Identifying undergraduate nurses´ learning requirements and teaching strategies in dementia care education: A nominal group technique

Abstract

Aim: Identify priorities and reach a consensus on student nurses´ learning requirements and the best-suited teaching strategies in dementia care.

Background: Dementia has become a global health priority. Nurses are primary service providers for people with dementia, but they may fall short on professional training. Nursing curricula still lacks a clear educational framework for dementia, meaning that nurse educators must make decisions amidst uncertainty.

Design: Nominal group technique based on the conceptual framework proposed by Van de Ven and Delbecq (1972).

Methods: A structured face-to-face meeting convened in November 2021 involved nine participants who were directly involved in dementia care. The steps in the technique were (a) idea generation, (b) round-robin recording, (c) discussion, (d) voting and ranking, (e) discussion on the vote and (f) re-ranking. Participants answered two nominal questions. Consent, anonymity, feedback and iteration were guaranteed throughout the process.

Results: The nominal group prioritized theoretical understanding of dementia, communication, caregivers´ needs, comprehensive assessment and ethical practice as learning requirements for nursing students. The outstanding teaching strategy discussed included various approaches to experiential learning.

Conclusions: The nominal group technique process explored learning requirement priorities for student nurses within a specific context. Participants discussed experiential learning as the best-suited teaching strategy. Findings could support nurse educators to design and deliver better dementia education.

Keywords: Curriculum design; Dementia; Nominal group technique; Nurse education research; Nursing care; Nursing students.