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, staff should be able to:

• Explain the neuropsychological basis for changed behaviour
• Identify how dementia-related damage to cortical structures may impact patient behaviour
• Identify the symptoms of delirium and how they compare with dementia and may overlay those of dementia
• Explain how applying the principles of Person-Centred Care (PCC) can improve the quality of care for people living with dementia
• Describe the communication changes associated with dementia and strategies to facilitate communication and enhance understanding for the person living with dementia
• Describe information gathering techniques and simple bedside tests about the patient’s personal history and current functional status that can assist in providing care
• Explain pain and pain assessment in the context of dementia and recognise the links between pain and changed behaviour
• Identify methods to select suitable activities to meaningfully engage a person living with dementia while in hospital, as a key therapeutic care intervention
• Identify psychosocial and physical factors in the hospital environment that could be changed using environmental design principles to improve the wellbeing and quality of care of people living with dementia
• Describe how to observe, assess and document function and behaviour in the acute care setting over time
• Describe how to plan care and implement evidence-based strategies (non-pharmacological and pharmacological) that will lead to optimal care for patients with any form of cognitive impairment