Aim: This study aimed to clarify the effects of a fall prevention intervention that focused on the characteristics of falls among elderly patients with dementia and was based on person-centered care in geriatric facilities on care staff.
Methods: This study was conducted between May 2016 and January 2017, and the subjects were classified into two groups: the intervention group, consisting of members who had participated in a three-month education training program, and the control group, consisting of members who provided the usual care. The study period was nine months divided as follows: training period (three months), fall prevention practice (three months), and follow-up period (three months). The quality of care was measured using the Nursing Quality Indicator for Preventing Falls (NQIPFD), and the assessment scale of health care professionals' recognition of the successful Interdisciplinary Team Approach in Health Care Facilities for the Elderly was also used. In total, the care staff members were evaluated four times: once to obtain baseline values before training, and again after the training period, after the fall prevention practice, and after the follow-up period. The results were analyzed using an analysis of variance (fixed factors = group and time, random factor = subjects, and covariance = years of experience working at the geriatric facility and type of job).
Results: There were 50 care staff subjects in the intervention group and 69 people in the control group. The results of the analysis of variance indicated that there was a significant difference in the NQIPFD between baseline 68.60 (±9.09) and follow-up 70.02 (±9.88) in the intervention group. With regard to the differences by intervention, the effect size of the dementia knowledge scale scores was 0.243 higher than the others, which was significant (p<0.01).
Conclusions: The results showed that the participation of care staff in a fall intervention program to support elderly patients with dementia based on person-centered care significantly improved the NQIPFD and other measured factors. These findings suggest that the program fostered positive effects among the care staff.
Keywords: Care staff; Elderly with dementia; Fall intervention program; Person-centered care.