Care staff attitudes and experiences of working with older people with dementia

Abstract

Aim: To determine care staff attitudes to dementia, assess levels of job satisfaction and explore how these attitudes and experience may relate to each other.

Methods: Forty-nine staff from four long-term care facilities were surveyed using the Approaches to Dementia Questionnaire and the Staff Experience of Working with Demented Residents Questionnaire.

Results: Attitudes were positive, focusing most on 'person-centred' care (4.35) as opposed to 'hopefulness' (3.66). Job satisfaction was also good, being highest in terms of 'resident contact' (2.92) but lowest for work 'environment' (2.12). Care staff attitudes to dementia were positively correlated with job satisfaction (r= 0.366, n= 48, P= 0.011), particularly for attitudes focused on 'person-centred' care (r= 0.393, n= 48, P= 0.006).

Conclusions: Findings suggest an important relationship between care staff attitudes and levels of job satisfaction. More work is needed to specify this relationship.